• Where

• Hyde Street Pier

• Cost

• free

• When

• first Sat of the month, 8-12

It’s the perfect day to join in a sea chantey. So grab a warm coat and head out to the Hyde Street Pier where you’ll be joined by a like-minded group of revelers to sing sailor songs aboard the historic C. A. Thayer and Balclutha ships, docked at the Maritime Museum.

Durring the golden age of sea chanteying (that is 1840-1860) the songs of the mariners were used to co-ordinate different seabound taks, such as hauling on lines to raise sails, turning the capstan to weigh the anchor and manning the ship’s pumps – all these tasks required the sailors to work together in rhythm and unison.

San Francisco’s Barbary Coast was infamous among port cities and traditional chanteys warned sailors to steer clear of notorious crimps like Shanghai Brown and Larry Marr, who ran saloons and kidnapped men to crew ships.

Join Salty Walt and the Rattlin’ Ratlines and many others to sing into the night. With a cup of warm cider or cocoa in hand and the clear night air gently swelling the sails, perhaps you’ll be transported to another time and place, dreaming of gold rush riches and adventures on the high seas.