A Hard Way to Make a Living

[Ship's Gunner]

Shipmates,

I'm currently re-reading N.A.M. Rodger's superb THE WOODEN WORLD, AN ANATOMY OF THE GEORGIAN NAVY, and was impressed by the following passage. I thought you might enjoy it, so am passing it on. Although Rodger's book deals specifically with the Royal Navy during the Seven Years War, the perils described would be common to any Sailor during the 18th century. Of course, those of a pyratical bent had the additional (and substantial) concern of being captured and hanged ...

"Fire was an acute danger in wooden ships filled with highly combustible stores. Rear-Admiral Boderick's flagship the Prince George was burnt at sea on passage to Gibraltar in 1758. The admiral himself was an hour in the water, and only 256 were saved out of 721 on board, in spite of the efforts of other ships in company. Losses like this were inevitable when few sailors could swim, and the modern swimming stokes were undeveloped. If ships drove ahore, it was common for no one aboard to be able to swim through the surf with a line-or, as in one case, no one but the pig. When the Lichfield was wrecked, sixty out of a ship's company of about 350 could swim, and this seems to have been about the highest proportion that could be hoped for. Those who survived shipwreck might find themselves, like the Lichfield's company, among hostile natives. Survivors, if any, of ships lost at sea were in a worse position. When the slaver Luxborough Galley was burnt on passage home from the West Indies 23 men took to the boat, without food or water. Seven survived to be picked up by a Newfoundland fisherman, having lived off the dead bodies of their shipmates. The future Commodore Boys was one of them, a lucky man in a profession in which perhaps one in two died unnaturally. His brother officer Captain Stancombe supported a request for sick leave in 1761with an account of how he had narrowly escaped when his ship was burnt under him, broken his skull in a fall, and frostbitten his ears conning his ship among icebergs. Men were drowned falling overboard or capsizing in boats, they were killed falling from aloft, struck by lightning on deck, or suffocated in the noxious vapors of the hold. Of those who went down to the sea in ships, very many never returned."

(pages 54-55)

What a way to make a living, eh?

Respectfully Your Shipmate,

Chad Teasley

Ship's Gunner

[HarborMaster]

I believe it.

Kinda takes the romance out of POTC and Cutthroat Island dont it?

There was infact severe punishment for any man smoking or carrying a candle and so forth below decks. More often than not a misbehaved sailor could be found kissing the cannons daughter.

Not to mention disease...malnutrition.,scurvy.,dirty cutthroats and who knows what at the brothels .

[Fox]

I believe that in severe cases anyone found carrying a candle in the powder room might suffer death by explosion.

...or decapitation

...they planted in the night time there three or four pieces of artillery which commanded the harbour; from whence early on Thursday morning last they began to play very hot on the Duncannon frigate riding in the midst of that harbour. One shot whereof happened to fall into her powder room, where a woman was with a candle, whose head being struck off, the candle is supposed to have fallen in the powder; but whether by that accident or no is uncertain, the vessel was blown up, and immediately after sank...

Apparently having women aboard is unlucky

[Hawkyns]

Spent this past weekend moving the Half Moon down the Hudson to her winter quarters. Now, the weather wasn't all that obnoxious, and I'm in pretty good shape. She has a modern galley hidden in the hold, so we did not lack for hot drinks, and since this was a working cruise we were dressed in modern warm clothes.

HOWEVER- standing watches 4 on 4 off when you are not used to that kind of a schedule; standing extra watches at 4am to catch the tide; sleeping on the deck with a thin pad at best; standing lookout on the foredeck in 35 degree temperatures sailing into a 20 knot wind (yes we were under power for a large part); and hauling lines using muscles we're not always used to using- it all gives you an appreciation of just what they did put up with. Our conditions were not that bad and only lasted 54 hours or so. We are all in pretty good shape, but by Sunday night we were all absolutely knackered.

No matter what they were, navy, merchantman, or pirate, the mere fact that they could survive that life made them some pretty tough fellows. Obviously they were used to it, and no doubt many of us could get used to it in time, but I have to think that these men were a breed apart.

Hawkyns

[Fox]

The point has been made that one of the reasons people volunteered for the navy, despite being able to get better money in the merchant ships, was that the significantly larger crews meant that each man had to do less work. On merchantmen the crews were kept to the minimum possible so everyone had to work hard, but in naval ships the crews were as large as possible so the same amount of work was shared around many more hands. Presumably the same would be true of a well manned pirate ship.

Still, there's no doubt about it, they were tougher men than you or I.

[Patrick Hand]

Out of Period........ But I've been reading "Two Years before the Mast".....(I never could find a copy in the library, and finaly found a copy in a used bookstore....)

Dana makes being in a merchent ship sound soooo much fun.... gotta love Capt. Thompson ......

Underhanded, and a Capt. that is a tyrant..... what kept them from "Jumping ship"? did the sign a contract or something?

It's interesting thier thoughts about mutiny, and thus turning Pyrate.... but in the 1830's there were not many safe places to go if they did.... wonder how much different it would have been if there was a semi-safe place for them to run.....

[JoshuaRed]

There's no doubt that seamen of the time were hardcore...had to be just to survive. But to play devil's advocate, EVERYONE living 300 years ago had it MUCH harder than we do, and lacked so many of the modern comforts that we take for granted and that make us "soft". Heck I bet your average 18th century scullery maid was a lot tougher than the toughest of us. Had we been born and raised into such world though, these hardships would be the norm, just another part of daily life. But sailors definitely had it extra hard.

[Dorian Lasseter]

Hmmm... this brings a quote to mind... I fergit who said it... about life aboard ships;

"Is liken'd to being in prison, with the add possibility of drowning..."

or, somat like tha'...

Sailors of wooden ships.... made o' sterner stuff than I... I would only wish to be a chip off the block o' one o' these fine folk....

[oderlesseye]

none of this sounds of the "party" somes make bein a pyrate to be.HMMM

hard life indeed. :)