It’s all things maritime in Teignmouth and Shaldon as the towns play host to their popular shanty festival. Groups from across the country will be singing all over the place, even on the ferry, and there will be plenty of extra seafaring entertainment to enjoy
There’s a sound worm buzzing around in my head. It goes like this...
Don’t forget the Pomeranian, George
Bend your backs and pull together
Pull ‘The Stanny’ out over the bar
But don’t forget the Pomeranian
Don’t forget the Pomeranian...
It’s a sea shanty, or technically a Foc’sle song, as I discover when chatting to Ian Mitchell, a member of Teignmouth’s shanty band The Back Beach Boyz.
I listen to Captain Baarman’s Dog, a song concerning a shipwreck and the captain’s dog, which was written by the band and I’m soon singing along. But that’s the thing, I defy anyone not to join in when listening to a shanty.
Apart from hearing about the background to Captain Baarman’s Dog, Ian tells me about the Teign Maritime and Shanty Festival which takes place in Teignmouth and Shaldon this month and will see a host of seafaring and fishing-based activities at locations across the towns.
At the heart of it all will be the 50 groups of shanty singers from across the county who will be popping up and performing around the towns, indoors and outside, throughout the three day event.
It’s the fourth shanty festival, taking place every other year, and it’s one that ‘fills the town with people of all ages’, according to Ian, who is also chairman of the event.
The sea shanty has been enjoying a resurgence, thanks to more people being made aware of these, let’s face it, very catchy songs.
Ian highlights the New Zealand whale hunting song The Wellerman which was a TikTok sensation for the Scottish postman Nathan Evans. After that, Bristol-based shanty group the Longest Johns went into the UK singles’ chart with their version of this classic shanty.
They are popular now, but the shanty goes way back across the centuries.
Ian says: ‘Sea shanties were essentially heavy rhythm work songs, performed to reduce the monotony of undertaking repetitive tasks aboard merchant sailing ships in the 19th century and to assist sailors to keep time when pulling on ropes and hauling up sails. 'Nobody is quite sure where the name Shanty derives from, though one theory is that it comes the French word 'chanter', meaning to sing.’
Ian outlines the different types of shanty. ‘Each shanty is generally a “call and response” song, with one singer, the shantyman, taking the lead and the rest coming in to join on the chorus. There are a variety of types of shanty, each timed to relate to a particular type of work so, for example, a capstan shanty is one where the capstan winch was turned to raise the anchor. Capstan shanties were lengthened or shortened in response to the length of the anchor rope and state of the tide. The stretched shanty was often filled in with random verses to keep the rotation going until the anchor was secured.
‘Other types of shanties include “short drag” (quick hard bouts of pulling), “hand over hand” (a faster version of short drag), long haul pulling “halyard shanties” and also pumping shanties, for continuous but relatively easier work.
‘As steam ships began to replace sailing ships in the latter half of the 19th century however, the type of work on board ship changed and no longer needed any form of musical accompaniment.’
These days, everyone has heard of Cornish shanty singers, the Fishermans’ Friends and shanty festivals are springing up all over the country.
The Teign Maritime and Shanty Festival is staged on both sides of the River Teign, in Teignmouth and Shaldon.
There will be several maritime presenters, including a talk from Andy Peters, who travels the world carving wooden ship’s figureheads and who was commissioned to make a replica of the famous Cutty Sark figurehead.
There will be rope making demonstrations, boat building talks and also attending will be Dave French, the heritage willow crab and lobster ‘withy’ pot maker who will be on the quay in Teignmouth constructing a pot from scratch.
Morris dancers (and a singing cyclist!) will provide more entertainment and to add to the seafaring atmosphere, the magnificent tall ship The Pelican, will be moored up throughout the weekend, and people will be able to go onboard.
It’s a free festival, the bands playing at pubs and outdoor locations all around the towns – visitors may even catch some of them ‘singing for their passage’ going between towns on the ferry. But for the first time this year there is one paid-for, ticketed event, a performance by the world renowned Kimbers Men.
The festival runs from September 8 -10, with the Kimbers Men concert at Teignmouth Pavilions on Friday 8.
Pub crawls, angels and a mad monk
Shanties have evolved to fit with their local communities. As Ian says: ‘No one song has a pure set of lyrics, versions have been taken and changed by local people – for some you can find up to 100 versions.’
Ian says: Traditionally, as well as shanties, there were also Foc’sle songs, which were storytelling songs to be listened to at leisure, to remind sailors of home and these helped to keep alive local traditions and record local events.’
Reserching historical records, from the Teign Heritage Centre, or online and also form word of mouth Back Beach Boyz member Bob Freshwater along with Ian, have written Foc’sle songs based on Teignmouth’s rich maritime heritage.
It’s about ‘recording local events into such songs, so as to keep them alive for the future,’ says Ian.
They include:
Coming Back Home. A song about a sailor coming back to port in Teignmouth and drinking at all the named pubs that were in existence back then.
Fourteen. About 14 lads from Teignmouth who fought off the coast of Spain; there is a plaque to them on a pub wall in Teignmouth and several benches with plaques carrying each of their individual names.
Jack Spratt at Trafalgar. Commander Jack Spratt is a local legend who also fought at Trafalgar and whose father gave his name to the local Spratt Sands.
Ode to an Oyster. About oyster fishing on the River Teign.
Old Photograph. About a record catch of salmon fish on the River Teign, which is celebrated in a photograph on a pub wall in Teignmouth.
Salcombe Grace. About the ship called Grace and how her figurehead came to be sold.
The Angel of Brixham. About the legend of an angel appearing during a terrible storm.
The Lament of the Electron. About Donald Crowhurst's ill-fated attempt to sail around the world.
The Teignmouth Coalboat. About the sinking of the SS Bretagne in Lyme Bay.
The Monk of Lidwell Chapel. About a mad monk who lived at the top of Teignmouth hill and murdered unsuspecting passers-by – and who got who got his comeuppance from a burly sailor
The Best Known Man in Iceland. The story of the Teignmouth man, Pike Ward, who started the fishing industry in Iceland. There is a blue plaque to him in Teignmouth, which was unveiled by the Icelandic ambassador on a visit to Devon. The Back Beach Boyz sang the song for the occasion
Captain Baarman’s Dog. This is one of the Back Beach Boyz most popular shanties, and the main track on their latest CD. In 1907 the schooner Tehwija of Riga ran aground on Pole Sands, Exmouth. The Teignmouth lifeboat, Alfred Staniforth, helped rescue the whole crew and, later, a small dog. The captain didn’t want to leave the ship until his dog was found.
