Thursday, October 20, 2011

The best captain i sailed under

This is in response to a Facebook community topic raised by someone. He wanted seafarers to describe the qualities of the best masters they had sailed under.
What did you like about the best Master you sailed with? And flip the question around and tell us what you disliked in the worst? No names . Just adjectives!
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 Good master = high knowledge, which imbibes in him polite-ness. 
I want to make this clear because high knowledge may also translate into eruditism - show off of knowledge.
Good behavior and good virtues result out of intuition
developed through erudition and scholarship.  'cool as cucumber, rock
solid, never panicked' , all should result from a balanced growth of
knowledge and the experience


A relatively young person , around 31yrs age, on his second command was one best master , in year 2001

Oldies have good experience , outdated knowledge, youngster are
inexperienced. Oldies have advantage of talking out with various
authorities with lots of ease. When the mate is experienced enough, a
combination on board with a senior master, helps.
New ships, better conditions, better systems. Less works, empty minds, devils workshop! It is often in this type of climate that people begin to find time to get involved into each other. Senior ranks ofte develop a penchant, a psychiatric trouble truthfuly, to go after people, one or many. They never realise this but that is how it has been commonly felt. In these conditions erroneous philosophies breed. Wrong conversations, wrong dialogues, wrong rhetorics, wrong cultures sprout up, absorbed by wrong students and later pratices and promulgated as the practical or maybe the right knowledge. 

Therefore it is essential that the senior ranks should have a hobby to follow if the have to maintain their good state of mind, an eventually a good culture on board.

In summary, Management ranks should stay DETACHED- that is, not much involved into persons for shipboard works. This helps in balancing various emotional turbulence that nature of work brings about.  However, a personal connection with every crew on affairs which maybe not ship-work related, helps in motivating and keeping the morale high of crew members.
Detachment, in Bhagvad Geeta described as 'nirmoh', is an important quality. It can also be understood as objectivity in conduct and decision making.
Data is collected with objectivity, both sides heard, and then analysed with
empathy,that is, applying emotional understanding for all parties. Rare people can
exercise such conduct. 

My best master perhaps had this quality.

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