In the novel Under the Skeleton Flag, a doctor on a passenger ship is kidnapped by the pirate Blackbeard and forced into his service. I did a lot of pirate research in writing this novel (and the Rick and Rose Sinclair adventure Voyage to Blackbeard’s Island as well) and thought I’d share what life was really like aboard an 18th century pirate vessel.
No matter how it was portrayed by Errol Flynn or Johnny Depp, pirate life on the high seas was brutal by our standards. The picture above is a cutaway model of the kind of tall ship that sailed in the 17th and 18th century. Quarters were cramped, bulkheads were low and ventilation was non-existent.
Wooden ships were built very similarly to the picture above of contemporary ship builders. Wooden planks laid across the ribs of the ship. No amount of caulking would ever make that kind of construction watertight. As a result, the ship’s interior was damp as well as dark, and bilges had to be constantly pumped out by hand.
Food was uniformly horrible. Refrigeration was unheard of, as was the concept of a nutritionally balanced meal. Meat and fish were heavily salted or spoiled or both. Insects infested the hardtack crackers, which were barely edible to begin with. Fresh fruit and vegetables were only available right after a rare port call. Scurvy, malnutrition, and dysentery were common ailments. The pewter plates and utensil above were salvaged from Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge.
The ship was likely to be infested with insects and rats. And if you got sick, may God have mercy on your soul. In the story, Blackbeard impresses the doctor into his crew because he does not have one. That was common among pirates. When they lacked a doctor, the ship’s carpenter filled in to treat combat wounded, generally using the same set of tools for both jobs.
But the sick and injured fared little better under the care of a physician. The science of human biology was rudimentary at best, flat out wrong at its worst. Treatments included mercury, smoke inhalation, and bloodletting. The doctor in the novel uses some of these methods. Don’t fault him, he thinks these are cutting edge techniques. It’s amazing anyone lived through medical care.
The medical instruments in the picture above were retrieved from the wreck of the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
I took all the pictures of artifacts above at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC. It houses a great collection salvaged from the wreck of Blackbeard’s flagship off the North Carolina coast. The picture above is the salvage team with retrieved cannons. I recommend a visit if you are a pirate history fan.
It is 1718 and Doctor Baxter Whitcomb decides to leave his medical practice in London for the challenges and adventure of practicing in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. But while crossing the ocean, his ship is boarded by pirates. And not just any pirates, these are commanded by the notorious Blackbeard, sailing under his trademark skeleton flag. Blackbeard kidnaps Baxter and presses him into service aboard his flagship.
Baxter soon discovers the secret to Blackbeard’s success. A powerful witch is aboard, casting spells of dark magic that make the pirate invincible.
The doctor’s voyage becomes a living hell. Storms, battles, the mercurial whims of Blackbeard, and the witch’s spells constantly threaten his life. Then the witch falls ill, and Blackbeard commands the doctor save her. But can he treat an illness brought on by her practicing the dark arts? If he can’t, Blackbeard has promised the witch won’t be the only one to die sailing under the skeleton flag.
Under the Skeleton Flag is available everywhere and right here on Amazon.
Happy sailing!
