From notes to Gordon Bok's Peter Kagan and the Wind (Folk-Legacy FSI-44, 1972) [LP]:

       A long-standing contributor of vessels and men to the Grand Banks fisheries. Also an awkward place to get around in a sailing vessel when the weather is bad.
       This is a composite of two true stories: one happened to a friend of mine, one happened to me.
       Long after I wrote the song I was introduced to some variants of the idea: "The Drunken Captain," for instance. Turns out I wasn't saying anything new after all.

~Masato