Sailors despondent in the shade (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
navy blue
'shade' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'sailors despondent' is the wordplay.
'sailors' becomes 'navy' (group of sailors).
'despondent' becomes 'blue' (I've seen this before).
'navy'+'blue'='NAVY-BLUE'
'in the' is the link.
(Other definitions for navy blue that I've seen before include "Colour of RN dress" , "Armed service shade?" , "Colour (of sailors' uniforms?)" , "Dark colour as worn by officers at sea" , "Colour of sailor uniforms and other clothing" .)