Description: Dockmanship, according to author Bell, is the art, skill, and practice of safely berthing and unberthing a vessel. Anyone who has ever spent time observing the action at a marina or boat ramp will concede that the docking practiced by many recreational boaters today can hardly be considered an art.
Brief description: David Owen Bell is a ship captain with a background in oceanographic research, marine education, and sail training with young people. Captain Bell is an avid writer and consultant who enjoys visiting schools to share his enthusiasm for writing and the Chesapeake Bay. His titles include Awesome Chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay Walk and Dockmanship. As an outdoor education teacher, he has taken school groups out on the bay to experience how an estuary works. As a licensed Master Mariner, Captain Bell has captained tugboats, sailing ships, excursion boats, and research vessels. He has extensively traveled from Canada to South America and from the Galapagos Islands to the Aegean Sea. His travels have taken him from Canada to South America and from the Galapagos Islands to the Aegean Sea.