Rod can turn out to be a great sea writer (6)

I believe the answer is:

conrad

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'a great sea writer' is the definition.
'conrad' can be an answer for 'writer' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'a great sea' bit.

'rod can turn out' is the wordplay.
'turn out' indicates anagramming the letters.
'rod'+'can'='rodcan'
'rodcan' is an anagram of 'CONRAD'.

'to be' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for conrad that I've seen before include "Joseph --, writer (Lord Jim)" , "Heart of Darkness author" , "Joseph ...... wrote 'Lord Jim'" , "Author of Lord Jim" , "Joseph -, novelist (Heart of Darkness)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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