This is a TV show about pirates, sailing ships and beaches in the hot and sunny Caribbean. I scanned 714 photos and not one bare foot! WTF?
714 ? That's some serious dedication. No wonder that a TV show can be inaccurate and anachronistic, and for good measure they appear to be pretty wrapped up for a sub-tropical crew IMHO. I guess that most actual pirates would've looked not so awesome and shows need to be flashy, so no ragged barefoot sea dogs and everyone gets a trench coat with trench boots spite of the fact that sailors never really needed boots on a boat. Piracy can be a big letdown as this crew below learned
Not really. On Internet Movie Data Base they show thumbnails, hence "scanned." Black Sails (TV Series 2014–2017) - Photo Gallery - IMDb
Indeed, boots would be a serious disadvantage. Barefeet=comfort in hot weather, better stability and grip on rocking deck, better grip and footing in rigging, less damage to wooden deck from boot nails, no worries getting feet wet when going ashore for water, and cheaper as footwear in those days was expensive. If I were a pirate in a hot climate, I'd wear a loin-cloth and nothing else. Maybe a hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. And I'd look just like this guy. (I wish!)
Just imagine falling in the drink while fully dressed like the guys in the photo, with a heavy coat and boots and a sabre and whatnot. Once I was swimming in the river and my swimming slips tore up so I decided to put my jeans on... not the best idea, trust me. as one can easily imagine, wet clothes are inconvenient while swimming and once you get out of the water you weigh half a ton more. Captains maybe boarded ships fully dressed because... prestige. All the others, I don't really think so
You might better watch some oldfashined pirate movies with - of course! - barefoot heroes, like "Anne of the Indies" or "The Crimson Pirate".
