History Main / TheDrunkenSailor

* Although usually a comic trope, it can also lead to tragedy. It was long rumored that John Hazelwood, skipper of the ''Exxon Valdez'' was [[DrinkingOnDuty drunk at the time of the accident]], which caused the grounding and terrible oil spill. This theory was confirmed in ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Shipping_Co._v._Baker Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker]]'',[[note]]A [[AmericanCourts US Supreme Court]] case deciding exactly how much the plaintiffs could take in punitive damages from Exxon[[/note]] in which Justice Souter (who wrote the majority) saw fit to note that Hazelwood had had five double vodkas the previous night, "enough that a non-alcoholic would have [[SophisticatedAsHell passed out]]," and was sleeping it off when the ship ran aground.

* ''Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'' has at least one scene with a group of pirates sitting around holding tankards and acting drunk.

*** It's uncertain whether in-story lawman Commodore Norrington is aware of this though- he's arguably the drunkest of the lot at one point, but more like TheAlcoholic- or at least heavily [[DrowningMySorrows drowning his sorrows]] than this usually cheerful trope.

* Like all other WoodenShipsAndIronMen tropes, this one appears often in the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' series. The captains coxswain is at one point referred to as being "...drunk, even by naval standards."

* The real [[FourStarBadass Admiral Nelson]]'s body was preserved in a barrel of cognac after his [[TheHeroDies shooting death]] at the battle of Trafalgar, so that his body could be brought home to England for burial. According to legend, his men would [[ImAHumanitarian sneak drinks from that barrel]], (apparently not actually true- said barrel was allegedly under round-the-clock guard by marines, just as Nelson's person would have been in life) leading to the [[AffectionateNickname nickname]] of "Nelson's Blood" for any alcoholic beverage and "tapping the Admiral" for surreptitious drinking on duty.

->''[[TalkLikeAPirate Earl-aye in tha morrrnin'?]]''

Especially prevalent in works set in the era of WoodenShipsAndIronMen or in the future since SpaceIsAnOcean. [[MoreLikeAFootnoteThanAnythingelse As a sidenote]] the [[BritsWithBattleships British Navy]] only stopped the official grog rations [[http://www.hmstheseus.co.uk/tot.htm in 1970]]. There were some very uncomplimentary epithets leveled at the Admiral responsible.

Whatever the origins, TheDrunkenSailor is an unavoidable character, specific SubTrope of TheAlcoholic.

* An early [[{{Robeast}} Zonder Robo]] in ''GaoGaiGar'' was a ship captain [[DrowningMySorrows Drowning His Sorrows]] when he got canned after his ship's navigational computer made it run aground.

* The ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' ride has at least one scene with a group of pirates sitting around holding tankards and acting drunk.

* A {{Lampshaded}} aversion in ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland'', in which Captain Smollet insists there will be no consumption of alcohol on the ship, despite Silver offering the officers a bottle of "best brandy, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine laid down by the brothers of Buckfast Abbey]]". Played straight earlier, with Billy Bones demanding "Rum til I float!"

** PlayedWith in the second episode of the series, called "The Examination for Lieutenant", also known as "The Fire Ships". One seaman is jerking around like a plague victim, and all the rest of the crew are terrified of him because they are aboard a quarantined ship. Hornblower coolly walks up to him, grabs him by the shoulders and smells his breath. Sure enough, he's drunk.

* The song, although not drunkenness in Naval personnel, is featured in the SeaQuestDSV episode "Bad Water." After a lightning strike disables the sub and the crew are forced to make emergency repairs, MCPO Crocker resorts to singing "The Drunken Sailor", along with "''[[BawdySong almost]]'' every other sea shanty I know," over the 1MC to keep morale up.

* A very large amount of SeaShanties concern drunkenness (including ''"What shall we do with the Drunken Sailor"'', the TropeNamer), whether on board or during shore leave.

* The Admiral in ''TheNavyLark'' manages to get a bickering meeting of Vice Admirals and Commodores to shut up by threatening to lock up the Gin. It works.
** Also from ''TheNavyLark'', Vice Admiral Prout whose years of hard drinking had left him a raving paranoid loon with a liver that you could mistake for shoe leather.
** And Mister Phillips who can be TheDrunkenSailor on [[CantHoldHisLiquor half a lemonade shandy]]

* In NorseMythology, the God of the Sea (Aegir) is also the God of Beer, and always gets the other gods drunk when they visit him in the ocean.

* One level of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' involves sneaking upon a man in a busy port full of drunken sailors that keep pushing you. Getting to the target requires taking some narrow routes by the water and you have SuperDrowningSkills
* There is one drunken sailor in ''{{Runescape}}'' in Port Sarim. His examine option refers to the drunken sailor song.

* ''PuzzlePirates'' plays with this: The length of a voyage is limited by your available charts, your and your crew's patience, and the amount of rum you have aboard. Running short of rum is a bad thing and impairs your crew.

* If you're a Wizard in ''TheSimsMedieval'', you'll often get orders of Mystic Grog and Drunk-Me-Not (a potion that keeps Sims from suffering negative effects of drinking) from sea captains.
* The tune (and three extra verses) is one of the shanties your crew can sing in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag''. It's safe to assume your crew members are frequently drunk, being pirates, and of course, one of the five types of cargo you can pillage is rum.

