How educated would a master mariner have been?

I've recently returned from a trip to The National Archives, where I found my ancestor, James Woodcock, on three crew lists from 1840.

As he was the master, I was assuming that he had written the lists himself, but comparing the three sheets, there are some anomalies between the handwriting and his signature. One signature is definitely different from the other two, being written with a darker ink, and looks very shaky, as though he wasn't used to writing, whereas the other two are bold and confident and with the same ink as the rest of the lists.

This has got me wondering whether he did indeed write the lists. Is it possible that someone else wrote them, and even 'signed' his name on two of them?

 

Well, I have 4 generations of Master Mariners with various brothers, cousins from Whitby and I know at least one of them had a whaling ship. I don't think any of them were anything more than fishermen and whalers. Although in some part they did well.
Maybe the shaky list was written in a storm at sea.....

 

That was my thought, that it could have been written on rough seas.

 

I don't suppose he would have had much cause to do a lot of writing, so he may not have honed his signature skills! My first thought was that he may have been at sea when he signed the 'shaky' signature

Ann

 

I hadn't thought of that! Thank you!!