Of course, Sailors are just as often drunk on shore as well as off, where they can get into all kinds of trouble, from bar fights to getting Press-Ganged onto another ship.Įspecially prevalent in works set in the era of Wooden Ships and Iron Men or in the future since Space Is an Ocean. It continues to be true because when you take a bunch of generally adult persons and put them in a cramped space for an extended period of time with limited and ever diminishing supplies. Also, a drunk crew was a crew less capable of The Mutiny due to the horrific conditions (this being the "rum" part of those great Naval traditions of "rum, sodomy and the lash"), and the strength of alcohol could be varied as punishment or reward as the captain saw fit. This is a case of Truth in Television due to the disinfecting abilities of alcohol mixing it with water was the only way to keep water potable during long voyages, especially on early boats when cooking had to be limited due to fire risk (or on open decked boats where it was impossible to do).
One can also expect a Seadog Beard and some Talking Like A Pirate. Often a defining quality of a Father Neptune. In fiction, if a sailor isn't already drunk, expect them to be well on the way to it or pining for the lack of it. Sailors and alcohol go together like white on rice, going back to Homer.
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