The Seaman's Friend / Containing a treatise on practical seamanship, with plates, a dictionary of sea terms, customs and usages of the merchant service

by Richard Henry Dana

The law also makes the chief mate the successor to the master, in case the latter should die, or be unable to perform the duties of his office; and this without any action on the part of the crew. It is always important, therefore, that, to the practical seamanship and activity necessary for the discharge of the proper duties of his office, the mate should add a sufficient knowledge of navigation to be able to carry the ship on her voyage in case anything should happen to the master. Indeed, it has been doubted whether a vessel of the largest class, upon a long voyage, would be seaworthy with no navigator on board but the master.

Both the chief and second mates are always addressed by their surnames, with Mr. prefixed, and are answered with the addition of Sir. This is a requirement of ship's duty, and an intentional omission of it is an offence against the rules and understanding of the service.

CHAPTER III.

SECOND AND THIRD MATES.

Second Mate.—Navigation. Station. Watch duties. Day's work. Working ship. Reefing. Furling. Duties aloft. Care of ship's furniture. Stores. Duties in port.

Third Mate.—Working ship. Day's work. Duties aloft—in port. Boating. Stores.

The duties of the second mate are, to command the starboard watch when the master is not on deck, and to lead the crew in their work. It is not necessary that he should be a navigator, or even be able to keep a journal, though he should know enough of navigation to keep the courses and distances during his watch, and to report them correctly on the slate. There are also many advantages in his being acquainted with navigation and able to keep the log, as, in case of the chief mate's meeting with any accident, or being removed from office. The second mate, however, does not, by law, necessarily succeed to the office of chief mate, as the chief mate does to that of master; but it lies with the master for the time being to appoint whom he chooses to the office of chief mate: yet, if the second mate is capable of performing the duties of the office, he would ordinarily be appointed, as a matter of course.

When the starboard watch alone is on deck, and the master is below, the second mate has charge of the ship. When both watches are on deck, the chief mate is officer of the deck, to whichever watch the time may belong, according to the division of the hours. When the master is on deck, he commands, in one watch as well as in the other. But the second mate does not give up the charge of the vessel to the chief mate, if he should happen to be on deck during the starboard watch, unless all hands are up. While he has charge of the vessel in his watch, his duties are the common ones of a watch officer; that is, to have an eye to the helm, watch the weather, keep a general lookout round the horizon, see to the trimming of the yards and making and taking in of the light sails, give the master notice of anything important that occurs, heave the log and keep an account of the winds, courses, rate of sailing, &c., and enter the same on the slate at the end of the watch. In these things the chief mate has no right to interfere, when it is not his watch on deck. But in all matters connected with the day's work and jobs, the second mate acts under the chief mate in his own watch, as that department belongs peculiarly to the chief mate. In working days, when the crew are employed about the ship and rigging, it is usual for the chief mate to tell the second mate what to do in his watch, and sometimes he remains on deck a few minutes to see to the commencement of the work. And while day's work is going forward, during the time that the chief mate has a watch below, as the second mate is expected to do jobs like a common seaman, it is the custom for the master to be on deck a good deal in the starboard watch and look after the vessel. While work is going forward, the second mate is about decks and aloft; but at other times, as at night, or on Sunday, or during bad weather, when day's work cannot be kept up, his place is on the quarter-deck; though still, he leaves it whenever anything is to be done forward or aloft which requires the presence of a whole watch, as, setting or taking in a lower or topmast studding-sail, or any of the heavy sails.

When all hands are called to work ship, as in reefing, tacking, wearing, getting under way, coming to anchor, &c., the second mate's place is aft, at the fore and main braces and main and mizzen rigging; and generally, in all ship's duty, the chief mate and larboard watch belong forward, and the second mate and starboard watch aft. In tacking ship, the second mate looks out for the lee fore and main braces, sees them belayed to one pin and clear for letting go, lets go the main braces at "Mainsail haul!" and the fore at "Let go and haul!" He also steadies the weather braces as the yards come up. He then sees to getting down the main tack, hauling out the main and mizzen bowlines, hauling aft the main sheet, and, in short, has charge of all the duty to be done upon the quarterdeck and in the waist.