Mate: mid-14c., “associate, fellow, comrade;” late 14c.,“habitual companion, friend;” from Middle Low German mate, gemate "one eating at the same table.”
Master: late Old English mægester "a man having control or authority over a place.”
In use nautically since the 14th and 15th centuries. Cool stuff.
Titles are whatever — I just don’t understand who is up there saying “Wiper? Naw. I don’t like dat.” As long as I get paid it’s whatever — but if it ain’t broke why fix it?
There’s a Wiper joke in there somewhere, but I can’t quite tease it out. Memories of an elderly 400lb tugboat captain who’s AB had to put his shoes on for him.
Whatever happened to firemen(in ship’s context) guess they went out when we got rid of coal. Calling someone a Topman has a particularly SF sound to it too, but that one’s gone out with the sails. Maybe be back soon with “Kite-power”
They were phased out as firerooms became more automated along with steam atomized burners with variable firing rates. Those burners replaced the need to change out mechanical spray burner tips whenever boiler firing rates changed.
This got me the laugh of the day! I don’t give a crap what they call me. Right, it’s can you do the job? That’s what matters. This girl never had a problem with “Seaman,” and I’ll be the first one to yell “Man overboard!” if anyone goes over. Nothing else gets it across better.
Can you do a solid eye-splice in a twelve strand mooring line for an 80,000 ton ship? Check. Steer a car carrier through the twisty Scheldt River in Holland, in a 30 knot wind? Check. Put up with that son-of-a-bitch 3rd Mate? Um . . .
Ashore now after fifteen years of seafaring, I miss being on the water. Thinking of getting a dugout canoe.
The job titles listed in the STCW Convention:
Part 2 — Certificates and general requirements by rank
Master 29
Chief mate 30
Officer in charge of a navigational watch 31
Ratings forming part of a navigational watch 33
Able seafarer deck 34
Radio operators 35
Chief engineer 36
Second engineer 37
Officer in charge of an engineering watch 38
Electro-technical officer 39
Ratings forming part of an engineering watch 40
Able seafarer engine 41
Electro-technical ratings 42
Any other crew member 43
Source; https://www.mptusa.com/pdf/STCW_guide_english.pdf
And in Oz just about everybody is “Mate” (as in “Fair Dinkum Mate”)
PS> If you go to visit Oz make sure to learn their slang:
Anecdote: On a BI ship discharging in Sydney the Master had his wife onboard (back in the 1960s, no A/C)
He complained to the Stevedore foreman about the language used by the wharfies in #2 hold.
The Foreman shouted down the hatch; “Hey you motherfukers, the fuking wife of the fuking Captain don’t like your fuking swearing, so mind your fu*king language”.
The “moral” of the story; if the word fu*k was banned in Oz, it would be a quite place.
It’s complicated. According to Google, you could throw shade at a shoemaker by calling him a cobbler: Shoemakers (called cordwainers in England) were skilled artisans who made shoes by hand out of brand new leather. Cobblers, on the other hand, repaired shoes. In fact, cobblers were often forbidden from working with new leather. Instead, they had to use old leather to make their repairs.
