A 1647 colony in the Bahamas included a Welshman named John Bethel. The folk ballad of his crew is believed to have descended through the centuries into the folk song "(Wreck of the) Sloop John B."

In 1926 the original wreck of this ship was discovered in Nassau, a Bahama island near Florida. (Sloops were precarious 16-foot vessels, sailing hundreds of miles without a chart with a 5-person crew.) Poet Carl Sandburg adapted the folk lyrics into a poem, which thirty years later was recorded by The Kingston Trio.

Apparently there's also a forgotten third verse

The stewardess she got stewed,
Ran 'round the poop deck nude
Constable had to come and take her away.
Sheriff Johnstone please let me alone
I feel so breakup, I want to go home.

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