Haakon Vatle // Sea Shanties and Storm Weather Shanty Choir

#317. Sea shanties have taken the internet by storm! As these familiar songs go viral, we decided to do some digging on their function and history, then recycle an interview with Storm Weather Shanty Choir's founder and lead man, Haakon Vatle. In 2018, August and Andy sat down in person with Haakon in Bergen, Norway. Haakon Vatle holds the world's ONLY master's degree in sea shanties. Fans of the show will know his band, Storm Weather Shanty Choir, as the group of Norwegian musicians who have mastered the art of the modern sea shanty. To start this episode off, we spoke with Biz Wallace, a captain and sail instructor who works aboard tallships, and Christian Letourneau, a former ship's cook and a writer. August also got to chat with Haakon now, in 2021, to catch up on how the sea shanty craze is affecting the band, their upcoming album (February 5th!) and how Norway's tallship, the Statsraad Lehmkul, is faring through COVID times. In this episode, you will also hear recordings of shanties sung by folks at Sea Education Association, a sail training and marine science program that Biz Wallace, Christian Letourneau, and Emma Garschagen have all worked with. -- ON THE WIND is exclusively sponsored by Dakota Lithium, an American company building tough, long-lasting lithium-iron-phosphate batteries for a variety of applications. We just installed 200 aH of Dakota Lithium on SPICA in Sweden, and are preparing for a major lithium conversion on ICEBEAR, our Swan 59. Check them out at dakotalithium.com. -- Join us on the 59º North QUARTERDECK, our online platform where members and the 'Admiralty' dive deep on the art of seamanship. New for 2021 is a monthly, members-only newsletter called THE SKIPPER'S BRIEFING, straight to your inbox with exclusive content, commentary, and a recap of the best of the past month on the Quarterdeck. There is nothing like it in sailing - join us at quarterdeck.59-north.com to become a better thinker, leader & sailor.