Shanty pop-up at the Weighbridge

Thursday 03 June 2021

A local choir will be singing at the Weighbridge this afternoon for a pop-up shanty event aimed at raising money for two local charities which support islanders of all abilities to enjoy the beach and sea.

Aureole Choir – which was launched last year during lockdown – is planning to record a mash-up of ‘Drunken Sailor’ and recent Tik Tok phenomenon ‘The Wellerman’ for the benefit of Healing Waves and Wetwheels.

The project involves several members of the local sailing, surfing, fishing and other maritime communities and is the latest in the choir’s efforts to support local charities which have so far raised over £5,000.

The sea shanty initiative aims to celebrate Jersey’s fishing and maritime industry while supporting two charities which enable islanders of all abilities to access the ocean. The funds, which will be split between the two charities, will go towards Healing Waves’ plans to build an inclusive surf centre near Le Braye, which will serve as a safe space for the charity’s athletes and their families to meet, change and sign in to sessions.

The project also includes fully accessible toilets that will be open to the public, accessed externally, in the manner of regular public WCs.

Over the last few weeks, the choir’s singers as well as fishermen and sailors have been rehearsing and preparing to record their parts, which will then be edited together in a video to be released in July.

After meeting at St. Helier Yacht Club last week for an evening of outdoor shanty singing, the ‘shanty mermaids’ will be shaking buckets at the Weighbridge today between 17:00 and 18:30.

They will be joined by members of the Jersey Academy of Music’s Community Choir ‘Academy Chorale’ and singers from the Academy's vocal department, and passersby are invited to sing along, or simply listen, and “give generously!”

“We are enjoying this project hugely, and have had a wonderful engagement from our sailors, with many participants from the St Helier Yacht Club, where we held an impromptu shanty rehearsal a week ago,” John Bowley, who leads the choir with his wife, Nicky, said.

“This was a hybrid rehearsal, with members ringing in on Zoom, one of whom even zoomed in from a boat at sea!”