Brandane
The Costa Clyde rain magnet.
Prices on the Merchant ships I sailed on from 1978 to 1981 were 5 pence for a measure of spirits (one fifth gill), or 95 pence for the bottle. Cigarettes were bought by the carton (200 cigs) for £2.20.
A can of coke/lemonade was 15 pence; 3 times the cost of the spirit! Hence why many merchant seamen drank concoctions like rum and blackcurrant cordial (cordial was 2 pence per shot).
Beer was relatively expensive at 18 pence per can and the brands available were dictated by the ships routing, e.g. on far east runs it was Tiger beer, or Asahi/Sapporo from Japan.
Bar prices were obviously completely tax free as the ship was out of UK waters (and prices didn't change even when we WERE in UK waters), and the company weren't making much profit out of it either.
The bar was run on an honesty book basis; you just wrote in the book however many drinks you bought and got a bill at the end of the month.
A can of coke/lemonade was 15 pence; 3 times the cost of the spirit! Hence why many merchant seamen drank concoctions like rum and blackcurrant cordial (cordial was 2 pence per shot).
Beer was relatively expensive at 18 pence per can and the brands available were dictated by the ships routing, e.g. on far east runs it was Tiger beer, or Asahi/Sapporo from Japan.
Bar prices were obviously completely tax free as the ship was out of UK waters (and prices didn't change even when we WERE in UK waters), and the company weren't making much profit out of it either.
The bar was run on an honesty book basis; you just wrote in the book however many drinks you bought and got a bill at the end of the month.