The three sea captains

The three sea captains looks like a jig. However, it is often played to accompany set dances which, with their intricate footwork, require a somewhat slower tempo. There is a story that this tune celebrates the Battle of Navarino (1827), in which the combined British, French and Russian fleets – the ‘three captains’ of the title – fought a decisive action against the fleet of the Ottoman Empire.

 

Selected from The Seafaring Fiddler. For this brand new collection of fiddle tunes from the golden age of sail Edward Huws Jones has researched and compiled an eclectic selection of sea shanties, ‘forebitters’, jigs, reels, hornpipes, songs and other melodies which were traditionally played as accompaniment to hard labour or times of recreation for sailors at sea.