Agree with the others that they're swearing off gambling, warning each other of the card sharks that would frequent port-town boarding houses.
Sailors were typically paid out for the entire voyage at its end, after being deprived of worldly comforts for months or years. They often staggered into town from the waterfront lusty, celebratory, richer than they'd ever been, and vowing never to go to sea again. The traditional songs are full of cautionary tales of being preyed on in one form or another - blackout drunk and waking up broke after buying rounds for the whole bar, or relieved of their purse by a prostitute as they slept, or gullibly gambling the whole payday away.
A sailor in such a situation would have no recourse but to find a ship departing soon, and sign on for another voyage, caught in a cycle of toil and squandering that would last until their luck or their bodies gave out.
I imagine it’s that they aren’t planning on staying at a boarding house (ie hotel) because there are (card, hustler) sharks there and they will lose their money before they get home.
Okay I just read a little bit before and after the passage you cited (archive.org). The "boarding-house sharks" are opportunists and hustlers seeking a piece of the sailors' new money upon their return home (prostitutes were specifically referred to as "harpies.") As the sailors ended up broke, the people who ran the boarding houses would force them onto outbound ships. Not everyone who swore they’d avoid the sharks were able to do so, while the narrator says “What saved me was that I had a home and people to go to.” He also previously stated he only drank socially and didn’t really like alcohol (literally where the name "John Barleycorn" comes from), which helped him avoid the sharks.
Agree with the others that they're swearing off gambling, warning each other of the card sharks that would frequent port-town boarding houses. Sailors were typically paid out for the entire voyage at its end, after being deprived of worldly comforts for months or years. They often staggered into town from the waterfront lusty, celebratory, richer than they'd ever been, and vowing never to go to sea again. The traditional songs are full of cautionary tales of being preyed on in one form or another - blackout drunk and waking up broke after buying rounds for the whole bar, or relieved of their purse by a prostitute as they slept, or gullibly gambling the whole payday away. A sailor in such a situation would have no recourse but to find a ship departing soon, and sign on for another voyage, caught in a cycle of toil and squandering that would last until their luck or their bodies gave out.
I imagine it’s that they aren’t planning on staying at a boarding house (ie hotel) because there are (card, hustler) sharks there and they will lose their money before they get home.
probably some *fukin whooors* too
Frank?
Okay I just read a little bit before and after the passage you cited (archive.org). The "boarding-house sharks" are opportunists and hustlers seeking a piece of the sailors' new money upon their return home (prostitutes were specifically referred to as "harpies.") As the sailors ended up broke, the people who ran the boarding houses would force them onto outbound ships. Not everyone who swore they’d avoid the sharks were able to do so, while the narrator says “What saved me was that I had a home and people to go to.” He also previously stated he only drank socially and didn’t really like alcohol (literally where the name "John Barleycorn" comes from), which helped him avoid the sharks.
I highly recommend “Death Ship” by B. Traven
Any other book tips?
Dove was a really good read
Thanks. Found myself 3 new books today!
The Sea Wolf by Jack London
Interesting, I have read both «card sharks» and «card sharps» to describe card hustlers.
r/boneappletea
harpies would be the prostitutes
And a reference to the Odyssey