A friend to many sailors (8)

I believe the answer is:

matelots

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'sailors' is the definition.
I don't know anything about this answer so I cannot judge whether it can be defined by this definition.

'a friend to many' is the wordplay.
'a friend' becomes 'mate' (mate is a kind of friend).
'to many' becomes 'lots' (lots of something).
'mate'+'lots'='MATELOTS'

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I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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