Seamanship isn't a certificate. It's how you behave when nobody is watching.
It's how you treat the boat, the crew, the water and everyone else out there.
Good seamanship is contagious. So is bad. Both leave a wake.
Courtesy at the Ramp and Berth
Prepare before you back down. Leave the ramp clear. Offer a line to the boat next to you when they need one.
Small kindnesses ripple through a community.
Communication on the Water
Short. Clear. Calm.
On the VHF: who you are, who you're calling, what you need. Off the VHF: intentions before movements.
Keeping a Proper Lookout
Every skipper is required to keep a lookout. Not the plotter — you.
Eyes up. Head turning. Ears working. Assume the other boat hasn't seen you.
Environmental Responsibility
Nothing over the side that shouldn't be. Slow past wildlife and moored boats.
The water we enjoy is on loan from everyone who comes after us.
Helping Others
If someone is in trouble and you can safely help, you help. It's the oldest rule out there — and the one every skipper hopes will apply to them one day.
- Would other boaters be pleased to see you arrive at a busy ramp?
- Is your VHF etiquette short, clear and calm?
- Are you keeping a real lookout — not a screen-focused one?
- Do you leave every anchorage as clean as you found it?
- Would you stop for someone in trouble today?
- Seamanship is behaviour, not a certificate.
- Small courtesies build the boating community.
- The skipper — not the plotter — keeps the lookout.
- We're all custodians of the water we enjoy.