# What did old-time sailors do for sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666 "2008-05-26T16:58:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/1 "2008-05-26T16:58:25Z")
Back in the days of Vasco de Gama and columbus and their ilk. These guys were at sea for months (and years) at a time. As we see from prisons, the Catholic Church, etc, not all men will do without. Were some of the men, er, designated? Was the cabin boy’s chastity in peril from the captain? There was, of course, masterbation. So were there any semi-private alcoves set aside for the guys to pleasure themselves? I was in the USN and wasn’t aware of any homosexuality, but almost certainly it went on. And it was kinda rude to yell at a guy who seemed to be taking more time than neccessary in the shower. Anyway, there must be writings from those days that talk about that aspect of exploration on the high seas. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/2 "2008-05-26T17:11:38Z")
I don’t have any primary sources to cite, but I’ve seen a number of secondary and tertiary sources claim that cabin boys, middies, and powder monkeys were all at risk of sexual predation. Of course, the lower the social scale, the more at-risk the boy would be. ETA: I’m not sure, now, if it’s an artifact of my prudish and ghoulish nature when I was younger and reading all I could of the age of sail, or that it’s actually the case that there are more contemporary accounts of cannibalism on the high seas than there are of homosexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/3 "2008-05-26T17:34:02Z")
From the song “The good Ship Venus”\* The cabin boys name was Chipper, A Randy little nipper, He filled his ass with a broken glass, And circumcised the skipper. :eek: Oft heard at the Renfair sung by the Poxy Boggards ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/4 "2008-05-26T17:34:20Z")
\*There’s men above, there’s men below, there’s men down in the galley, There’s Butch and Spike And Buzz and Biff And one guy we call Sally (And one guy we call Sally) We’re men and friends until the end and none of us are sissies, At night we sleep in separate beds and blow each other kissies (And blow each other kissies) Men, men, men. It’s a ship all filled with men. So throw your rubbers overboard, there’s no one here but men Ahhhhhhhhh, Mennnnn. \* **Martin Mull** - _Men_ ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/5 "2008-05-26T17:36:17Z")
Sodomy and Bestiality (sailing ships had livestock as well) were punishable by death during a lot (all?) of the time period in question, and it’s hard to keep such activities secret on the close quarters of an early trans-oceanic sailing vessel, so while I’m sure it happened, I imagine that depending on how willing people were to turn a blind eye on your particular vessel, it might have come with a pretty prohibitive risk. Masturbation and prostitutes while at port were much safer. From the journal of an [Admiral in Nelson’s navy](http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Heritage/1797/people/jervis.html): > [@](#): > > Two men have been executed for sodomy and the whole seven have been proved to be most atrocious villains, who long ago deserved the fate they met with for their crimes. At present there is every appearance of content and proper subordination. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/6 "2008-05-26T17:50:24Z")
How does the quote go? “The traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy, and the lash”. ---
**Author:** ![Rhubarb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/59ef9b/32.png) [@Rhubarb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhubarb)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/7 "2008-05-26T17:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] How does the quote go? “The traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy, and the lash”. [/QUOTE] Wow. That’s an even worse to-do list than the ones posted on the highway message boards around here; Drink: Drive: Go to Jail. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/8 "2008-05-26T17:53:47Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Masturbation and prostitutes while at port were much safer. From the journal of an [Admiral in Nelson’s navy](http://www.stvincent.ac.uk/Heritage/1797/people/jervis.html): [/QUOTE] IIRC more than a few of the pacific island tribes were well known for being fairly open to trading a few shiny objects for a roll in the hay. The journals/logs from the HMS Bounty referenced several. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/9 "2008-05-26T18:16:27Z")
The young sailor reported aboard for a long voyage and after several weeks at sea he asked about that very thing as he was getting really horny. He was told about the big barrel on the fantail where he could go, after dark, and insert into the hole in the side and he would be satisfied. He did this every night for nearly a month and then he was called into the quartermaster’s office where he was told (and perhaps you’ve heard this phrase), “Tonight it’s your turn in the barrel!” ---
