The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #93337 Message #1795351
Posted By: Greg B
28-Jul-06 - 08:21 AM
Thread Name: My 10th anniversary at SF Chantey Sing
Subject: RE: My 10th anniversary at SF Chantey Sing
Geez, Barry, I used to *live* out there! I was there until 1993,
and the chanty sing program was just a few years young when I
first joined in. I believe it came about following a Festival
of The Sea at which Walser was in attendance. He and Dave held
a one-off evening chantey sing that went off so well that it
became a monthly event. At least that's the way I recall the
folk-lore. For many years the date was random, not
first Saturday, which led to tons of phone calls and screw-ups.
During those years as well, Mariide Widmann used to come down
from Seattle for nearly every sing; a few of us would gig around
with her during her visits.
When Dave was there, the program got quite complex...we started
developing a demonstration squad of sorts, doing various ship-work
during the day (raising sails, shifting cargo, running the galley)
with a kids sing tossed in during the afternoon. We then consumed
the output of the galley, and started the program, frequently
adjourning to the Buena Vista for Irish Coffee (at midnight).
On the days of the sings, it wasn't unusual for me to arrive at
8AM to fire up the galley stove.
At the time, I had a boat at South Beach Harbor, so it was
fairly convenient. On occasion, I'd actually sail the boat
up and moor in Aquatic Park, but not very often. It added
a great deal of complexity and the idea of rowing a skiff out
to the boat in the wee hours after the BV didn't seem too wise...