February 6th - The Shifty Sailors Lead Song Circle at the Northwest Maritime Center!

The Shifty Sailors are a male singing group from Whidbey Island, Washington, well known in the Pacific Northwest for their enthusiastic singing and crowd-pleasing presentations. They are unique in that they are one of the only large groups in the U.S. dedicated to a nautical repertoire.

Their main mission is to make sure the surrounding maritime communities understand their own nautical history, by singing where ever they are invited to have fun with the public. The Shifty Sailors consider themselves Ambassadors of Whidbey Island, the State of Washington and the United States when traveling here and abroad.

Save the Date! On February 6 from 6-8 p.m., the Shifty Sailors will be here in Port Townsend to lead a rousing and entertaining Sing Shanties Song Circle!

This is a free, family-friendly community event. Invite your friends. Come early to get a seat. You are welcome to bring a snack. Coffee, tea, cookies and songbooks provided.

The Port Townsend Pizza Factory will also deliver pizzas to the NWMC shanty sing, and give a 10% discount (menus available).

We meet on this first Thursday of February upstairs at the Northwest Maritime Center in the Maritime Meeting Room West, above the Chandlery and across from the office, library and restrooms.

Scenes from a Shanty Sing

These images are from our May shanty sing, which was led by The Shifty Sailors from Whidbey Island. We met at the Cotton Building in downtown Port Townsend. Great turn out and camaraderie!

The Shifty Sailors singin' and sailin' to Port Townsend, May 2!

 The Cotton Building is located on Water Street next to Pope Marine Park on the waterfront. See you there, mateys!

Ahoy! The Shifty Sailors are back to lead our May 2 Song Circle!

Spread the word - The Shifty Sailors are comin' back to lead us in another rousing round of sea shanties, and sing us some of their maritime favorites. Please join us Thursday, May 2 from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. Invite your friends, share this post and flyer... and "Keep on Singin' Shanties"!

T'was a great night for singin'... and sailin'!

Little did I know, when I conservatively set out 40 chairs, that last night's Song Circle would have the second highest number of attendees since we started last January! Although one of the most spectacular summer evenings of the season with ample opportunities to enjoy other venues, including attending the Concert at the Dock next door and walking local beaches, seventy-five folks gathered in the Maritime Meeting Room to sing shanties along with the Shift Sailors from Whidbey Island. We had a number of first-time visitors hailing from Seattle, Portland, from the East Coast and Canada... who arrived by car and by boat.

Such a memorable and rousing sing-along to "What do we do with a Drunken Sailor", which was requested by a young boy who came with his father. And as we took turns going around the circle and singing, the beautiful Schooner Adventuress sailed back and forth in front of the Maritime Center on Admiralty Inlet, much to our delight.

August 2 Song Circle with the Shifty Sailors!

50 Folks came out to warm their vocals at our Junuary Song Circle

Though a rather cold and blustery night, what a great turn out and wonderful evening of singing shanties with Wayne Palsson leading our "Junuary" Song Circle! Among the 50 folks who attended our June gathering, a group from the Port Townsend Yacht Club joined us. We hope they will be regulars at our monthly gatherings!  

Jim Amis and Bob Evans of the Shifty Sailors are regulars at our monthly sing-alongs. Bob explains the phrase  "shin bone al" in the shanty Bully in the Alley.

Wayne Palsson led the Song Circle, encouraging folks to lead, request or pass to the next shanty enthusiast... until everyone had an opportunity to participate, including the gentle man with the banjo below who led us in song with a chorus about Harry Truman who lived and died on Mount St. Helens.

Snapshots from our April gathering with the Shifty Sailors.

Good time had by all... sixty men, women and children gathered at our April Song Circle led by the Shifty Sailors of Whidbey Island. Mike James, Helen Gilbert and Tugboat Bromberg sang some of their favorite shanties too.

Letter to Port Townsend Shanty Enthusiasts & Friends

Ahoy, mateys!

"A squinted eye may be the reaction from someone who hears about a Shifty Sailor. But it's straight ahead fun from Whidbey Island's Shifty Sailors, who will be leading the April 5th Sea Shanty Song Circle at the Northwest Maritime Center. The 6:00-8:30 event is free and family-friendly. You can lead a song, request a song, pass, sing along, or just listen....no walking the plank, sword play, or keel hauling involved! The circle will gather in the NWMC chandlery cafe, which will remain open for those wishing some "galley" fare. The circle has proven itself to be a popular event. It's not about the singer. It's about the musical heritage of our town and the sense of community that is generated. Hope to see you here. "Aaaargh!" - Mike James

The past few months have been so exciting for me... and hopefully for all of us shanty-enthusiasts! 

