Nothing, behold, sailors abandoned? (8)
I believe the answer is:
lovelorn
'abandoned?' is the definition.
'nothing behold sailors' is the wordplay.
'nothing' becomes 'love' (I've seen this before).
'behold' becomes 'lo'.
'sailors' becomes 'rn' (abbreviation for Royal Navy).
'love'+'lo'+'rn'='LOVELORN'
(Other definitions for lovelorn that I've seen before include "Pining for another" , "Romantically unhappy" , "Pining romantically, forsaken by sweetheart" , "Miserable about an unrequited relationship" , "Amorously pining" .)