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Men at Sea

One would not get to be a sailing student on a ship for free but had to pay a large sum of money to be admitted, and foreigners paid almost twice as much.

The wages on Finnish ships were relatively low, and men would run off from ships to find better-paid jobs in European, American or even Japanese ports. Even thought up to a dozen men could leave a ship at a time, usually there were more Finnish or Swedish sailors to be found in the same port to replace them.

Even as late as in the 1930's the life on ships was tough. Sailors' quarters were damp and cold and the men would suffer scurvy and beriberi. Even on larger ships could run out of food and tobacco on long journeys even in the 1920's and 30's.

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