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AGWE

Standing Orders

Forty orders

Forty rules, kept aboard.

Every ship runs on standing orders: the rules that hold whoever has the watch. These are ours. Forty of them, about how a man keeps himself, his things and his word.

One is printed on a card in every Sea Chest. Keep it in your wallet, or tuck it in the frame of the mirror.

Order of the day

Standing Order Nº --

Hold your course when the sea gets up.

  A new order at midnight. All forty come round every forty days.

Standing Order Nº --

—

How the day starts.

The Morning Watch

11 orders · 01 02 03 05 06 07 08 09 15 22 26

  1. Nº 01

    Make your bunk before you make your plans.

  2. Nº 02

    Cold water first. Then the day.

  3. Nº 03

    Two minutes, morning and night. No exceptions for weather.

  4. Nº 05

    Clean the blade before you put it away.

  5. Nº 06

    Leave the basin cleaner than you found it.

  6. Nº 07

    Shave with the grain. Pride goes against it.

  7. Nº 08

    Sunscreen is a standing order, not a suggestion.

  8. Nº 09

    Drink water before you drink anything else.

  9. Nº 15

    A beard is a responsibility, not an excuse.

  10. Nº 22

    Keep a clean ship and a clean face. Both tell on you.

  11. Nº 26

    Moisturize after the shave, not when you remember.

How the day ends.

The First Watch

7 orders · 12 16 27 30 35 38 40

  1. Nº 12

    Lights out at the same hour, most nights.

  2. Nº 16

    Pack the night before.

  3. Nº 27

    Rest is part of the watch.

  4. Nº 30

    Keep a log. A line a day is enough.

  5. Nº 35

    Look after your eyes. They do the real work.

  6. Nº 38

    Stand your watch even when nobody is checking.

  7. Nº 40

    Hand over the watch in better order than you took it.

What gets done once a week.

Sunday Muster

6 orders · 24 25 28 31 32 37

  1. Nº 24

    Be first on deck once a week.

  2. Nº 25

    Learn one knot properly. Then another.

  3. Nº 28

    Never let a guest find an empty soap dish.

  4. Nº 31

    Fix it now. Small leaks sink ships.

  5. Nº 32

    Try anything new on the inside of the wrist first.

  6. Nº 37

    Count what you have before you buy more.

What holds at every hour.

Standing

16 orders · 04 10 11 13 14 17 18 19 20 21 23 29 33 34 36 39

  1. Nº 04

    Keep fewer things, and keep them well.

  2. Nº 10

    Know where you are. Check your position twice a day.

  3. Nº 11

    A man is read by his hands and his shoes. Mind both.

  4. Nº 13

    Answer the letter within a day.

  5. Nº 14

    Never borrow another man's razor.

  6. Nº 17

    Say less at the table. Listen more on watch.

  7. Nº 18

    Pay what you owe before you leave port.

  8. Nº 19

    Salt, sun and wind will win in the end. Make them work for it.

  9. Nº 20

    Hold your course when the sea gets up.

  10. Nº 21

    When in doubt, slow down and read the chart.

  11. Nº 23

    The routine is the reward.

  12. Nº 29

    Dress for the weather you have, not the weather you want.

  13. Nº 33

    Courtesy costs nothing and always fits.

  14. Nº 34

    Thank the crew by name.

  15. Nº 36

    One good scent, worn lightly.

  16. Nº 39

    Come home with something to tell.

In every Sea Chest

One order, on card.

Every chest carries one of the forty, printed on a heavy card with its number in red. Every product page closes on one too. Which one you get is the luck of the watch.

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