Wives aboard ship and Portsmouth Brutes

[Lupe]

The sailor during the Age of Sail rather epitomized the concept of “work hard, play hard.” When at sea, he could be called on deck at all hours in all weather to set or reef sail. When in port and allowed ashore, or even if he wasn’t allowed ashore and the ship went “out of discipline” he engaged in Biblical levels of debauchery. Naturally, the “Portsmouth brutes” that one would expect to think nothing of spending days and nights between decks of a man o’ war with 28-inches of space allocate per hammock brought more than ambiance on board.

http://ageofsail.wordpress.com/2009/...-with-mercury/

Synopsis
The presence of women on board the ships of the Royal Navy in the Age of Sail has been disregarded by historians and ignored and even hidden by the navy. Suzanne J. Stark is the first to seriously address the issue of female "tars," and here she presents an in-depth study of the women who lived and worked on British warships of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Stark thoroughly investigates the custom of allowing prostitutes to live with the crews of warships in port. She provides some judicious answers to questions about what led so many women to such an appalling fate and why the Royal Navy unofficially condoned the practice. She also offers some revealing firsthand accounts of the wives of warrant officers and seamen who spent years at sea living - and fighting - aside their men without pay or even food rations, and of the women in male disguise who actually served as seamen or marines. This lively history draws on primary sources and so gives an authentic view of life on board the ships of Britain's old sailing navy and the social context of the period that served to limit roles open to lower-class women. The final chapter is devoted to the autobiography of one redoubtable seagoing woman: Mary Lacy, who served as a seaman and shipwright in the Royal Navy for twelve years.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Fem.../9781557507389

Sexual outlets

The reverse side of the strictures against homosexual activity was the remarkable licence given to the crew to indulge their heterosexual desires.

Although opportunities for heterosexual activity were severely restricted on board ship, few vessels spent more than a month or two at sea without returning to port. Once there, wise captains found outlets for the obvious desires of a large body of young, unattached heterosexual males. In peacetime, shore leave was granted, allowing the men to enter the exotic, dangerous and costly nightlife of the large seaports, where wine, women and song were available – at a price.

In wartime, when the fear of desertion and the shortage of men made captains unwilling to allow their crews to go ashore, they allowed the shore to come out to the ship. All manner of women, money-lenders, small traders and other interested parties would come aboard. While one or two of the women would have been the wives of sailors on the ship, others might have been someone’s wife, but for that day, they were anyone’s for a consideration. The adage that sailors have a wife in every port had some basis in fact: a sailor would always claim that the object of his desire was his ‘wife’, to salve the conscience of the naval authorities.

Once this floating society had assembled, a sensible captain gave the ship over to the crew for the day. It was no place for the sensitive or the indiscreet. The old saying ‘show a leg’ attests to the fact. When it was time for the ship to leave, the cry would go out: ‘Show a leg!’ (now often corrupted to ‘Shake a leg’). By inspecting the proffered limbs emerging from the men’s bunks or hammocks, the petty officers could find out how many women were on board and ensure that all of them left the ship before it sailed.

http://www.channel4.com/history/micr...-s/nelson.html

[JosephCade]

Fascinating stuff!
In many ways I can't imagine the conditions below decks, the cramped living space, the lack of privacy, the smells, all of those things. Ambience indeed!

[Firefly]

I agree -- that's really interesting stuff. And making me pretty nervous on behalf of my character!

[JosephCade]

Don't worry, Marie, my French char will protect you from those 300 plus Anglais...err....umm, gulp! Nevermind.

[Firefly]

Ack! Some help you are! I'm definitely going to have to make friends in the right places!

[Lupe]

well, since the Captain just made all the ships boys and Midshipman go to his cabin under guard while the girls are on the ship, I think it might be a good idea to make sheep eyes at him... I mean to make friends with him.

[Firefly]

Oh believe me, that's my plan!

[Ragsdale]

But I was going to attempt to woo her. :P

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Ragsdale

But I was going to attempt to woo her. :P

As the surgeon she will mess in the Wardroom with the Officers, and have her own cabin there too.

You will get the chance to woo her I am sure.

[Jon Allen]

I'm attending a family funeral today and tomorrow. I'll try to get a post up tomorrow afternoon if I can, if not, Thursday.

Don't wait for me, keep the ball rolling along.