The schooner Adventuress sails past downtown Seattle. Photo courtesy of Sound Experience

There have been flash mobs singing pop songs, performing dances and rallying around various causes.

But this Friday, Port Townsend will be home to what may be the world’s first flash shanty. The nonprofit group Sound Experience is organizing the event to mark the day a century ago when the schooner Adventuress splashed in East Boothbay, Maine.

Anyone who wants to join in is asked to gather at 12:30 p.m. Feb 1 at the stern of Adventuress, which is on the hard at Haven Boatworks in Boat Haven Marina. There, people will sing several verses of Paddy Lay Back, a shanty popularized on work boats in Liverpool. The event will be recorded and posted on YouTube.

“We hope to get at least 100 people joining us,” said Catherine Collins, executive director of Sound Experience, which owns and operates Adventuress.

“We can’t wait to honor the day our beloved schooner hit the water for the first time with a fun event that everyone can take part in.”

Those who can’t attend are encouraged to record Paddy Lay Back wherever they are on Feb. 1 and post it on Sound Experience’s Facebook page. To learn the song, check out this video of the Sound Experience crew singing it.

About Deborah Bach

Deborah Bach is the editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. She is an avid sailor and longtime professional journalist. You can find Deborah aboard her Passport 40, Meridian, with her husband Marty and their cat Lily.

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