What does it mean to be a SAILOR ??

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What does it mean to be a SAILOR?

It can mean a person in the Navy, the Coast Guard, or the Merchant Marine. It can mean a person who sails small boats for fun. It can mean the crew of any vessel, but it does not mean a passenger. A sailor has work to do!

To be a SAILOR means you have the knowledge and skills that a vessel needs at sea. When you're at sea, or out on the Neuse River, you can't walk home if things go wrong. You can't simply give up. The sea, and the river with it, are potentially deadly and must be treated properly.

To be a sailor means that you are observant, because the sea is full of surprises... shoals, squalls, there may be a dangerous obstacle in the water to avoid, or a person overboard who needs rescue. A sailor is always alert!

It means teamwork. For us, to go sailing requires carrying a lot of gear out of storage, working efficiently to get the boats rigged, and then lifting & dollying them down to the river for launch. Many of the tasks in this process take 4 or more hands, or the strength of 5 cadets lifting together. Nobody can do it all, nobody can do it alone. To be a sailor means to be a member of this team that is willing & eager (and capable!) to pull their own weight.

It means skills & technical knowledge. Each part of the boat must be assembled correctly or it won't work. Each member of the team has to know how it goes together, and know the terminology. A sailor not only knows the ropes, he knows the spars, the blocks, the cleats, and at least 3 of the knots also.

Being a SAILOR means that you not only have a job to do, it means that you must focus on your job and do it properly, no matter what. If the boat is heeling over and the wind is howling in your ears, you may be afraid to capsize (or something worse) but the vessel and all on board are depending on you.

It means being resourceful and self-reliant. There are no repair shops in the middle of the ocean, nor in the Neuse River. You cannot just walk home! If some part of the boat malfunctions, a sailor fixes it and keeps on going.

All these are characteristics that we would like to have ourselves, that we appreciate in others, and that we definitely want to encourage in the younger generation. Do they get it? Look around you! Yes, many of these cadets are REAL SAILORS.

This is the reason why we coaches work so hard on this sailing program. It is about teamwork, it is about resourcefulness, it's about duty... in short, it is really about integrity and building worthy character. We believe it is important.

Thank you!
(text of remarks by Douglas King ex-BT1(SW) USN at NJROTC banquet)