We in the Northwest get the Tall Ships before you Bay folk do. They're here at Steveston (a fishing village on the southwestern tip of Richmond) from 9-11 August. The Vancouver FSS Shanty Crew, among others, is doing the singing. We'd LOVE to have salty Mudcatters and other shantysingers join us! We have just finished a CD with 27 shanties on it with an enclosed 32-page booklet on sail in the northwest, particularly the development of the Fraser River ports. The shanties are all the usual: nothing new, but then the exciting stuff is in the singing, isn't it? We made the CD as a souvenir for folk who aren't yet aware of the singing traditions in the hope that it might spark some singing interest. The thought of just LISTENING to shanties is sorta creepy, isn't it? A bit like keyhole peeping! Anyway, we'll be encouraging all and sundry to join us and we'll get some really big choruses going. No stages, no mikes, just a big crowd tailing on the rope.

Jon Bartlett