Captain Rowan Thorne

Keeper of Navigational Memory

Captain Rowan Thorne joined the Order of the Great Fifth Sea after a long career at Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, where he served as a staff captain overseeing Sea Trials for new vessels. For more than two decades, Thorne was the mariner trusted to push tugs, research vessels, and commercial hulls through their paces, measuring how they handled under stress, identifying flaws before they became hazards, and ensuring each ship that left the yard was ready for real water, real weather, and real consequences. His trial reports became known for their precision: spare, blunt, and uncomfortably accurate.

At the Order, Thorne serves as the Keeper of Navigational Memory, a role focused on building a comprehensive, analog-based atlas of Lake Michigan. His work blends archival research, field verification, and practical seamanship. He maps shipwrecks with exacting detail, documents instrument anomalies, and cross-checks coastal changes by hand. His ongoing study of the Lake Michigan Triangle reflects his philosophy: respect patterns, verify everything, and treat every chapter of the lake’s history as data worth understanding.

Thorne’s responsibilities extend aboard The Concord, the Order’s Ranger Tug R-43 Command Bridge. As the vessel’s senior operator, he oversees navigation systems, analog backups, and helm procedure. He is well-known within the Order for his deep distrust of GPS and chartplotters, yet he carries the newest iPhone every year, a contradiction he dismisses with a dry “It’s for the grandkids.”

His work occasionally overlaps with that of Gerald “Charts” Whitcomb, the Order’s Senior Keeper of Hydrographic Records. Their differing approaches, Charts’ archival precision vs. Thorne’s field-ready pragmatism fuel a friendly but unmistakable friction. The two men sharpen each other’s work, even if neither will admit it aloud.

Outside of fieldwork, Thorne is a quiet presence in the Chapter House. He rarely seeks attention, preferring the Workshop Annex where he maintains his growing collection of compasses, plotting tools, and analog instruments. Pinned above his desk are drawings from his three grandchildren; Morgan, Isla, and young Rowan Jr.,whose artistic interpretations of boats, lighthouses, and “Grandpa Captain” add unexpected color to the otherwise Spartan workspace.

Captain Rowan Thorne embodies the Order’s commitment to accuracy, respect for the lake, and tradition grounded in real practice. His atlas project is expected to become one of the most significant navigational documents produced by the Rawley Point Chapter House a lasting record shaped by a lifetime of hard-earned seamanship.