Channel Fleet
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Channel Fleet A thirty-two bar Hornpipe for four couples in a longwise set, devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 4.1- 4 First couple crossing down between second couple to start, dance a half reel of three on the opposite side of the set with second and third couples.
5- 8 First couple pick up fourth couple in a promenade hold, first man takes fourth lady on his left and first lady takes fourth man on her right. They dance a half reel of three on the sides of the set with second and third couples, crossing up between second couple to commence.
i.e. First couple dance Inveran Reels with second and third couples, collecting fourth couple en route.
9-16 First and fourth couples repeat bars 1-4, first couple leave fourth couple in their original places and cross up between second couple to complete the figure in their original places.
i.e. Repeat the Inveran Reels to return fourth couple to their original place.
17-24 First couple cross over giving right hand in passing and cast off into second place on the opposite side; they turn with the left hand to finish facing first corners.
25-32 First couple turn corner, partner, corner, partner to finish in fourth place on own side of the dance, third and fourth couples step up on the last two bars.
Repeat with new top couple.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
Recommended tune: Channel Fleet.Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 4, by John W Mitchell, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell; instructions reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).
Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Channel Fleet' page