I've been interested in the subject ever since watching the movie 'Master and Commander'. A few things that I wanted to know more about in particular:

• How long were ships out at sea before returning to their home port?

• How often were there deaths, owing to disease, combat, etc? How did they replenish their crews?

• How many Man-of-Wars did England possess? How did they compare to other sea powers of the time?

• How much food could they keep aboard? How much did they supplement this supply with fishing, gathering, hunting, etc.?

• How often were ships out on their own? Were they normally by themselves, or usually part of a fleet?

• In a fleet, what different kinds of ships were present? In a modern day navy you have many support ships, but was this the same case in this era?

• How was the navy seen socially? Were sailors well respected, or looked down upon by the average citizen?

• A general question; what was life like? What could you do for 'fun'? What was your life expectancy? Were there any avenues for advancement?

• For your average naval vessel, were there any opportunities for plunder? How common were privateers?

I appreciate everyone's time in answering my question. I have enjoyed reading this sub for a while, but this is my first time posting. Thanks again!