[Jare]

There's no evidence that this use was real. Mythbusters tried it and said the trick itself does work (which any of has may already know), but who knows if it was even practical in a pirate boat, vs the loss of stereo vision etc.

The whole idea of pirates wearing eyepatches seems simply the replication of one particularly colorful pirate archetype over centuries of literature and tales.

[swiftcoder]

I feel like the advantages of stereo vision may be oversold in this scenario. At the distances that sailing vessels would engage there's limited need for binocular depth cues - they really only start to come into play at the point where you would begin a boarding action

[Jare]

But the idea of the patches-for-night-vision is precisely to have one eye covered during the boarding, so when you enter the insides of the enemy boat that eye is ready for seeing in the dark.

[lukan]

Have you ever tried to climb a rope ladder on a moving ship?

Stereo vision is helpful on ships (and allmost everywhere else where you need eyes), even when not boarding.

[asicsarecool]

I don't have binocular vision. I lived aboard a sailboat for a few years. I'm quite active with rock climbing etc and I honestly don't think I would be able to do anything better if I had binocular vision...

Just a thought

[lukan]

Good for you!

But I know I am worse doing climbing etc. with one eye.

It is probably something you can train and get used to, that it is not such a big deal, but I cannot imagine doing it on the same level one eyed.

[unkulunkulu]

But then again, you did not have enough motivation to spend time learning it. A pirate captain might have enough to actually train this way.