Often tired, malnourished, superstitious, and a long way from home, it’s easy to see why any distraction from the reality of life at sea would be a welcome escape. Sometimes when a ship’s crew became sick quickly, rumours would spread of a cursed voyage or that a member of the crew might carry the black mark, a sign of danger and foreboding amongst seafarers. Cramped and dirty living quarters could quickly develop into a place of absolute squalor, which could often lead to illness.

Although life expectancy for a young boy aboard a ship of burly men, facing deadly storms and all the wrath that mother nature could throw at you didn’t exactly bode well either for a long and happy life.įor many sailors in the 17th century, life at sea meant months and sometimes years away from family. It was this or endure a life of desperation and poverty on dry land that would lead to an early grave. The boy would also be provided with some form of training so they could have some life and career at sea. For poorer families, a ship’s master could be given a boy without payment in understanding that the boy would be given a bed and a meal aboard a ship. This unpaid apprenticeship could last up to nine years, but once the training was complete, it would mean the young sailor could quickly move to be a ship’s master or first mate by the time they reached their mid-twenties. To become a sailor, a young boy would start his apprenticeship before reaching fourteen years of age, with the ship’s master or first mate paid a sum by the parents. Brandy, wine, beer, port, rum and of course gin. And throughout many of the adventures, fact and fiction, alcohol appears to have been a constant companion. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne or Moby Dick by Herman Melville, the wild and untameable beauty of mother nature is a constant source in the story of human endeavour. The sea has been a source of inspiration for artists, writers, musicians, poets, explorers.

New world explorers shipwrecked on strange, foreign shores or vessels loaded with gold and precious jewels lost to the deep, dark seas. Legends of famous pirates looting and raiding any ship that was slow enough to be boarded. The tales of old told of giant sea creatures lurking in the murky depths, stalking ships across the oceans of the world. The rich, the poor, the famous and infamous. The lure of the sea has captured the imaginations of many.

Burly men at sea coop