**Author:** ![ming\_the\_merciless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@ming\_the\_merciless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ming_the_merciless)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/10 "2008-05-26T18:20:18Z")
As posted by Simplico sodomy was a capitol offence covered by the royal navy’s articles of war. Specifically article 29 . This article by Gibbons Burke makes interesting reading [http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/articles.html](http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/articles.html) ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/11 "2008-05-26T18:55:46Z")
And I quote: _“Shiver me timbers”_😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/12 "2008-05-26T19:14:51Z")
A [reference](http://www.amazon.com/Sodomy-Pirate-Tradition-Seventeenth-Century-Caribbean/dp/0814712363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211823512&sr=1-1). ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/13 "2008-05-26T20:02:07Z")
Oh, is \*that \* what “raising the yardarm” means? ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/14 "2008-05-26T20:11:34Z")
[QUOTE=Chronos] How does the quote go? “The traditions of the Royal Navy are rum, sodomy, and the lash”. [/QUOTE] Or, Rum, Bum and baccy. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/15 "2008-05-26T21:19:39Z")
[QUOTE=Vetch] Or, Rum, Bum and baccy. [/QUOTE] What happens below decks, stays below deck. Or the Original “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/16 "2008-05-26T21:47:30Z")
All this talk of the Royal Navy have nothing to do with the OP. The OP asks about the months long voyages of the early trans-Atlantic explorers. The Royal Navy wasn’t between ports for nearly that long. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/17 "2008-05-26T21:59:18Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] All this talk of the Royal Navy have nothing to do with the OP. The OP asks about the months long voyages of the early trans-Atlantic explorers. The Royal Navy wasn’t between ports for nearly that long. [/QUOTE] Maybe. I read “old-time” sailors as sailors from any pre-steam powered time, and the Colombus, De Gama thing in the OP as just specific examples of that fairly long time period. In any case, the quote from the British Admiral I posted was just the first thing that came up on google, my answer was general. I’m fairly certain sodomy was punishable by death basically during the entire period in question. For Colombus, for example, the wikipedia article on the Inquisition mentions it was a capital crime both under the civil courts and under the Spanish Inquisition, so I imagine it would’ve been as bad thing to be caught boinking the cabin boy on the _Santa Maria_ as on the _HMS Victory_. ---
**Author:** ![iturntoyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e36b37/32.png) [@iturntoyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iturntoyou)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/18 "2008-05-26T22:52:46Z")
I just watched a PBS documentary of Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian guy who sailed the Northwest Passage and “discovered” the South Pole. Anyway while he was on an Island in the Arctic learning how to survive from the (the called) Eskimos. Anyway he learned that some of his men had traded stuff on the ship for Eskimo women and he went nuts. He was of the opinion the discovery of the Northwest Passage was stimulation enough and he was also concerned that the women would promote rivalry and ruin his mission. So he made his men give back the woman. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/19 "2008-05-26T23:29:22Z")
[QUOTE=mangeorge] Back in the days of Vasco de Gama and columbus and their ilk. These guys were at sea for months (and years) at a time. [/QUOTE] Who was at sea for years at a time? I don;t claim to be an expert, but I think that voyages of longer than a month were unusual. Christopher Columbus got from Spain to the Bahamas in ten weeks on his first voyage, and that included a stop in the Canary Islands for provisions. The longest time they were out of port was five weeks. DaGama’s first voyage spent three months at sea between Lisbon and their first stop in Africa. Half the crew dief of scurvy on the return trip. What became clear was that exploration (and the subsequent trade routes they established) required friendly ports for re-provisioning… one of the driving forces behind the birth of colonialism. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2008, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666/20 "2008-05-26T23:41:03Z")
And I suspect that on those very long trips, what with the scurvy and the dehydration and the stench and the backbreaking labor (which had to get worse as people died, leaving half a crew to do the same amount of work), sex drives would be somewhat depressed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-did-old-time-sailors-do-for-sex/450666.md?page=2)