Whether by land or by sea, everyone is invited to participate in the annual blessing of the fleet, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, May 12, at the Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial at Heritage Harbor.
For those who arrive by sea, “we will broadcast the event on VHF,” said memorial board president Jenn Miller-Yancey. “Having those vessels out there makes the whole experience more meaningful,” she said of the boats that drift in front of the memorial during the ceremony.
Wrangell has held a springtime blessing of the fleet for decades, moving to the Heritage Harbor site even before the memorial officially opened in 2022.
Then starting in 2022, the blessing included a solemn reading of the names of community members who have passed away and had their names added to commemorative plaques at the mariners’ memorial.
With the 18 names that will be added his year, the memorial will feature more than 80 names, Miller-Yancey said.
Volunteers last week were waiting for nicer weather — warmer and drier — to install this year’s 18 plaques, she said. The epoxy adhesive will work better and last longer.
As anyone doing anything in Wrangell knows, you adapt to the weather. Workers may put up a tent to shield the wall during the plaque installation if the weather does not cooperate, to ensure that the names are enshrined in time for the blessing, Miller-Yancey said.
The event will include an update on the mariners’ memorial; the Girls Scouts will present the colors; the poem, “If You’ve Ever Lived on an Island,” will be read; Tasha Morse will lead a choir in “The Wrangell Song;” Pastor Sue Bahleda of Island of Faith Lutheran Church will give a blessing for the Wrangell Ministerial Association, which has long participated in the event; the names of this year’s 18 additions to the memorial wall will be read aloud; and the closing will feature a ringing of the bell eight times, a traditional show of respect to deceased mariners that signifies their watch has come to an end.
This year’s update will include a report from Miller-Yancey on the effort underway to add a story on the organization’s website for each person with a plaque at the memorial.
A lot of the stories were hand written by friends or family who completed the form for a plaque, which is taking a little longer to get them typed up, proofread and added to the mariners’ memorial website, she said.
“We are working to build a history of Wrangell.”
The memorial and its commemorative plaques are dedicated to community members “who have lost their lives at sea or who have contributed to our local seafaring history and maritime industry.”
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