‘when clare francis arrived in america at the end of her second transatlantic voyage, she found herself tearing around the deck in a pair of paper underpants given to her by her mother. she had lost so much weight that most of her trousers didnt fit her.
paper underpants are very useful for any type of travel. sailors often take them along on sea voyages rather than wasting precious freshwater on washing. washing fabric in seawater makes it permanently damp and uncomfortable.
paper underpants were invented in the 1960s, durin a period when disposable clothing was briefly fashionable. they were an immediate and obvious hit in hospitals but, by the mid-1970s, paper underpants were distinctly unfashionable and hard to get hold of, except from specialist suppliers.
one alternative is to wear nothin at all. nudity is common among both male and female sailors, but it does have its risks and pitfalls. nicollete milnes-walker spent a lot of time naked on her voyage to america in 1971. she got so used to it that when a ship appeared on the horizon, she instinctively started to wave at it from the deck, forgettin that she had nothin on!’ 
