When are you 'Captain' not skipper

Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

To be pedantic about this - Captain is a rank in the RN, but you may be captain of a ship while holding a lower rank eg Commander etc.
In the Merchant Service the man who is captain is officially called the Master, and is usually given the courtesy title of Captain.
The person in charge of a fishing boat is a Skipper.
Through general usage the terms have become blurred - they even call aeroplane drivers 'captain'.
I see no harm in the Master of a substantial yacht calling himself 'Captain' if it makes him feel better.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

Thanks for that, makes sense, still tho who offers these courtesy's of calling master of a yacht / ship the Captain, is it the MCA or other regulatory body or is it just an unwritten rule.

if it was just an RN thing that only those in command of a RN ship could be called a captain well that has obviously passed and the general perception by the world at large seems to be it can be mercantile, naval, aeronautical or big leisure jobbie just no one seems to know when you have the right to be or not to be...so to speak!
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

AFAIK a captain is a captain only by military rank. This title does not officially extend to the Merchant Navy where the "captain" is the Master of the vessel. So therefore it would similarly apply to other commercial and non commercial vessels. While most ships masters like to refer to themselves as Captain (and hate to be called Skipper!!), it is not an officially recognised title for them and when they walk down the gangway they are simply Mr again.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

I just call myself "the person in charge" that is as long as my Mrs says I can /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

Sorry, I dont have a definitive answer but I was involved in a fatality investigation some years ago following a MoB; this involved the Harbourmaster, the Asst. Harbourmaster, the Pilot, the master of the vessel and several members of the MAIB. In all correspondence, face to face meetings and in the subsequent court case all parties were referred to as Captain. Some were Master Mariners, some were in charge of a foreign going vessel, and some had no more than in- shore experience on a fishing vessel. Its a courtesy thing, a rank, perhaps also a recognition of experience.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

[ QUOTE ]
doctors there doesn't seem to be any formal guidelines

[/ QUOTE ]

Many doctors, medical ones that is, are not doctors simply M.B. Ch.B - (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery respectively) - it's a courtesy title.

Surgeons learnt their trade in the barbers shop in days of old and so the tradition is to call themselves Mr. as opposed the the medical pactitionor who had been to medical school and very often had Doctorates e.g. Ph D (Doctor of Philosophy)

As a proper doctor, not medical, thats my twisted take on it /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

On the YM front I'd have said skipper - unless you have a forces commision as Captain or you have been commisioned by a shipping line to take charge of a vessel

- Oh Hell I'm becoming a pedant!
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

A few weeks ago I had a captain on board.

Because he was a cavalry officer I just asked him if he would mind leaving his spurs on the pontoon. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

On a totaly different subject I note on your bio that you live in the "good bit" of cumbria. Which bit exactly, and we will tell you if we agree. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

Apparently I'm a Captain because here in the USA every Coast Guard / bridge operator / fuel dock attendant calls me that. If it was anywhere else but here they'd be taking the piss but it's just what they do.

Still makes me squirm though and I'll never get used to it.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

[ QUOTE ]
Depends if the vessel is a ship or not!

[/ QUOTE ]Any motorised vessel that can navigate is a "ship" under law irrespective of its size or purpose (as in the judgement of the famous high court case last year relating to a jet ski collision, which was deemed not to be a ship as it did not navigate, but a 2.5m inflatable boat with an outboard is legally a ship) Trivia /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

I live in the Northern end, just beside the M6, handy for Ullswater and the rest of the lakes and hills, handy for D&G coast, (even handy for IKEA and the Metro if I have been really bad) but can still drive the roads in summer. It was rather wet round here early last year mind. And if you dont agree its the good bit, then I still respect your right to an opinion, even if it is wrong.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

In the airborne world it's trickier than you might think. The Captain is the one in the left seat (right in a helicopter), the Commander is the one in charge. Almost always, the Captain is the Commander - except when he's not. So if I'm training a new Captain, I sit in the right seat and am Commander (as well as being a Captain), but he's Captain nonetheless. In some multi-crew military aircraft, the Commander may not even be a trained pilot.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

When you are old enough and experienced enough to be a Captain you become GOD. and in that high office you can Marry people, clap them in irons, even hang them. Now you would not want to that would you.
 
Re: When are you \'Captain\' not skipper

Captain is a Rank in a recognised military or civilian organisation. (Idealy with a Queen's Commision)

The Commanding Officer of an RN ship can be anything from a Lieutenant to an Commodore. They are formaly known as Commanding Officer (CO not Captain), but informaly will be refered to by their rank. The most common rank for a Commanding Officer of a military vessel is Commander

Skipper is a title used for a person in Command of a vessel who does not hold a substansive rank.

Ships Have Commanding Officers, Fishing boats have Skippers, and there are Capatins of Police, Dart teams and Horse. etc.
 
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