Singing songs of the sea

January 03, 2020 11:00 pm • Last Updated: January 04, 2020 4:43 pm

By Sean D. Elliot
Director of Photography

s.elliot@theday.com

Marc Bernier, a former chantey man at Mystic Seaport Museum, leads a song as enthusiasts of sea chantey music gather Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, at the Frohsinn Hall for the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Mystic — Enthusiasts of sea chantey music gathered Saturday at Frohsinn Hall for the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing.

The event, which is co-hosted by the Friends of the Sea Music Festival and the Folk Music Society of New York, is a fundraiser for the Mystic Seaport Museum's annual Sea Music Festival and draws musicians and fans from near and far.

Members of the museum's chantey singers, as well as anyone in attendance, take turns leading songs.

Among the crowd was Miriam Beit-Aharon of Boston, who said she attended the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program and worked two years as a crew member on a tall ship. She quipped, "these are my people."

The 41st annual Sea Music Festival will be held June 11-14.

Mystic Seaport Museum chantey man Geoff Kauffman, back center, leads fans of sea chantey music in a song Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, at the Frohsinn Hall during the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Kirk Dale, center, of Nelson, N.H., leads a song for enthusiasts of sea chantey music gathered Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, at the Frohsinn Hall for the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Audi Souza, with her daughter Zinnia at her side, leads a song Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, as enthusiasts of sea chantey music gather at the Frohsinn Hall for the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Imogen Riggs, 3, dances Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, as she attends the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing with her parents, Lara Ehrlich, right, and father Douglas Riggs, not pictured, at the Frohsinn Hall in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Miriam Beit-Aharon of Boston signals the room to go around again as she leads a song Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, at the Frohsinn Hall for the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Sheila M. Reynolds of Exeter, R.I., leads a song Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, for enthusiasts of sea chantey music gathered at the Frohsinn Hall for the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Imogen Riggs, 3, takes center stage Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, as she attends the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing with her parents, Lara Ehrlich and Douglas Riggs, lower right, at the Frohsinn Hall in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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Mystic Seaport Museum chantey man Geoff Kauffman leads fans of sea chantey music in a song Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020, at Frohsinn Hall during the annual Chantey Blast and Pub Sing in Mystic. (Sean D. Elliot/The Day)
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