“The Acheron is a tough nut to crack. More than twice our guns, more than twice our numbers…” said Captain Jack Aubrey to his crew as the Acheron closed in to attack his older and smaller ship, the HMS Surprise, “They mean to take us a prize…and their greed will be their downfall.”
Russelle Crowe’s performance as Captain Aubrey—in 2003’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World—provides timeless lessons on how chieftains can lead their people to do the seemingly impossible. Set in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars, Aubrey was off the coast of Brazil with orders to: ‘Intercept French Privateer Acheron en route to Pacific INTENT ON CARRYING THE WAR TO THOSE WATERS…Sink, burn or take her a Prize.’
After an initial skirmish, the 28-gun Surprise was damaged by the Acheron, and Aubrey’s crew assumed they would return to England for repairs. “We’re not going home…we can refit at sea.” Aubrey told them. A senior officer protested, telling him, “She’s out of our class… She’s a 44-gun ship.” But Aubrey reassured them, “She’s still vulnerable like all ships.”
As morale declined, Aubrey noticed warning signs of unrest, and cautioned one of his junior officers to neither be overly friendly nor a tyrant: “It’s leadership they want—strength—now you find that within yourself.” He also had his crew run timed cannon drills. He increased their confidence by showing them they could even the odds through firing “two broadsides to her one.” When they mastered that task, he rewarded them: “Well done lads, an extra ration of grog for all of you!”
Through a combination of superior seamanship, strategy and luck, Aubrey led his people to defeat and capture the Acheron. And now, with two ships under his command he gave his greatest leadership lesson. He entrusted their prize to one of his loyal lieutenants by promoting him to captain in front of the entire crew: “I shall return to the Galapagos… You, however, shall take the Acheron south to Valparaiso…refit as necessary… I believe Mr. Hollar would be a good choice for sailing master, but that however shall be your choice, Captain Pullings… Godspeed, Tom.” Aubrey had accomplished the impossible and shown his people how they could too.
