One cannot make any serious mistake in the selection of one's provisions, but to take the wrong man with one on a voyage that involves a complete severance from all the influences of civilization for months at a time may bring exceedingly unpleasant consequences.~ E.F. Knight from the sailing cutter Alerte en route from England to the island of Trinidad off Brazil April, 1889. From his book The Cruise of the Alerte.
4 comments:
Ahoy, Pauline! I hope that Mr. Knight was not speaking from personal experience. I know I would be the wrong man to bring on such a voyage, Pirate Queen.
Ahoy, Timmy! Golly you hope so, don't you. Your only problem is all that thowing up...
Anyone who makes such flippant remarks on the provisioning of a ship should not be trusted on any body of water larger than a pond.
On a vaguely related note, Here's a fine article about how the cure to scurvy was found in the Napoleonic era but lost soon after.
Ahoy, Daggar! I don't think Mr. Knight was used to larger ships, where faulty provisioning can end in general unrest or even mutiny.
Great article, too. It seems the cure for scurvy was "found" and then forgotten again over the course of many eras. It looks so simple to us now, but then so does washing hands to prevent the flu.
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