AHOY ME LADS!
ShipMates grew out of a men’s group that drank coffee and fixed the world’s problems. Their shantyman, Dave Johnson, felt there was a need for music and singing as the health benefits of these are widely documented. On the initial group being consulted it was decide to keep it as an assembly of male voices, for which Dave got a caning on a local facebook group from one affronted at being excluded. They meet just once a month at our local Bundanoon Club and raise the rafters for a couple of hours.
Dave says “We give each other the permission and confidence to try the shanties and soon discover that the crew lines are dead easy and their repetition makes them fun.”
Not many sailors in the 18th and 19th centuries would have considered themselves to be singers, though many would have been able to hold a tune. So these songs are accessible.
Note this is an ongoing event held on the 1st Wednesday of the month.