Each afternoon, different people take turns leading chanteys and other maritime-related songs. The guy on the left, whose name I should remember, but don't, sings a lot of Scottish and Irish songs. [Editor's Note 4/14/12: His name is Cliff Abrans and he's a heck of a great guy. Also, for the record, I figured that out right after I made the original post, but only just got around to making this note. Oops.] Other folks are more general-purpose chantey singers, while others just come and sing along -- or even just listen.
When I went last month, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision and I didn't have anything prepared, but ended up leading Adieu, Sweet Lovely Nancy, The Mary Ellen Carter, and Fair Maid Walking. This last time, since I had a chance to plan, I took along my guitar and banjo and led The Loss of the Bay Rupert, Battleship of Maine [Here's a video of me playing it in Havana.], Christmas in the Trenches, and The Storms are on the Ocean.
The Chantey Blast at Mystic Seaport is January 7 and I'm looking forward to going up for that. I feel like I need to have a policy of not repeating songs at the Rowayton Chantey Sing, so I'll be on the lookout for catchy tunes with interesting lyrics.
