Because he's generally the most experienced member of the crew.

Not necessarily. Military ranks were often given not by merit but by wealth, titel and influence, meaning the captain does not always have to be the most experienced and brightest of the crew. Same applies to civilian ships.
When lord Land of Lubber wants to be captain he gets to be captain.
And even if you use a more modern way of rankings you could have a fresh captain and a very experienced enlisted sailor.
Generally there could be crew changes which mixes experienced sailors with not so experienced officers either by bureaucratic blunder or intentional to mix experienced and green crews for training.

Last edited: Jun 13, 2022

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