A Master in charge of a tramp steamer in these days _must_, if he
wishes for any comfort in life, take good care of himself, for the
pressure and hurry which is inseparable from his position, combined
with the responsibilities and anxieties of his calling, put a very
great strain upon him, and will, in time, unless he takes special
care, have a serious effect on his health; this is more particularly
the case with men of the nervous temperament. It cannot be expected
that in this age, when so many thousands of people on shore fail from
overwork and "high pressure," steamship masters, who as a class, are
overworked and harrassed to a serious extent, should altogether
escape. Again, unless a shipmaster takes an interest in the health,
comfort, and well-being of his crew, he, in the first place, neglects
one of his duties, and, secondly, sows the seeds of discomfort and
annoyance to himself. Let us consider his duties to himself
personally.
First, then, he must prepare himself to undergo, periodically, the
discomfort of want of proper rest and irregularity in times of meals;
he may, for instance, not be able to leave the bridge for over
forty-eight hours or more on a stretch, and, of course, any shipmaster
who may read this will know that this is no uncommon occurrence;
during this time he may be unable to get regular meals, and what he
does get may have to be eaten in a hurry and at an anxious time when
he cannot properly enjoy and digest it.
A time like this may be followed by a period of rest, when the days
will hang heavily on his hands, and he will be tempted to long
afternoon sleeps merely to get through the weary hours.
Now, as a course of this kind of thing is bound, unless care be
exercised, to act unfavorably on the digestion and bring on some form
of dyspepsia, so also the nights and days of great anxiety and moments
of great strain will, besides increasing the dyspeptic tendency, be
apt to bring on nervousness in some form or other. It is a fact that
in these times, and often from want of attention to health, nearly
every shipmaster long in harness is more or less nervous.
There are people in the present day who have actually talked of making
their chief engineer (who exercises his special trade at sea or on
shore as suits himself and is in no sense _a seaman_) the master of
the vessel, and turning the shipmaster into a mere pilot. Those who
talk in this way forget that to do this the _responsibility_ must be
shifted on to the engineer. Of course such a change as this cannot
happen, the country would not stand it; but I merely mention it to
show the vast amount of ignorance there is, even among those who
should be well informed, as to the real strain and responsibility on
the modern shipmaster.
The master then, if anxious to do the best for himself, should, if
possible, be a total abstainer, for two reasons: first, because, as he
will be obliged to be irregular in his feeding, alcohol in any form
will do him harm and tend to augment the dyspepsia. Secondly, because,
often in times of great mental strain, combined with exposure, a glass
of spirits will give _great temporary relief_ (which is of itself a
dangerous fact for a weak-minded man), but this will always be
followed by depression, and will in reality be doing great harm
instead of lasting good. Spirituous liquor may be necessary for a few,
but these should use it under medical advice if at all. It is a hard
thing for many men to give up their grog, but there is not a man of
any experience in the merchant service who has not seen its blasting
effects on many a master and officer. It is almost impossible to find
a substitute for it which shall recommend itself to anyone who has
really a liking for it, about the only things being coffee, lime
juice, or lemonade and ginger ale. So-called temperance drinks are all
of them very nasty stuff, besides containing a large percentage of
alcohol; rather than swallow these one had better not change his
habits. The master then, being an abstainer, should also give some
care to his diet. Very heavy meals of meat and strong food should not
be taken at sea, because there are no means of taking proper exercise,
and it is impossible to work them off properly. Again, long, heavy,
after-dinner sleeps should not be indulged in; a quiet nap of ten
minutes would in many cases be beneficial, but the long sleep up to
five o'clock is positively harmful to any man. One of the _best_
things a master can do is to take up some work. No matter what it is
so long as he takes an interest in it, such as joiner work, fret work,
painting, writing, learning a musical instrument or a foreign
language, or anything of that sort. It will be of incalculable benefit
to both mind and body.
On occasions when it is absolutely necessary to be on deck for long
periods, the steward ought to have orders to attend _himself
personally_ to the master's wants--to see that his meals are properly
cooked and brought up to him at regular intervals, and that there is
always a _well made_ cup of coffee to be had when wanted. The ordinary
cup of coffee as made at sea is generally a beastly mixture and not
worth drinking. The steward has an easy life and should not be spared
at these times, but should always be turned out when wanted, _night or
day_, and made to look after these things himself, and a man who
growls at having this to do or who will not take the proper trouble to
see things well cooked and served up nicely with cheerfulness should
_at once_ be discharged, and a good man, of whom there are plenty,
shipped in his place. The master, of course, should always be on the
bridge when required, and in fog certainly all the time; but many men
are over-cautious in this respect through sheer nervousness, and
oftentimes expose and fatigue themselves to no purpose, harass their
officers, and make them unreliable, so that when the time comes that
their presence on deck is absolutely necessary, they are, through
exhaustion of mind and body, in anything but a fit state to take
charge of the ship, or be cool and collected in a moment of sudden
emergency. Should a man feel that through hard work and exposure he is
becoming shaky, he should at once leave off _entirely_ the false
relief which drink gives and consult a physician. A _good_ man with
_experience_ will in almost any case be able to help him, and, besides
medicine, give him such hints for regulating his diet and mode of
living as will enable him to bear better than before the strain and
wear and tear of his life.[1]
[Footnote 1: For the _fluttering_, unsteady feeling often felt,
the following, if not abused, will be found beneficial: Take as
much bromide of potassium as will lie, not heaped up, on a
shilling, and half a teaspoonful of sal volatile (aromatic spirits
of ammonia). Mix in a wine glass full of water; but this should
only be taken when absolutely necessary, and not habitually.]
