Sailor marked by disgrace avoided port? (9)
I believe the answer is:
abstained
'avoided port?' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sailor marked by' is the wordplay.
'sailor' becomes 'ab' (abbreviation for able seaman).
'marked' becomes 'stained' (I've seen this before).
'by' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'ab'+'stained'='ABSTAINED'
'disgrace' is the link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abstained that I've seen before include "was non-committal" , "went on the wagon" , "avoided port?" , "chose not to vote" , "kept dry" .)