A lively evening of sea shanties at Burnham-On-Sea Tennis Club has hit a high note by raising around £1,000 for the town’s RNLI lifeboat station.
Following two previous sell-out shanty nights, Burnham’s fundraising committee organised another event earlier this month, featuring The 85ers – a popular shanty group made up of volunteer crew members from Portishead RNLI lifeboat station.
With 50 tickets sold via Eventbrite, the night saw the group perform two energetic sets of traditional shanties, separated by a break.
Guests enjoyed the club’s licensed bar, a raffle, and a silent auction, while members of the singers mingled freely with the audience, posing for photos and chatting with supporters.
The group, composed of six active sea-going lifeboat crew members, is well-known for its powerful a cappella performances. They rose to national prominence earlier this year after being selected to perform at the King’s Coronation Concert as part of the Coronation Choir.
Burnham RNLI fundraising chair Denise Gocher praised the event, saying: “The group were terrific sports, and all the money raised goes towards keeping our volunteer crews safe, as they save lives at sea.”
She also thanked ticket buyers, her team of volunteers, and Burnham Tennis Club for their support.
Denise added: “The 85ers not only performed at nil cost, but the tennis club and volunteers offered their services free of charge. Taking into account the raffle and silent auction, the evening raised approximately one thousand pounds towards RNLI funds. We have already had requests to hold a similar evening at the Tennis Club next year.”