The idea of starting a Sea Shanty Song Circle, was just that... having recently moved to this amazing maritime community this past October, I had a notion that I would find others, like myself, who would be interested in learning and singing sea shanties, whether we had good voices or not. Being a good singer wasn't the focus, rather finding community and learning about our local, regional and international maritime heritage through song together. 

I don't know if I told you this, but my husband is a student at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (NWSWB). Soon after school started, there was a party to welcome new students. There was a raffle. I put in his name. He won. The prize was a sail for two aboard the schooner Adventuress! A dream come true, for DZ. We went and had a great time. While aboard this beautiful vessel sailing off Port Townsend, I met Jake Beattie, the Executive Director of the Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC). A month later, he tapped me on the shoulder to say "Hi!" at a Maritime Center members' function. I asked him what he thought of my idea to host a Song Circle... a Thursday evening... the first Thursday of each month. He loved it! Then, he graciously offered the Maritime Center Cafe to be the venue after-hours. And that is how the Port Townsend Sea Shanty Song Circle and Sing-Along came to be. I inquired at Crossroads Music about who in town sang maritime music. They suggested I contact Mike and Val James. Mike was the first person I talked with about the Song Circle and he has been instrumental ever since in helping to promote, organize and lead our monthly gatherings. Since our first Song Circle in January, we have had an attendance each month of any where from 60 or so to nearly 100 sea shanty enthusiasts! 

Thank you to the shanty-enthusiasts who come out to learn, share and sing the songs of the sailors! What a treat, what an education and wonderful way to preserve our maritime culture through music and oral tradition... what family-friendly fun... for free!

Thank you to the staff Northwest Maritime Center and Crossroads Music for sponsoring us!

Tune in to KPTZ 91.9 FM Radio Port Townsend this coming Monday, April 2, to Boat Talk with show host Peter Guerrero between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Peter will be interviewing Mike James, myself and other shanty enthusiasts about sea shanties and our monthly Sea Shanty Song Circle, most likely between 1:40 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.

Another announcement, which I am so very pleased to share with all of you, is that the "Friends of the Arts" here in Port Townsend, has selected our Sing Shanties group to be the recipient of a grant to print a special edition of Stephen Gottlieb Lewis' personal collection of maritime songs. Fifty songbooks will be made available to lend during our Song Circle, so everyone has an opportunity to sing from a songbook and we can literally all be on the same page! We hope to print more, which can be purchased by those wanting their own individual copies. More to come about this later. We have a committee working diligently on cataloging, researching and preparing to print Lewis' collection. It is our goal to have this special edition songbook available for our September Song Circle and before the Wooden Boat Festival in September.

Thank you to the song book committee: Deborah Lewis, Mike James, Helen Gilbert, Ellie Mathews, Carl Youngmann, Susan Jensen, Tom Booth and Judy Courtwright.

Thank you to the Friends of the Arts.

Thank you to everyone who keeps coming out each month... sharing and singing from Lewis' orange, blue, green songbooks... shouting out book colors and page numbers to all!

Your continued participation, presence and camaraderie is wonderful and encouraging to keep on singin' shanties.

We hope to see you on April 5th! Bring your kids, bring your friends.

Remember, singin' is encouraged, but knot required." 

Please share the flyer in the previous blog post with family and friends.

Let's have a great turn out and enthusiastic welcome for Whidbey Island's Shifty Sailors!

Keep on Singin' Shanties

Join us for our April 5 Song Circle led by the Shift Sailors!

Sailor's Prayer

Matthew Moeller leads Sailor's Prayer while Tugboat Bromberg accompanies on the guitar, at our 3rd monthly Shanty Song Circle at the Northwest Maritime Center Cafe in Port Townsend, Washington State. Video courtesy of Helen Gilbert.

Another fun night!

Thanks to the 60 or so folks who came out last night to join the sing-along at the NW Maritime Center Cafe. 

Emily (Cafe Manager) and all the Maritime staff are awesome! Service with a smile!

A big thank you to Tug Bromberg for leading the Song Circle! Thank you to our shanty-friends Matthew Moeller and the Shifty Sailors for making the trek from places afar off to join us for another great time of camaraderie, sharing and singing songs of the sea! 

Our gatherings would not be possible without the faithful inspiration and support of Mike and Val James, Helen Gilbert and the growing number of shanty enthusiasts who come to our monthly gatherings and are volunteering to help in anyway they can. Keep singin' shanties!

Photos and videos forthcoming, courtesy of Helen Gilbert. Hopefully, she'll have some good ones of Tug, as I was staring at the back of his head all evening.

Judy Courtwright playin' us a tune on her Penny Whistle

Tugboat Bromberg writes:

I had a great time hosting the chantey sing last night. What Fun! I hope that you call on me again to host the sing.
Thanks again
keep your throat wet and powder dry,
Tug

Thank you to our sponsors: the Northwest Maritime Center and Crossroads Music 

Folks havin' fun at our February song circle and sing-along!