First voyage of James Cook Cook had lost not a single man to scurvy, a remarkable and practically unheard-of achievement in 18th-century long-distance seafaring. Adhering to Royal Navy policy introduced in 1747, Cook persuaded his men to eat foods such as citrus fruits and sauerkraut. At that time it was known that poor diet caused scurvy but not specifically that a vitamin C deficiency was the culprit. Sailors of the day were notoriously against innovation, and at first the men would not eat the sauerkraut. Cook used a "method I never once knew to fail with seamen." He ordered it served to himself and the
Customs and traditions of the Royal Navy by others, include "Matelot" (pronounced "matlow", and derived from mid 19th century (nautical slang): from French, variant of matenot which was also taken from the Middle Dutch mattenoot ‘bed companion’, because sailors had to share hammocks in twos, and "Limey", from the Lime-juice given to British sailors to combat scurvy - mainly redundant in use within the Royal Navy. Royal Marines are fondly known as "Bootnecks" or often just as "Royals". Uckers is a two player board game similar to Ludo that is traditionally played in the Royal Navy. It is fiercely competitive and rules differ between ships and stations