[Mrs Glockrunner]

Try this in today’s Navy!

The U. S. S. Constitution (Old Ironsides), as a combat vessel, carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men.

This was sufficient to last six months of sustained operations at sea.

She carried no evaporators (i.e. fresh water distillers).

However, let it be noted that according to her ship's log, "On July 27, 1798,

the U.S.S. Constitution sailed from Boston with a full complement of 475 officers and men,

48,600 gallons of fresh water,

7,400 cannon shot,

11,600 pounds of black powder

and

79,400 gallons of rum."

Her mission: "To destroy and harass English shipping."

Making Jamaica on 6 October, she took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum.

Then she headed for the Azores , arriving there 12 November.

She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.

On 18 November, she set sail for England .

In the ensuing days she defeated five British men-of-war and captured and scuttled 12 English merchant ships,

salvaging only the rum aboard each.

By 26 January, her powder and shot were exhausted.

Nevertheless, although unarmed she made a night raid up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.

Her landing party captured a whiskey distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch aboard by dawn.

Then she headed home.

The U. S. S. Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February 1799,

with no cannon shot,

no food,

no powder,

no rum,

no wine,

no whiskey,

and

38,600 gallons of water.

Go Navy!!!

[Fred Hansen]

[SC Tiger]

Originally Posted by Mrs Glockrunner

Try this in today’s Navy!

The U. S. S. Constitution (Old Ironsides), as a combat vessel, carried 48,600 gallons of fresh water for her crew of 475 officers and men.


This was sufficient to last six months of sustained operations at sea.


She carried no evaporators (i.e. fresh water distillers).


However, let it be noted that according to her ship's log, "On July 27, 1798,


the U.S.S. Constitution sailed from Boston with a full complement of 475 officers and men,


48,600 gallons of fresh water,


7,400 cannon shot,


11,600 pounds of black powder


and


79,400 gallons of rum."


Her mission: "To destroy and harass English shipping."


Making Jamaica on 6 October, she took on 826 pounds of flour and 68,300 gallons of rum.


Then she headed for the Azores , arriving there 12 November.


She provisioned with 550 pounds of beef and 64,300 gallons of Portuguese wine.


On 18 November, she set sail for England .


In the ensuing days she defeated five British men-of-war and captured and scuttled 12 English merchant ships,


salvaging only the rum aboard each.


By 26 January, her powder and shot were exhausted.


Nevertheless, although unarmed she made a night raid up the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.


Her landing party captured a whiskey distillery and transferred 40,000 gallons of single malt Scotch aboard by dawn.


Then she headed home.


The U. S. S. Constitution arrived in Boston on 20 February 1799,


with no cannon shot,


no food,


no powder,


no rum,


no wine,


no whiskey,


and


38,600 gallons of water.


Go Navy!!!

From what I've read about those days, to stay at sea that long without going insane you'd have to be drunk.

[robin303]

Sounds like a party ship.

[erkman]

Sounds like a fun trip

[fwm]

Sounds like all my barefoot cruises, except we raided Aruba, Bonaire, Curacau, Tortolla and Porta Bella, for the rum, and only attacked boats with women on board.

[Brian Lee]

So somebody is actually claiming that 475 guys consumed 252,000 total gallons of hard booze, (not including the unspecified amounts taken from 12 other ships), over a period of only about 200 days???

That's about 2.65 GALLONS, per person, per day....... Does anyone really consider that believable?

As for water, 48,600 gallons consumed by 475 guys over 200 days is about 0.5 gallons per person, per day. Not quite a safe amount IMO, since I drink more water than that, so it's clear they would have probably obtained more water along the way at every opportunity. If they had drank only the 10,000 gallons implied above, then each guy would only have drank one tenth of a gallon a day, and I don't believe that for a second. You cannot simply replace the need for water with lots of booze - you'll die, and the ship would have never made it home.

Maybe they sold the most of the booze for cash and put it in their pockets??

[MadMonkey]

I prefer that other ship that had one million bales of the best Sligo rags, two million barrels of stones, three million sides of old blind horses hides, four million barrels of bones, five million hogs, six million dogs, seven million barrels of porter, and eight million bails of old nanny goats' tails.