On May 20, 1747, Lind assessed a dozen patients with scurvy aboard the Royal Navy ship HMS Salisbury while at sea. All 12 patients were in the same part of the ship and shared a common diet.

During these years, Lind carefully recorded all his observations, as his later writings show. By 1747 he had been promoted surgeon to HMS Salisbury, and it was during her cruise in the English Channel ...