Greg, Rev, Barry, you got me blushing. Thanks for posting those memories of chantey sings past. I'll post a festival of the Sea/25th anniversary chantey sing thread, and it would be great to add memories there, as well. Greg, good to see you here!

Elmer, if you can parachute from 35,000 ft onto the Balclutha's main deck around 9:00pm, Alice Watts (the galley queen) will set out a large pot of cider for a target and soft landing....and bring Elmo, Elvin, and Elrod with you.

Greg, you remember my first time there! it was november, 1989, and some friends from Irish music sessions invited me to the sing. I was so taken by it all, I decided to make a career change (I was looking to become a librarian). Celeste Bernardo, who led the sings from 1989-92, was a great inspiration and became a lifelong friend.

Rev, you were always a patient teacher, taking newly minted rangers aloft in the rigging, guiding us through pumps and capstan demos, and the incredible Dead Horse ceremony, not to mention your encouragment on singing and taking me along to our first gig together, in '96. I owe alot to you and Celeste. Greg, being one of the true anchors of the sings, our loss is the East coast's gain.

Barry, you have no idea what an impact you have on the sings, via songs you've brought to the forefront of the current chantey singing universe. "Hard Times In Old Virginia" and "London Julie" have become mainstays of the sings, as known to Bay Area chantey enthusiasts as much as the old standbys John Kanaka and Away Rio are known to chantey singers everywhere.

Thanks, Joe! Always a pleasure when you can make the fests and sings.

The honor and privilege is mine, Radriano........well, ok...it can be yours, too.

Funny you should mention Specs, SINS. It happens to be the name of an historic San Francisco bar, an old sailors hangout that has survived and mutated into a popular North Beach establishment. So, yes, ship us some Pisco Punch :-).

Chanteyranger