Onboard Tenacious we have a team of highly skilled professional merchant seafarers. We call these our Permanent Crew. They include a Master, First Mate, Second Mate, Bosun, Chief Engineer, Second Engineer, Medical Purser, Cook and Watch Leader. Our Permanent Crew are supported by Bosun’s Mates and a Cooks Assistant who are volunteers.
Here is a brief explanation of both permanent and volunteer roles.
The Captain is in command of the ship and is responsible for the safety of all crew and the vessel.
The Mate is in charge of the onboard day to day running of the ship. The Mate is also the Ship’s Safety and Security Officer.
The 2nd Mate is the onboard Navigator responsible for maintaining up to date navigational information.
The 3rd Mate is the 3rd watchkeeping officer and also with responsibility for maintenance of some areas of deck and navigational equipment.
The Bosun looks after the maintenance of the on deck areas, the rigging and the sails.
The Chief Engineer is in charge of the engineering dept and responsible for the upkeep of all engineering systems.
The 2nd Engineer does all the daily routine checks (and the messy jobs the Chief Engineer doesn’t want to do…).
The Medical Purser is a medical practitioner. She or he is responsible for the medical side of things and lots more…
Arguably, the Cook is one of the most important people on board since sailing Tenacious tends to give people a good appetite!
Watch Leader’s play an integral role in the daily routine of the ship. They are trusted with important responsibilities, such as ensuring that voyage crew have both an exciting and safe sailing experience on board. Watch Leaders must guide the voyage crew and serve as the essential link between voyage crew and the professional crew.
There are usually two Bosun’s Mates per trip. They help the Bosun with ‘salty sea-dog type stuff’ which roughly translates into a lot of work on the sails and rigging and maintenance.
Usually we have one Cook’s Assistant per trip. The Cook’s Assistant helps the Cook keep everyone well fed.
The rest of the crew is made up of up to 40 people, of mixed abilities and circumstances from all walks of life. That includes you! We call this group our Voyage Crew. You might also hear people describe you as “sail trainees”, because that is what you are! Remember, everyone on our ship has a working role to help sail and operate the ship. There are no passengers!
We promote an inclusive world and welcome people from all walks of life.
You might be sailing with people who have physical impairments, long term health issues or mental health conditions and people who do not. You might meet people with learning disabilities or difficulties; people from disadvantaged backgrounds or minority groups; or people dealing with significant challenges or change in their career or educational life.
You are just as likely to be sailing alongside students in gap years, young or retired professionals or home makers. You’ll almost certainly find a very wide range of ages – the minimum age on on voyages is 16 (12 on day sails) and we have no upper limit (our oldest member of voyage crew was 104!!).
For many people, their first voyage with the JST will be the first time they have set foot on a tall ship. For some it is their first time at sea. Others might be seasoned sailors and salty old sea-dogs.