Ranks on a Ship

Have you ever wondered if there were more ranks than just the captain and first mate (which are the most commonly known ones)?
It turns out, the Captain is followed directly by the Quartermaster then the First Mate.

Captain Barbossa from pirates of the Caribbean, was originally Jack Sparrow's Quarter master. So if you don't want  your crew to mutiny against you. ;)

So the Ranks in a Crew are basically:

Captain

Quartermaster (assisted the captain. – He made sure the captain’s orders were followed on the ship. He also was in charge of distributing supplies and making sure the stolen booty was divided equally. His share was usually equal to the captain’s.)

First Mate (responsible to the captain and responsible for ship handling and general navigation. He also had the duty of looking after the ship's charts and navigation instruments.)

Boatswain (responsible for general deck activities, such as dropping and weighing anchor as well as the handling of sails.)

Master Gunner (and sometimes carpenter, if there was no carpenter and if the Master Gunner had the skills of being a carpenter as well. So this guy could be in charge of both, depending on him and the crew he was with. But being a gunner, made sure weapons and cannons were ready for battle.)

Cook (and I think you all know what this one does ;) )
Carpenter (and possibly surgeon or master gunner)

Surgeon (and sometimes cook or carpenter)

Helmsman (he steers the ship)

Sea Artist (navigator gives information on the route to the helmsman)

Able Bodied Sailor/Deckhand/Sailor (general laborer/helper) (The common sailor, which was the backbone of the ship, needed to know the rigging and the sails…)

            Gunner (sailor who fires a cannon)

            Rigger (the sailors assigned aloft to work the running rigging and to furl/release the sails were referred to as ‘riggers.’ Although there were not any truly ‘safe’ jobs, due to the constant risk of falling from a slippery spar high above a rolling deck this was certainly one of the most dangerous)

Powder Monkey (loaded and cleaned the ships’ cannons) (were boys as young as 12 years old and were often kidnapped into being powder monkey)

Cabin Boy (ran errands, cleaned cabins, and generally helped the captain with the day-to-day drudgery of running a ship)

Now wait till you meet some of Crazy Lou's crew and Jacob's crew (cause he gets a crew...) and of course Gavin Steele's crew. They have some interesting characters I can't wait to introduce you to!!