The never-ending lure of the sea is one that many sailors have succumbed to over the millennia. After all, what could be more romantic than setting sail across a vast expanse of diamond-sparkling ocean in search of unknown treasure with the wind at one's back and a bright horizon ahead? Unfortunately, such piratical idealism is best left to romance novelists and cinematographers. Life aboard a pirate ship was no day at the beach, and while it did offer potential rogues an attractive package, and most definitely a few more liberties than the average naval seaman, it was an existence whose benefits had to be carefully weighed.

Men turned to piracy for many reasons — unemployment, poverty, starvation, or simply deciding to alter their profession from being a military or merchant seaman to upping the ante and giving piracy a try. For example, merchant seamen who became disenchanted with their superiors would often jump ship to become a sea dog. Others were forced into naval service by their country — or in the case of the British navy, given the option of joining in lieu of ending up in a debtor's prison for monies owed — and chose to join a pirate crew rather than adhere to brutal military standards aboard a warship.

Care to Pillage?

When pirates captured a vessel, they typically asked the raided vessel's crew if they'd like to join the pirate crew. For many individuals and especially those pressed into naval service, the thought of potential riches and the liberties piracy afforded such as drinking aboard ship, shore leave, and democratic codes were more attractive than defending queen and country. This also held true for captured vessels containing slaves, who, assuming they weren't treated as a commodity, could become active pirates and receive a share of booty for their service.

Individuals who appeared to be strong and able seamen or who possessed special skills such as carpentry or weaponry were highly prized. If they refused to join a pirate captain's crew, they were often taken against their will. This was especially true of gunners or their assistants, called powder monkeys, who were typically young boys. Their dangerous job was to carefully prepare cartridges and fill canisters with gunpowder, and transport and load them into weapons such as muskets and cannons. Dexterity and caution were traits necessary for these lads, and if they possessed these skills they were a valuable commodity to rogue raiders.

Many young boys and teenagers willingly joined pirate crews. In an effort to learn the trade of seamanship and perhaps also to avoid orphanages or being sold into slavery, they often served as cabin boys, servants, or apprentices to a ship's craftsmen. This type of recruitment afforded young men the opportunity to see in action what would be required to become a proficient seaman who could work his way up the ranks and someday possibly command a vessel of his own. The seduction of the sea was hardly as bad as the employment options left to a youngster on land, where the opportunities for becoming a skilled worker usually went as far as being a laborer or servant. Democracy on a pirate ship was such that everyone shared in the ship's booty — including boys — a practice that only sweetened the pot.

The bottom line for most seamen turned pirates was that service to a naval warship was often more cruel than allegiance to a pirate ship. When taking into consideration the conditions and low wages of military service weighed against the potential of robbing ships brimming with riches, the choice was tempting. But in truth, the enticement of wealth was in many respects a ruse. Throughout their entire criminal careers few pirates ended up with huge treasure chests overflowing with jewels and gold coins. The majority of the time, a pirate's booty primarily consisted of much needed food and medical supplies, slaves, munitions, trade goods, and, of course, bragging rights.

Debilitation and Disease

Unlike a modern-day Princess Cruise ship, a pirate vessel was terminally dank, insufferably damp, and rife with problems ranging from leaks to rotting food to rodents to disease as well as potentially explosive devastation due to a ship's gunpowder storage. Wooden ships didn't make for smooth sailing, given the constant deluge of water seeping in through their hulls. Regardless of fair weather or stormy seas, ships would have to be continually monitored for excess leakage. This was horrifyingly evident in the lowest deck of the ship, the bilge, where stagnant water that couldn't be pumped out became utterly toxic. To make matters worse, the bilge was often filled with rats, which only exacerbated the problem.

Rodents, cockroaches, and other insects such as beetles overran pirate vessels. This naturally led to all types of disease including malaria, dysentery, yellow fever, and typhoid, to name but a few. Aboard a ship it was common for many crewmembers to die as a result of disease, and though decks were often scrubbed with salt water, vinegar, or alcohol, it did little to disinfect the inevitable petri dish that was a pirate ship. Added to that were the injuries sustained during raids or accidents that occurred during normal ship routines. The duties performed by sailors were inherently risky, given the logistics of sails and rigging, gunpowder, faulty firearms, munitions storage, and a host of other dangers.

Unfortunate pirates who incurred major injuries to limbs were often at the mercy of the ship's carpenter, who would perform amputations. Anesthetic and painkillers consisted of whatever alcohol was onboard, and cauterizing wounds would involve fire and hot tar. Without basic medicines, internal injuries would often prove fatal. If a pirate did happen to survive until the ship arrived at a port, he typically was taken ashore and removed from the crew. Given that pirates had a penchant for extreme drink and prostitutes, alcoholism and venereal diseases were also rampant.

Obtaining and maintaining fresh vegetables and especially fruit aboard a pirate ship was also a significant problem, one that caused many a rogue to suffer as a result of scurvy. The result of a lack of vitamin C, scurvy was quite common among sailors and was, in fact, a major killer. Bleeding from mucous membranes, sponge-like gums and inflammation, loss of teeth, horrible spotting and black and blue discoloration of the skin, anemia, joint pain, and limited mobility were all by-products of scurvy.

Without eventually ingesting some form of vitamin C, scurvy was fatal, and if a sailor went several months without fresh produce he was likely to develop the disease. Over the course of several centuries it was realized that lemons and limes could combat scurvy, and many ships made certain to keep them onboard whenever possible. The term limey, which is used to describe the British, came about as a result of England's Royal Navy providing sailors with lime juice in order to prevent scurvy.

Bon Appetit!

To say that pirates ate like kings would be a massive overstatement, although to some who turned to piracy as a result of starvation, it might arguably have been tolerable. For the most part, food and water were a constant concern on any pirate vessel where the modern-day conveniences of refrigeration and Tupperware were nonexistent. The inability to properly preserve any fresh food resulted in rotten, maggot- and worm-filled meat and fish, hard tack, or biscuits, infested with weevils and other critters, and fetid water spiked with rum or cinnamon and nutmeg in a vain attempt to make it more palatable. Beer and wine were also common thirst quenchers, which was good for drinking purposes but did nothing to reduce alcoholic propensities.

Some pirate ships had kitchens, while others did not. Food was typically stored in the ship's hold in casks or oak barrels and sometimes cooked in cauldrons far away from the ship's munitions and gunpowder storage, which was commonly on one of the lower decks of the ship. If a crew was lucky, their food supply would remain consistent, with the majority of meals containing salted meats, hard tack, and beer. Some ships even kept chickens, which were used for both egg and meat supplies. If pirate crews were unlucky, meat would consist of rats captured from the ship's bilge.

Any food supplies that could be stolen from captured vessels were a bonus for pirates. Staples such as sugar and spices helped make their precarious meals more palatable, and it was all the better if their conquests had holds full of fresh water, meats, fruits, or vegetables. Excess liquor was, of course, always a valuable treasure. Suffice to say that, by today's standards, pirate cuisine wouldn't be on any restaurant menu.