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Skeptics

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    Many sailors did not "sign up" but were pressed into service. See press gangs. But you need a date too, because it was discovered that a source of vitamin C such as limes was needed. Hence I became known as a Limey. Commented 2 days ago
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    The question is "Did 50% of sailors die from scurvy on long voyages?" But you seem to have defind a long trip as the length a time it took for scurvy to appear, ie self referencing. Commented 2 days ago
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    Is the Wikipedia misrepresenting Price's article, saying 50% of sailors would die from scurvy, not the reason for 50% of all the sailor's deaths? According to historian Stephen Bown scurvy was responsible for more deaths at sea than storms, shipwrecks, combat, and all other diseases combined. which would bring the total death date way above 50%. Commented 2 days ago
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    @WeatherVane - No, I don't think so. "A 50% death rate from scurvy" is a claim that 50% of the crew would die from it, particularly in conjunction with the subsequent claim that "scurvy was responsible for more deaths at sea than storms, shipwrecks, combat, and all other diseases combined," i.e. the author is suggesting that scurvy was the cause of well over 50% of all fatalities (which is almost certainly true, based on what I have read). Commented 2 days ago
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    I've had several possibly related issues with Wikipedia articles. The issues I've had always seem to boil down to the definition of a "reliable source". An added complication is Wikipedia's rule disallowing "original research" in an article. Perhaps Wikipedia is following "journalistic standards"? ... I'm not a journalist by trade or training, but I will say that some of their so-called "reliable sources" are nincompoops with advanced degrees. Commented yesterday