Mike, W4EF wrote:
"I would agree, Richard, but at HF frequencies, the current path around
the shield isn`t real;ly broken by the gap."

To best describe what broken means, a picture helps. There is a picture
on page 13.18 of the 2006 ARRL Handbook. Fig 13.26 has a legend which
says:
"To prevent shielding of the loop from magnetic fields, leave the shield
unconnected at one end."

I think the handbook has it right.

Best regards, Richard Harrison, KB5WZI