As to the crew. A master who has full command of himself ought to be
able to rule judiciously even the most unruly crew, but before he is
in a really _strong_ position to do this, he must treat them fairly
and honestly. In many cases a bad start is made with a new set of men
(of course this will not apply to the high class mail steamers, nor
perhaps to what are termed weekly boats). They come on board and find
their forecastle just as the last crew left it, full of a week's
filth,[2] possibly lumbered up with hauling lines and what-not,
wanting painting badly, and often showing unmistakable signs of
overhead leakage. This is quite enough to make a respectable man
discontented, and naturally so. In common fairness, the often wretched
place that the men have to occupy ought to be put in decent order to
receive the new crew. Again, they should be distinctly made to
understand, when signing articles, what their _food_ will be, and what
their pay and allowances will come to. It is to be feared that bad
feeding is the cause of much trouble in these days. From first coming
on board discipline should be _enforced_; many officers, both young
and old, are greatly remiss in enforcing this, with the consequence
that day by day it is harder to do, till at last it is impossible, and
anarchy reigns triumphant. If a seaman finds that he is _fairly_
treated, and that he _must_ obey orders, he will in nine cases out of
ten conduct himself well, and give no trouble. The more high class
type of man the master is the better he will treat his men, and the
more exacting he will be in compelling discipline, both in his
officers and crew.
[Footnote 2: This should not be. It is most decidedly one of the
master's duties to see that the men on _both_ sides of the
forecastle keep their places clean, and for this purpose it is a
very good plan to give them an hour or two every week, and it is
only right that if a crew fled a forecastle clean to receive them,
they should be made to leave it in the same state.]
Engineers and firemen are often sources of annoyance in these days.
Firemen are a lower class generally than seamen, and more inclined to
insubordination; in many cases the engineers are quite incapable of
keeping them in proper order, and it sometimes happens that in an
engine room row it falls to the lot of the deck officers to restore
discipline.
The master should remember that his engineers are officers of the
ship, with their own responsibility, that his chief engineer is of
some importance on board, and that it is necessary in the owner's
interests that they should work together amicably. In ordinary cargo
vessels, the engineer is often better educated than the master
himself, and should _never_ be treated as an inferior while he behaves
with proper respect to the master. To his own deck officers the master
should behave with ordinary courtesy, and, if he finds them
trustworthy, should not spoil them and render them unreliable by
always keeping on or about the bridge; an officer who is never left by
himself in charge will soon fancy himself incapable. It is to be
feared that many young officers are spoiled in this way.
Familiarity with the men before the mast is always unwise. It is not a
good practice in ordinary vessels, where a new crew is shipped each
voyage, to begin by calling the men "Tom" and "Jack." An officer to
have any real command over the men _must_ keep himself apart from them
and show them the difference of their positions. A judicious
shipmaster will warn his young mates about this.
The usual system of mess room for engineers, the officers messing in
the cabin with the master, is a good one, though it is a question
whether it would not be a _very_ good thing if the chief engineer
always messed with the master so long as he was a decent, respectable
man. It is often one of the causes of ill health in the master that he
keeps too much to himself, seldom if ever speaking to his officers
except on business connected with the ship. A man who does this has
far too much time to think, and if he has any trivial illness is apt
to brood over it and actually make himself ill.
It is much wiser and better for all concerned that the master should,
within certain limits, be on friendly terms at any rate with his first
mate, if not with all his officers. Any man with common tact can
always find means for checking undue familiarity, and it will
generally be found that officers treated as equals instead, as is
often the case, as though they were an inferior race of beings, will
be much more inclined to do their work with zeal, and to back up the
master in all his troubles. Many men when they get command seem to
forget that they ever were officers themselves. It is the general
opinion that the strict ship is the most comfortable one, and as a
rule the master who will take the trouble to enforce proper discipline
fore and aft is just the very man who will also be considerate and
courteous to those who sail under his command--whatever be their rank.
To govern others well a man _must_ first have learned to govern
himself. The first lesson for a young seaman to learn is obedience,
and unless he does learn this lesson he will not know how to enforce
it when he becomes an officer, and still less will he be fit for his
position when he obtains command. It is to be feared that many _never_
learn this lesson, and that this is the cause of much of the
insubordination rife in these days.
If the modern hard-driven shipmaster would exercise greater care as to
his health and habits, and would strive more after being a true
_master_ over his ship's company, and this is easier to be gained by
respect than fear, things would go on more smoothly, and when he did
get away for a time from all the petty annoyances of shore, which are
more especially felt in his home port, he would have a time of
comparative comfort, would live longer and happier, and, possibly,
escape the terrible attacks of nervous depression which have finished
the career of many a too finely strung _fin de siecle_ shipmaster.
--_Nautical Magazine._
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