In 39' and 40' they had a large pool of already experienced sailors (be it merchant marine or sailing ships) in which to draw from. This original group received relative to future crews more training than some captains careers at sea lasted. During the first year and change the KM really had a large pool of very good talent in which to pull from. Once that pool was depleted it never got replenished to anything close to its original caliber. While there were still many successful captain that took their first command in 42'/43' and still had successful careers, theirs was more of a trial by fire/running of the gauntlet on the job experience than training to properly prerpare them for what was awaiting them out there.
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