This should be a topic ripe for discussion

Maritime Topics
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When going to sea I was always amazed at how people misused common terms associated with our profession. Please feel free to add to the list:

“Master”. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this term misused. Never would one refer to someone as “Master” in the first person. The term is a job title, not a rank. The term would be used as such: " This is captain xxxxx, he is master of the SS xxxxxxxx". Wrong would be: “hello Master xxxx” None of us are plantation owners. The USN is famous for misusing this term.

“Chief”. There is only one Chief onboard and that is the chief engineer. Often you hear the chief mate termed " chief". No, that is the “mate”, " chief mate" or at times " first officer" in a more formal setting.

Others?

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Oh, the oft misused (on this forum at time, too) merchant marine, as in “oh, are you a merchant marine?”; often followed by “Where are you stationed?”

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[QUOTE=Xmsccapt(ret);99656]When going to sea I was always amazed at how people misused common terms associated with out profession. Please feel free to add to the list:

“Master”. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this term misused. Never would one refer to someone as “Master” in the first person. The term is a job title, not a rank. The term would be used as such: " This is captain xxxxx, he is master of the SS xxxxxxxx". Wrong would be: “hello Master xxxx” None of us are plantation owners. The USN is famous for misusing this term.

“Chief”. There is only one Chief onboard and that is the chief engineer. Often you hear the chief mate termed " chief". No, that is the “mate”, " chief mate" or at times " first officer" in a more formal setting.
[/QUOTE]

I agree. It’s annoying to ask for the chief and be asked “which one” still more annoying when told “there’s three”. The other term sometimes misunderstood is “mate” Depending upon context it may be either the chief mate or the mate on watch.

If I go up to the wheelhouse when the mate on watch is missing (maybe in the head) and ask the AB “where is the mate?”, from context it can safely be assumed it’s the mate on watch I’m wondering about. However if I go to the wheelhouse and ask the mate on watch if the mate is still on deck it’s safe to assume it’s the chief mate I’m asking about.

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True, I would trend to clarify that by asking where the watch officer is… ( if he or she is missing and that’s another issue).

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[QUOTE=Xmsccapt(ret);99661]True, I would trend to clarify that by asking where the watch officer is… ( if he or she is missing and that’s another issue).[/QUOTE]

That’s right. But when you overhear a watch AB regaling the crew mess with stories of stupid things the mate has done it’s a safe bet he’s talking about his watch partner.

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[QUOTE=“Xmsccapt(ret)”]The USN is famous for misusing this term.

The only Master in the USN is a Master Chief, but in my four years in I never heard anyone call anyone Master. We say Captain, and for the Master Chief, we say Master Chief.

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[QUOTE=“beekerbetter”][/QUOTE]

Not talking about being in the USN, how they use the term master relating to chiefs is their business. We are talking about the USN misuse of the term master when speaking to a civilian master of a vessel. They generally use the term incorrectly and I think at times for spite…

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Well that makes more sense.

I think you get it overseas as well. I can’t count the uncomfortable amount of times I’ve been called Master in West Africa.

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[QUOTE=“beekerbetter;99670”]Well that makes more sense.

I think you get it overseas as well. I can’t count the uncomfortable amount of times I’ve been called Master in West Africa.[/QUOTE]

I get this also, and sometimes Commander. I start laughing when it happens and I get embarrassed when it happens in front of others.