* Ironically, there are at least three different versions of the tune used as background music in SpongebobSquarepants (4 if you count Sailing over the Doggerbank, which sounds vaguely familiar). There are, however, no drunken sailors.

* Played With in WorldWarTwo. The Americans were envious of the British who got rum. But on the other hand British always came over to American ships because Americans always had ''ice cream''.
** As noted above, the Royal Navy kept up the tradition well into the modern era, finally (and reluctantly) doing away with it in 1970... Instead permitting an increase in the ''beer'' allowance given to ratings and letting Petty Officers and above buy spirits in the mess along with officers. All alcoholic beverages are still kept firmly under lock and key when sailing under wartime rules of engagement.

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* On ''{{SeaPatrol}}'' the tolerance range of the sailors goes from being unsteady on their feet but being able to beat up mooks...to crashing a golf buggy into the lake. Although there were other reasons that added up to it.

* Captain Mike in ''TheCuriousCaseOfBenjaminButton''. Benjamin pretty much disguises his MerlinSickness as the captain's drunken perception.
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000: TheMovie''. Gypsy is singing this as she is at the wheel of the Satellite of Love.

* Billy Bones in ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' in all its iterations, taken to ludicrous extremes by Billy Connelly in ''MuppetTreasureIsland''.

* Captain Greldik of ''TheBelgariad'' and ''Mallorean'' series is a chronic drunk and the best sailor alive.

* Invoked by RonaldReagan in a joking criticism. "We could say [Democrats] spend money like drunken sailors, but that would be unfair to drunken sailors. [[InsultToRocks It would be unfair, because the sailors are spending their own money.]]"

** Worth mentioning that Romulan Ale is actually illegal in the Federation, but it's all over the place regardless (it seems to hold roughly the same satus as Cuban cigars do in the U.S. today). There are a number of other drinks as well, including the Klingon's Blood Wine, which they're almost always seen drinking, and Synthahol (a synthetic alcohol replacement) since Starfleet officers aren't really supposed to get drunk. That's without even getting into the dozens of alcoholic beverages which are name dropped, some of which seem to be their eponymous species' only export (Saurian Brandy, for instance.) Suffice it to say the trope is alive and well in Trek's future.

This is a case of TruthInTelevision due to the disinfecting abilities of alcohol; mixing it with water was the only way to keep water potable during long voyages, especially on early boats when cooking had to be limited due to fire risk (or on open decked boats impossible to do). Also, a drunk crew was a crew less capable of {{The Mutiny}} due to the horrific conditions (this being the "rum" part of those great Naval traditions of "rum, [[SituationalSexuality sodomy]] and [[ATasteOfTheLash the lash]]"), and the strength of alcohol could be varied as punishment or reward as the captain saw fit. It continues to be true because when you take a bunch of generally adult persons and put them in a cramped space for an extended period of time with limited and ever diminishing supplies... well it rather built tension.

* The song, although not drunkenness in Naval personnel, is featured in the [[SeaQuestDSV]] episode "Bad Water." After a lightning strike disables the sub and the crew are forced to make emergency repairs, MCPO Crocker resorts to singing "The Drunken Sailor", along with "''[[BawdySong almost]]'' every other sea shanty I know," over the 1MC to keep morale up.

* A {{Lampshaded}} aversion in ''Film/MuppetTreasureIsland'', in which Captain Smollet insists there will be no consumption of alcohol on the ship, despite Silver offering the officers a bottle of "best brandy, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckfast_Tonic_Wine laid down by the brothers of Buckfast Abbey]]".

* The tune (and three extra verses) is one of the shanties your crew can sing in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIVBlackFlag''.

In NorseMythology, the God of the Sea (Aegir) is also the God of Beer, and always gets the other gods drunk when they visit him in the ocean.

* One episode of ''Manga/SailorMoon'' does have the title character getting tipsy. Tuxedo Mask, however, [[DudeShesLikeInAComa knew exactly what to do with a drunken Sailor]].

*** It's uncertain whether in-story lawman Commodore Norrington is aware of this though- he's arguably the drunkest of the lot at one point, but more like TheAlcoholic than this usually cheerful trope.

* The real [[FourStarBadass Admiral Nelson]]'s body was preserved in a barrel of cognac after his [[TheHeroDies shooting death]] at the battle of Trafalgar, so that his body could be brought home to England for burial. According to legend, his men would [[ImAHumanitarian sneak drinks from that barrel]], leading to the [[AffectionateNickname nickname]] of "Nelson's Blood" for any alcoholic beverage.

This is a case of TruthInTelevision due to the disinfecting abilities of alcohol; mixing it with water was the only way to keep water potable during long voyages. Especially on early boats when cooking had to be limited due to fire risk (or on open decked boats impossible to do). And a drunk crew was a crew less capable of {{The Mutiny}} due to the horrific conditions, the strength of alcohol being varied as punishment or reward as the captain saw fit. It continues to be true because when you take a bunch of generally adult persons and put them in a cramped space for an extended period of time with limited and ever diminishing supplies... well it rather built tension.

* [[ChibiRobo Arr, I likes the taste of water...]]