War on the Water: ’Nor any drop to drink’

Access to safe drinking water has been a major concern for sailors throughout mankind’s conquest of the oceans. Ships normally carried potable water in casks or tanks; however, there was a limit on how long it could be stored in that manner before it became virtually undrinkable. While ocean voyages were generally planned with several landfalls, there are countless accounts of vessels running out of water or having to ration their supplies for days until they reached land or it rained hard enough to catch water.

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