Knowing Whom to Approach, Where and When

John goes down to deck level to find the chief officer in the cargo operations room to get his job order for the day. The chief is busy going over the cargo plans as they will be reaching Gijon tomorrow morning. The chief tells him that the planner sent the cargo plans at the last minute and now he has to scramble to put everything together before they reach port. He tells John that last evening he and the boatswain had planned the maintenance schedule and John should ask the boatswain for his work order. John changes into his overalls, work boots and helmet before going to ask the boatswain for his work order. He had heard the boatswain and the OS discussing that the stern deck needed to be painted and is almost sure that is what he will have to work on that today. He finds the boatswain in the store room taking inventory. The boatswain tells him to go aft and help the OS do the de-rusting and put on the primer; they need to finish the last bit of painting before reaching port as they have a port state inspection on arrival. (Vignette 1)

Vignette 1, above, demonstrates the understanding of practices of seafaring in two instances. The first case is where John takes the initiative to seek out the chief officer in the cargo operations room. This shows that he is aware of the chief officer’s work routine, and knows where to find him. This awareness comes from shipboard familiarization, observing the practices on board, learning where members of the community might be and using information learned at the training center about shipboard practices (which we saw in the previous chapter).

The second instance is shown where John overhears the boatswain and OS discussing that the aft deck needs to be painted and anticipates that he will be asked to work there. These micro instances demonstrate an awareness of the performances required by newcomers, that is, what John has to do during deck work. They also show how those performances fit into the wider nexuses of performances on board that make up the practices of seafaring, that is, what are the other members on the ship doing as well, for example, what will the chief officer, the boatswain and the OS be doing? In understanding the practices, John knows what to do and, in turn, is able to anticipate when he might be able to proactively perform.

An aspect of developing sensitivity is understanding the work rhythms on board. This involves knowing whom to approach, how and when, in order to take the initiative to ask for opportunities for participation. The interview extract below shows that the officer as a cadet found that asking for help itself was not a problem, as there were people on board with the know how to perform the tasks, but the timing of the asking became necessary to produce a positive response.

I: And how did you get this opportunity to do the work? Would you just ask if you could …?

I13-O4: You just need to ask, you just need to ask. If one guy doesn’t like to teach you then go to another guy. There are so many people on board to

ask for help, so for example, if you need to know about painting or this someone will teach you, yes. You just need to know when and how to ask. I: So, you need to be sensitive to, you know, you can’t go and ask after a very busy day of work or anything like that?

I13-O4: Yes. If you know that we just left the port then a good time to ask because everything is done, you know, the pressure is done already, then ask.

The officer in the example above mentions that after leaving port is a good time to ask because most of the work is done, so the crew and the officers are free. Hence, knowing when takes on a collective dimension here, because the knowing depends on not just the performance of the individual but also the performance of others (Gherardi & Nicolini, 2002).

Approaching old-timers also involves knowing whom to approach to increase chances of participation. This knowing is demonstrated in the example below. The officer reflecting on his time as a cadet noted that the captain did not like him to go to the bridge, so the cadet waited until the captain finished his shift at two (showing an awareness of work rhythms) and then went on the bridge at two o’clock. He then asked the chief officer or the second officer for opportunities to participate. However, this participation came after the cadet had cleaned the bridge and undertaken the tasks required of him, after which then he “did his thing.”

IB: Were you allowed to go to the bridge? I13-O4: I was, I was.

IB: So, the captain was okay with you spending time on the bridge?

I13-O4: … No, not that. The captain didn’t like me to go on the bridge. So, I usually sneaked [laughs] in, but it was a good thing as well. In a way, he finished on the bridge at two, so I started my duty at two. I asked for the chief mate, sometimes if the chief mate didn’t want to teach me, I went to the second mate, and when the second mate didn’t want to teach, I went to

the chief mate. And then, of course, I needed to clean first, help them and then I could do my thing.

The example above again shows that practices and, hence, the learning that occurs in this sense is a collective activity. This interdependence and an awareness of it are closely linked to the future orientation of the practice – knowing what to do next (Hager & Johnsson, 2012: 255). That is, cadets, through observation, listening, being in proximity to old-timers and participating in practices, develop an awareness of the collective dimension of practices (Gherardi & Nicolini, 2000). That is, knowing where other members on board are, what they should be doing and knowing the work rhythms on board, learning what to do concerning not only their performances but the performances of others.