Watercraft propulsion system, and watercraft

A watercraft propulsion system comprising:

• a bow thruster provided at a bow of a hull to generate a propulsive force laterally of the hull;
• a propulsion device provided on the hull to generate a propulsive force anteroposteriorly of the hull;
• a steering to change a course of the hull;
• a joystick to be operated by a user to issue a traveling direction command to indicate a traveling direction of the hull, and tiltable from a neutral tilt position in all directions;
• and
• a controller configured or programmed to control the bow thruster, the propulsion device, and the steering according to an operation of the joystick;
• wherein
• the controller is configured or programmed to perform an azimuth holding control to maintain an azimuth of the hull by controlling the bow thruster when an anteroposterior direction command is issued to indicate a traveling direction parallel to an anteroposterior direction of the hull by an operation of the joystick, and to stop the azimuth holding control after the azimuth holding control is continued for a predetermined period of time when the anteroposterior direction command is no longer issued with the joystick returned to the neutral tilt position during the azimuth holding control.