RE: Archaeologists Think They Have Found the Wreck of The Santa Maria
May 13, 2014 at 6:36 pm
(This post was last modified: May 13, 2014 at 6:43 pm by Anomalocaris.)
(May 13, 2014 at 6:27 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(May 13, 2014 at 6:26 pm)Chuck Wrote: Maybe if you didn't need to use the toilets aboard.
What could be more convenient than hanging your butt over the side?
You actually hang your butt over the bow of the ship, that's why a toilet on the ship is called the "head".
There would be no floor between your feet and the sea, only a grating, so ice cold North Atlantic bow waves can sluice up through the grating to wash your butt clean.
The conditions at the toilet is intentionally made harsher so sailors would not be tempted to malinger near the seat of ease in the name of relieving themselves, instead of doing their duty by falling to their deaths from the rat lines on the yard arms way up in the ship's rigging.
BTW, the normally expected rate of attrition amongst Royal Navy sailors in times of peace, due to such causes as falling off rigging, getting run over by recoiling guns, scurvy, the cat'o'nine tails, etc, is one for every 5 degrees of latitude.
If HMS Victory puts to sea at portsmouth (~50 degree north latitude), she could be expected to have lost 4 sailors by the time she reaches trafalgar (~30 degrees north latitude).
When she was in service, HMS Victory can be expected to lose more men to accidents in a month than a typical US carrier might lose during her entire 45 year service life.
