Shanty Group Castaway Crew Donate £550 to Sailability

Hunstanton based female shanty singers, Castaway Crew, made a donation of £550 to Snettisham Sailing Club’s ‘Sailability’ campaign on Tuesday evening (7th April).

Sailability aims to provide access to sailing for disabled and able-bodied people alike who want to safely learn how to sail. The donation will help towards providing equipment and training.

Sea shanties are traditional work songs once used to coordinate rhythmic labour on large merchant sailing vessels, with the songs featuring a call-and-response structure, to motivate, led by a "shantyman". Popularized by maritime history, they have seen a modern revival in recent years, not just in England but across the world, particularly after the success of the Fisherman’s Friends story in Cornwall, a shanty group who went from singing in local pubs before going on to perform at Glastonbury. The true tale was also turned into a box office movie hit in 2019.

The Castaway group of 13 singers, who formed two years ago, performed over twenty songs on the evening to a packed audience at Hunstanton Sailing Club as they enjoyed a chilli supper.

Castaway Crew on Hunstanton promenade, from left: Sue Snushall, Bev Pease, Marion Mylchreest, Michelle Neale, Janet Martin, Julie Walker, Sarah Naveh, Jean Goodison, Jackie Dodds,       Billy Smith, Diane Hall, Gillian Pratten and Susan Baker

As well as a visit to the recording studios later on this month, the group will also be performing at the Syderstone pop-up pub at the Green Park Centre on Saturday, 9th May in a joint performance with the Wicken Warblers and the Jolly Sailors on Sunday, 31st May as part of a fundraiser for the Brancaster Festival in September.

Shanty singing has grown in popularity in recent years, not just in England but across the world, particularly after the success of the Fisherman’s Friends story in Cornwall, a shanty group who went from singing in local pubs before going on to perform at Glastonbury. The true story was also turned into a box office movie hit in 2019.

Snettisham Beach SC Accessible Sailing Coordinator, Adrian Tebbutt said “We welcome everyone who would like to be active in an outdoor setting, learn a new skill in a social situation but have some form of disability or who can simply no longer rig, launch and recover their own boat. Our ultimate aim is to train individuals requiring accessible sailing so that they, if possible, are able to sail independently and to join in our main club activities where appropriate”.

Jean Goodison, one of the shanty singers, said, “we have raised over £500 throughout the year and felt Sailability a worthy cause to donate to”.

Adrian added, “As a shanty singer myself I really appreciate the time and effort that has gone into raising these funds. We very much rely on donations such as these and thank Jean and her singing comrades for their support. The generosity of organisations and groups like the Castaway Crew has enabled us to establish the only Sailability centre within a 50 mile radius in record time. We are always looking for new volunteers - you don’t have to be a sailor! - in a range of roles from hospitality (that’s making teas and coffees!), meet and greet, mobility assistance, hoist crew as well as on the water. Full training is available free to our volunteers.”

The group meet for rehearsals every Tuesday evening (7-9pm), with the session on the first Tuesday of each month open to the public who wish to watch or participate in the group’s ambition to constantly improve.

For more information, you can contact Jean by email at castawaycrew12@gmail.com or on 07766 262 520 .

For more information about the Accessible Sailing programme at Snettisham you can contact Adrian at sbsc.accessible.sailing@gmail.com or on 07530 046139 

Hunstanton SC are holding an Open Day on Friday, 17th April from 11am inviting existing and new members down to view and sample the facilities on offer. They also plan to open the bar every Friday evening from May throughout the Summer.