“All right my luvvvers!”

Thus, to the strains of the Onedin Line theme, Port Isaac’s finest fishing industry-based vocal harmony septet announced their arrival in Bournemouth two-thirds of the way through a bijou tour.

The original buoy band serenaded us a with two hours of shanties and songs of the sea honed to perfection through 30 years of singing to all-comers at the Cornish fishing village’s harbour.

This tour comes off the back of the stylised ensemble film Fisherman’s Friends, which was out last March and starred, among many others, James Purefoy, David Hayman, Daniel Mays and Noel Clarke.

It told the heart-warming story of how this bunch of salty sea dogs story were spotted, signed up and soon found themselves in the unlikely position of riding high in charts with their traditional folk songs.

This show was billed as music from the movie, but in reality it was much more than that. And, in a case of life imitating art, Pete Hicks who played a band member in the film is now part of the band.

Ten years on from being discovered – although mainman Jon Cleave, all baldy head and walrus moustache, insisted they were ‘never lost’ – the group is attracting new audiences from the film.

FF have never looked back, overcoming the 2013 tragedy when singer Trevor Grills and promoter Paul McMullen were killed by a collapsing door, but will probably still be found singing on The Platt in Port Isaac when fame finally eludes them.

An excellent selection of greatest hits, old favourites and inspired covers included, of course, Keep Hauling, No Hopers, Jokers & Rogues, Nelson’s Blood, Sweet Ladies of Plymouth, Leaving Of Liverpool, Donkey Riding and Billy O’Shea.

The Friends hit their straps with their cover of the Beach Boys’ Sloop John B (or Minus 17 as it’s known in these parts) and two songs – New York Girls and Roll The Woodpile Down – best known through Bellowhead’s best efforts.

And the ship was really in full sail on Blind Willie Johnson’s gospel number about the Titanic, God Moves On The Water, and an creditable seven-voice take on Steve Knightley’s immense Cornish mining lament Cousin Jack, which incidentally and appropriately, was called Port Isaac in its instrumental form.

Everything was done with witty repartee and most of the magnificent seven get to sing lead on occasion, as the engine room of Toby Lobb on guitar and Jason Nicholas’s accordion providing the only instrumentation.

By the time they got to their final song, What Shall We Do With A Drunken Sailor, however, I probably had my fill of songs of the sea and it was time to sail on.