It’s more than a brotherhood, more than biblical in scope; being a commercial fisherman is a job as old as man on this planet and is still very dangerous. This last weekend, Montauk’s annual Blessing of the Fleet was held and with glorious warm sunny weather. The first Montauk Blessing of the Fleet occurred on June 10, 1956. Vinny Grimes, a Montauk fisherman had witnessed a ceremony during his tenure with the U.S. Navy and started the ball rolling for one in Montauk in 1955. The next spring the tradition started.
Doing a “Blessing of the Fleet” actually is a centuries-old tradition originating in southern Europe. A blessing from the local clergy back then was an effort to involve God to ensure a safe and bountiful season. Although ceremonies of this nature are credited to Europe, other experts say it may date back to ancient times.
The Blessing of the Fleet in Montauk is meant to safeguard ships and their crew members. The boats are individually blessed as the summer fishing season starts. A most salient part of the Blessing of the Fleet commemorates the lives of the lost fishermen. It is an emotional part of the day for families that have had loved ones lost over the years.
The Blessing of the Fleet as a whole is a powerful and moving ritual. Besides the blessings, the ceremony has a solemn element as it remembers those who have passed away. On board the commercial fishing vessel Anna Mary this Sunday was Cathy Patterson. The Anna Mary, is the very vessel featured in the 2013 N.Y. Times bestseller, A Speck in the Sea, penned by Anthony Sosinski and John Aldridge. The book tells the story of Montauk fisherman, John Aldridge, being lost at sea at night and then being found and miraculously rescued by the Coast Guard the next day.
Cathy Patterson is John Aldridge’s sister. She shared what it’s like when a fisherman’s relative gets “the call.” She said, “My phone rang; it was my father, he had panic in his voice saying John is missing. I said no he’s not he went fishing last night and that’s when he said that the Coast Guard called and said he was missing from the boat. My stomach dropped”
Of course, that is when everyone starts phoning and texting and Cathy Patterson recalled, “I would hear the fear in their voices. I knew they all thought he was gone.”
Aboard the Anna Mary, this last Sunday Cathy Patterson pointed to the Montauk Coast Guard Station, specifically to the deck above the entrance. That’s where she was waiting, hoping, praying for her brother.
She recalls, “I don’t remember who was on the phone, but he introduced himself by name rank. He said something else and then told us that they have located John and there was a pause.” Next she heard that John is alive and well and that they will be taking him to Falmouth Hospital in Cape Cod.
She said, “It seemed to be like a dream listening to him speak, like a blur. I remember him saying give them five minutes to call my parents and then we could call them, but after he gave us the news that they found him, that he was alive and well, the whole Coast Guard Station erupted into applause and yelling. We were crying. We were laughing. We were in disbelief. There were like 20,000 emotions going through us at one time. I remember sending rapid-fire texts out to everybody that was calling all day saying, “he’s alive!”
After the blessing in the harbor Sunday, the fleet of boats slowly left the harbor to go out into the Block island Sound. The clergy this year, representing all the faiths, were aboard the Viking Starship. Watching the solemn remembrance ceremony on the deck of that large boat was emotional. Slowly, as the names of those lost at sea were read over the radios, individual wreaths of flowers were tossed into the sea, sometimes by actual relatives of the lost sailors.
When the last of the names were read and a hymn was sung, all the vessels hit their foghorns. That massive sound does make the hair on the back of one’s neck stand up. Then the boats circled around and saluted each other before going back to their docks.
During the ceremony John Aldridge held his wife in a hug while his dog, a rescue mixture of breeds, laid at their feet. His sister, Cathy Patterson, was close by with her eyes fixed on the flowers in the water for those lost at sea. All who were aboard the Anna Mary understood the power of both prayer and the blessings done by the clergymen. Their prayers were answered over a decade ago and they will forever feel both thankful and blessed
