Unfortunately the sailor has been associated with alcohol consumption in many of the stories that have been told. A drunken sailor seems to captivate the imagination of the audience since the intoxication makes him difficult to predict and the substance gives him undoubted courage when faced with deer problems.
Drunken Sailor
The situation that the earlier sailor faced when on voyages is what pushed the men who worked on ships to alcoholism. They left their family without knowing weather they would return or not. Ship wrecks were common in those days and even living through one didn’t mean that you would reunite with loved ones.
Sailors had a 50-50 chance that they would return safely with no time duration’s in placed for a voyage. One of the most famous sailors, Captain Cook was lost several times during his voyages and one was late by 2-3 years from the date he was meant to return. This just shows how unpredictable sailing was in those days. This precise reason would slowly trickle in to the drunken sailor’s minds as they would resort to alcohol to drown their sorrows and worries while at sea. But that’s not the whole story and the main parts have not been told. As previous sailors captains fully understood the situation that their sailors were going through. For this reason they purposely included alcohol in to the rations on board. This did not mean that the alcohol was free to drink when sailors pleased rather there was a strict code followed and sailors were only allowed to consume a measured amount during their free shift so as not to hinder the voyage as it proceeded. The whole reason for offering alcohol to the sailors would be to relax them and reduces the stress that that had to deal with while out at sea. In those days medication for this was not available so the sailor resorted to what they had than which was alcohol. And as time when by the drunken sailor was born since the continual use started an addition which was difficult to stop when back on land.
This image has tarnished the sailor ever since and is only beginning to fade in the 21 century as people get to know the modern sailor a little more. The only reason the drunken sailor resorted to alcohol was because he was drowning in sorrow and depression due to separation from his loved ones and uncertainty of the future. Today the sailor has little to fear from, since he has all the support he would need while at sea. Safety, communication and support have all contributed towards helping the physiological effects of sailing in the open seas. Today most vessels prohibit the use of alcohol on board the vessel to avoid the any accidents that may happen due to a drunken sailor’s inability to make clear judgment. With some vessels still allowing alcohol to be consumed to a certain extent, strict rules must be followed during this consumption and restriction of movement is also restricted on-board most of these vessels since accidents of sailors falling overboard have been registered to happen after drunken sailors have ventured around the vessels while sailing.
