Christmas at Sea

The rough and lonely life of a sailor was probably never more lamentable than on Christmas. Some crews would cobble together a celebration involving decorations, food, libations, and music. Several such accounts come from Cape Horn captain and historian Fred K. Klebingat (1889-1985). Klebingat’s articles were published in Christmas at Sea (1974, Bernice P. Bishop Museum).

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) captured the season in his poem Christmas At Sea which describes the toil of a square-rigged sailing ship, caught between two headlands and unable to make windward to escape. The crew fights all day, forgotten by those on shore and coming so close to land that they feel they can see the burning fireplaces and smell the Christmas dinners. Finally, the captain gambles on adding extra sails, saving the ship, but the homesick sailor finds celebration difficult.