DH
Whilst I heartily applaud all of the research going into how it was done, I think it's very unrealistic to criticise modern-day performers, the vast majority of whom have never set foot on a sailing ship, and why should they? They are singing a song from a certain genre, and whilst it is to be applauded if they try to get the sound as authentic as possible, their prime objective is to entertain, not to make a ship run smoothly. As Gibb says there are many variations and interpretations so let's just concentrate on how it was and leave the performers to their own interpretations.