The Ship’s new owners loved their work so much, they bought the business

If you ask Lyndsey Hamen and Bill Haynes to name their favourite memory from their time working at The Ship Pub, they’ll exchange a glance and Lyndsey will make an inscrutable hand gesture.

Then, Bill will say, “Oh yeah, the thumb-wrestling competition was amazing.”

Of all the live music performances, trivia nights, philosophy discussions, and book launches, their favourite memory is of a fundraiser that pitted local celebrities thumb-to-thumb against each other.

“They had Mark Bragg versus Tim Baker,” Haynes said.

“And Ryan Snodden versus Eddie Sheerr,” Hamen added.

The pub changed hands last month, when Colin Dalton and Terry O’Rourke — its owners since 2002 — transferred the title to Hamen and Haynes. The new owners acquired the pub on Oct. 27, but they have been the face of The Ship for many years.

“Terry and Colin put in 20-plus years of continuing the tradition of The Ship, and now we’re taking up the mantle.” said Hamen.

For Haynes and Hamen, The Ship is both an institution and a workplace they love. Haynes explains that, for several years, the pair had been discussing what might become of the pub in the event that O’Rourke and Dalton should one day decide to sell.

“It got to the point that our bosses were looking towards retirement,” Haynes said. “We didn’t want somebody to turn it into a franchise sports bar.”

Opened in the late 1970s as The Ship Inn, the storied space between Duckworth Street and Water Street has been a gathering place for folks who live and work downtown, especially those engaged in the local arts scene.

“It’s a magical part of the community,” said Hamen. “There's no room like it anywhere else on the east coast of Canada, or maybe all of Canada.”

By day the kitchen serves elevated pub fare, and by night the bar is a venue for live entertainment, with shows typically booked six nights a week.

A favoured locale for downtown artists and musicians, it has been home to trivia nights, poetry events, book launches, and philosophy discussions.

But, at its core, The Ship is the beating heart of the St. John’s live music scene, its intimate stage space serving as an incubator for emerging local bands and a preferred performance space for established Canadian musicians like Dave Francey, Hawksley Workman, NQ Arbuckle, and — just last month — Barney Bentall.