Lynmouth Shanty Crew

The Lynmouth Shanty Crew is a shanty choir based in Lynmouth on Exmoor, where the moor meets the sea. We enjoy singing a broad range of shanties and sea songs, and we can usually be found in The Ancient Mariner, Lynmouth on a Thursday night.

Formed in the aftermath of the Covid Lockdown, Lynmouth Shanty Crew has been entertaining audiences and raising money for local charities across Devon and Cornwall.

The Shanty Crew grew out of the Lynmouth Sailing Club, with whom we still have very close ties. Dedicated to preserving maritime traditions in the area, the Sailing Club runs sessions in gig-rowing, sculling and other maritime pursuits, which have always been traditionally followed by a few songs, and maybe a pint or two in the Ancient Mariner.

At the end of the Covid lockdown the Sailing Club acquired a safety boat, dedicated to the memory of a friend of the club who had passed away during the lockdown. Having acquired the boat, it was decided that we really ought to have somewhere to keep her, and so it was decided to build a boathouse beside the harbour, from which she could be launched in time of need. In order to raise funds to build the boathouse a few of us got together and thought maybe we could raise a few pounds, rattling buckets at the visiting tourists, on a Thursday evening, after a row.

Fast forward on a few years and the boathouse is well under way, we’ve raised tens of thousands of pounds towards that construction and other local charities, performed at Mevagissey and Bristol Shanty Festivals, on the deck of the SS Waverley, at many other venues around the west country, and we are shortly off to our first international appearance at the Krakow Shanty Festival in Poland.

Many more adventures lie in wait, we’re sure. — From Lynnmouth Shanty Crew’s website