Felix Fabri   (1441-1502)

A long one but this is just a fraction of it. Great read for the galley buff. Brackets added for clarity:

“At night they know all the hours by looking at the stars. Beside the mast they have one compass, and another in the uppermost chamber of the castle, and a lamp always burns beside it at night ; nor do they ever turn their eyes away from it when sailing at night, but one always gazes at the compass, and chants a kind of sweet song, which shows that all is going well, and in the same tone he chants to him that holdeth the tiller of the rudder, to which quarter the rudder itself ought to be moved: nor does the steersman dare to move the tiller any whither save by the orders of him who looks after the compass, wherein he sees whether the ship be going straight or crookedly, or sideways. See more about this subject hereafter...

He [the Cometa or Baron ie: boatswain] carries hanging round his neck a silver whistle, with which he gives the signal for what nautical labours are to be performed; and at whatever time of the day or night that whistle is heard, straightway all men run making a whistling noise in answer….

Under these [companii] again there are others who are called mariners, who sing when work is going on, because work at sea is very heavy, and is only carried on by a concert between one who sings out orders and the labourers who sing in response. So these men stand by those who are at work, and sing to them, encourage them, and threaten to spur them on with blows. Great weights are dragged about by their means. They are generally old and respectable men. Lowest of all are the galleyslaves of the first and second class, whom in Latin we call reiniges, or rowers, who sit on the cross-benches to work at the oars. There are a great many of them, and they all are big men; but their labours are only fit for asses, and they are urged to perform them by shouts, blows & curses….

As a rule they are Macedonians, and men from Albania, Achaia, Illyria and Sclavonia; and sometimes there are among them Turks and Saracens, who, however, conceal their religion.

[Passengers]
Some sing songs, or pass their time with lutes, flutes, bagpipes, clavichords, zithers and other musical instruments….

For when the wind is quite fair, and not too strong, there is hardly any motion which those who are in the cabin can feel, because the ship runs along quietly, without faltering, and both the pilgrims below and the galley-slaves on deck sleep quietly, and all is still, save only he who watches the compass and he who holds the handle of the rudder, for these by way of returning thanks for our happy voyage and good luck continually greet the breeze, praise God, the Blessed Virgin and the saints, one answering the other, and are never silent as long as the wind is fair. Anyone on board who hears this chant of theirs would fall asleep, even though otherwise he could not sleep, just as restless crying children are lulled to rest by their mother's crooning song, when if all was still they would cry, and they go to sleep more because the song assures them of their mother's presence than because of its sweetness. Even so the pilgrims are more quiet because by this song they understand that the ship is sailing straight forward, and that all is well, than on account of the song itself; for they call out even as the watchmen of the city of Ulm do when they cry the hours of the night, which cry hinders no one from sleeping, but sends many restless folk to sleep….

It seemed to us that while we sung thus our galley bounded beneath us and sailed faster, ploughing the waves more freely, that the wind filled the sail fuller, and the water, stirred by the wind, sent us along more swiftly.”
[The Book of the Wanderings of Br. Felix Fabri, Vol. I, Stewart trans, 1896]
[Also: Hugill, foreword]