What would pirates eat at sea?

Ships on long voyages relied on biscuits, dried beans and salted beef to live. For drinking, seamen chose beer or ale rather than water.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on galaxypress.com


What did pirates eat while at sea?

Dried food, such as beans, pulses and sea biscuits were the main staple on long voyages as well as salted meat and pickled vegetables and fruit. Because the supply of fruit and vegetables lasted such a short amount of time, pirates would frequently suffer from malnutrition caused by lack of vitamin C.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshowcancun.com


What kind of food do pirates eat?

Instead, the main staples in a pirates diet included dried foods including beans, salted meats, sea biscuits and pickled vegetables and fruits. Since fresh fruits and vegetables would expire very quickly, malnutrition and illnesses caused by lack of vitamin C were very common among pirates.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshowcancun.com


What do sailors eat on a ship?

A collection of foodstuffs, including several of the following: bread, peas (dried), cheese, rice (dried), molasses, butter, flour, vinegar, something to resemble beef and pork, and a liquid to resemble sailor's grog- whiskey mixed with water.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on ussconstitutionmuseum.org


How did pirates drink water at sea?

For pirates on the open sea, it was almost impossible to transport and maintain an adequate supply of fresh drinking water onboard. Because of this, many seamen drank grog, beer or ale as opposed to water.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshipvallarta.com


What Did Pirates Eat?



Did pirates ever shower?

Bathing or washing was pretty much a no-go on a pirate ship as water could not be wasted; those who fancied a shower would have to stand outside in the rain and risk pneumonia! Visiting the bathroom, however, was a much more feasible exercise, thankfully.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshipvallarta.com


How did pirates not get dehydrated?

Back in the day, long-haul pirates and the sailors of the British Royal Navy didn't just use rum for recreation. To keep the crew hydrated, ships typically stored three types of liquid sustenance: water, beer, and rum.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on forbes.com


What did captains eat on ships?

Sailors would eat hard tack, a biscuit made from flour, water and salt, and stews thickened with water. In contrast, captains and officers would eat freshly baked bread, meat from live chickens and pigs, and had supplements such as spices, flour, sugar, butter, canned milk and alcohol.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pressherald.com


Where did pirates get drinking water?

Pirates drank freshwater. It was called freshwater in the sense that it wasn't saltwater, but it still had algae and other unwholesomeness. This was because the water wasn't stored perfectly. It was stored in wooden casks and not filtered or pasteurized.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on wondriumdaily.com


What was shipboard food like for pirates?

Shipboard food was necessarily limited to what would keep in the course of prolonged voyages. Bread was served up in the form of hardtack or ship's biscuit, fearsomely durable squares of flour-and-water dough that—after a few weeks at sea—was inevitably infested with weevils.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on nationalgeographic.com


What did pirates drink while at sea?

Fresh water was extremely difficult to keep clean during long voyages at sea. Water was stored in barrels and quickly became stagnant and unsafe to drink. However, adding rum to the water made it safe to drink. In fact, rum played a big part in the history of the British Royal Navy.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pussersrum.com


Did pirates fish at sea?

According to Owlcation, pirates usually didn't fish, because not only did it take up too much of their time, but it also didn't yield enough food to even be worth it. With today's fishing technology, we imagine pirates might live completely different lives.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on soyummy.com


Did pirates eat seafood?

Animal bones would be boiled, creating a rudimentary bone broth and then whatever the pirates had on hand would be thrown into the mix: seafood, poultry, pickled vegetable and fruits, salted meats, whatever they could scrap together. This would then be heavily salted and seasoned with spices if it was available.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on medium.com


What did pirates eat to prevent scurvy?

The British began storing citrus fruits on board all of its ships. The British Navy gave its sailors limes or lemon juice rations to ward off scurvy – earning them the nickname of "Limeys" among the American sailors who didn't know about or believe in the preventative treatment.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on health.mil


How did pirates keep clean?

Pirates were very well known for their lax personal hygiene habits, and in fact the term “pirate bath” refers to a quick wash wherein you was only your private parts and armpits with water (in the case of pirates this was often seawater).
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshowcancun.com


Did pirates drink tea and coffee?

Surprisingly enough, tea and coffee were drunk aboard pirate ships. But, like Captain Jack, most preferred rum.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on rediff.com


How often were pirates drunk?

Water, rum, and lime was the pirate's well-known drink of choice. The navy also used this drink for their sailors, so the sailors would stay hydrated, and this was rationed to them only two times a day, but the pirates drank their drink of choice anytime they wanted.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshipvallarta.com


Why can't sailors drink sea water?

Drinking seawater can be deadly to humans.

Seawater contains salt. When humans drink seawater, their cells are thus taking in water and salt. While humans can safely ingest small amounts of salt, the salt content in seawater is much higher than what can be processed by the human body.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on oceanservice.noaa.gov


Were pirates always drunk?

While not every pirate was a drinker and party animal, the majority enjoyed drinking whatever alcohol might be available. From beer to brandy, pirates loved to have a good time, especially when they were at port in their off-time.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on pirateshowcancun.com


What did the Titanic crew eat?

Curried chicken, baked fish, spring lamb, mutton, and roast turkey were common menu items, as was pudding for dessert. The night the Titanic sank, the doomed second class passengers had plum pudding, also known as Christmas pudding.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on thespruceeats.com


What did sailor eat in 1700s?

Sailors in the 17th century had it rough. For months, they were away at sea, sustaining themselves on an unsteady diet that included brined beef, dirty water, and tough crackers known as ship biscuit. In the days before pasteurization, seasickness likely came more often from the food than the waves.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on atlasobscura.com


Where did pirates go poop?

How did Pirates relieve themselves? In most ships there would be a place at the bow ( front end ) of the ship called the head. This was a hole in the floor to squat over. Faeces would fall directly into the sea below.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on workshops-for-schools.co.uk


Did pirates have rotten teeth?

Scurvy was a serious problem.

Pirates were often the victims of scurvy because they spent months at a time on the open seas with no access to fresh fruits and vegetables. It wasn't uncommon for pirates to have missing teeth due to poor gums.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on awildsmile.com


How did pirates pee?

The Bathroom Was Just a Hole in the Plank Called 'Head'

Pirate ships didn't have toilets. Instead, they had “heads,” which were basically holes cut into planks that emptied into the water. The plank and hole were usually located at the head of the ship.
Takedown request   |   View complete answer on medium.com