BLESSING OF THE FLEET EXPEDITION!

Probably the first time I heard the phrase, "Blessing of the Fleet", was back in the 1960's, when I was riding in a gondola with my father, through the canals of Venice, Italy.  Or perhaps, it was when we were visiting museums in Italy, where we saw ancient art work, depicting the event, such as the one shown in the photo above.  

 

 However, since I was a naive teenager, from the land-locked state of Arkansas, the phrase went in one ear, and out the other.  Not being around a naval base, probably the only thing that came to mind when I heard the word "Fleet", was a box I vaguely remember seeing, on a shelf at the drug store.  Then, many years later, when I was married to a physician, who specialized in treating patients with constipation, and had samples of said box in his office, the phrase "Blessing of the Fleet", took on a whole new meaning, associated with an "unblocking" of the patient, receiving the "Blessing of the Fleet"!

Fast forward to the twenty-first century, while on a trip to Jacksonville, Florida, there was a television news broadcast about a big event on their waterways, called, "The Blessing of the Fleet".  It looked like such a fun and festive occasion, I determined that I wanted to participate, or at least attend, such an event.  My first attempt was to go to one at Long Beach, in California, where my cousin kept his boat moored.  However, bad weather in Arkansas, caused my airline flight to be cancelled.  But I still kept the idea in the back of my mind.  Then, in 2025, VOILA!  An announcement came across my Facebook feed, about a Blessing of the Fleet event scheduled just a short distance from where I lived, and would not require an airplane ticket!  That announcement is shown below.  I made a trip up to Pontiac Cove Marina (www.pontiaccove.com), to talk with an official there, to get information on the event, and to find out if a kayaking group could participate. (I am part of a group of ladies who regularly kayak together, called the WHOYAKERS.) I met Jabet, and she told me kayaks had never participated in the past, but we would be welcome to give it a try.  Jabet said that way back in 2006, when she and her husband joined her parents in operating the marina, they all worked together to stage the very first "Blessing of the Fleet" at Pontiac.  She said it was her dad's idea, because he had seen a similar event in the Florida Keys, and wanted to give it a try in the Ozarks.  

In researching information on similar events, I learned that the custom of the Blessing of the Fleet can be traced back to Old World European fishing communities where God was publicly acknowledged, and asked for a bountiful harvest and the safety of the men at sea.  Although the WHOYAKERS are not trying to harvest seafood in our kayaks, prayers for safety are always appreciated!  The group of WHOYAKERS who attended in 2025, are pictured below:

Each year, the marina sells tee shirt souvenirs of the event, and this is our group, showing the yellow "Blessing of the Fleet" shirts, available in 2025.  

The event poster encouraged participants to decorate their boats for the event, so Peggy made us owl "breast plates" to go over our life jackets.  The owl got to be our symbol, because this group of ladies started out as hikers, called "Women Hiking (the) Ozarks", or abbreviated "WHO".  Since cartoon owls are often shown as saying, "WHO", the owl became our mascot.  If you are familiar with the Ozarks, you may be aware that experienced hikers usually avoid the tick-infested woods in the summertime, and switch to water activities, instead.  So the land-based WHO, switch to the water-based WHOYAKERS, in the summertime!

 

The date of the Blessing of the Fleet coincided with the birthday of one of our ladies, so we celebrated with a Happy Birthday WhoYaker  birthday cake!

Bull Shoals Lake was experiencing very high water levels in April, 2025, with the water being adjacent to the parking lot.  This made launching our kayaks "a piece of cake"!

Here we are, pictured with our owl breastplates:

The photo above was taken by one of our WHOYAKER ladies, who arrived just in time to see us launch.  

 

The photo below of our group, can be seen on the Pontiac Cove Marina Instagram page:

 Since none of us kayakers had ever participated in this event before, we were not sure what to do.  Jabet instructed us to wait at the end of the breakwater flotation buoy, then she would signal us, as to when to start paddling towards the pontoon boat that had the priest on board.  Jabet had kindly allowed our WHOYAKER member, Christine (in orange shirt) to also ride on the pontoon boat, so she could video our group.

This photo shows Diane in front, then Peggy, then Jana, and then Diana, as we each paddled beside the priest, so he could say a blessing over us, and sprinkle each of us, and our kayak, with the Holy Water.  

After receiving the blessing, we then started paddling back to the marina, as a light mist of rain had started.  

In spite of the less than ideal conditions, the priest gave a big smile, as I asked permission to take his photo.  I learned later from the Pontiac Marina Instagram post, that this was not only a first for the WHOYAKERS, but also a first Blessing of the Fleet event for Father Charles Peirono.

 

When Peggy was preparing the 2026 Whoyaker Schedule of Paddling events, she contacted me to ask if I would like to "RC" (the abbreviation for River Coordinator) the 2026 Blessing of the Fleet, at Pontiac Cove Marina.  She said she would be the Co-RC, and since it was on the same day as her birthday, I agreed, knowing it is always enjoyable to celebrate birthdays!  The photo for the 2026 Blessing of the Fleet not only had a photo of the priest, but also, Christine's husband, standing behind him.  

Our group met at Just Jackie's Cafe, above Pontiac Cove Marina, a little before noon on April 25.  Since they had not yet opened, Jackie invited us to wait on their covered deck, till opening time.  That enabled us to sing Happy Birthday to Peggy, and enjoy Mississippi Mud birthday cake!  (Peggy was raised in Rock Island, Illinois, on the banks of the Mississippi River, so the cake name seemed appropriate!  Plus the WHOYAKER group participated in a Mississippi River paddling event called Floatzilla, in past years.)  

 

Peggy also had the banner across her front, naming her as "Birthday Girl"!

The photo below shows Diana, Peggy, and Jana, with examples of the 2026 souvenir shirts.  

 

As we were leaving the marina store to head for our vehicles, Fr. Charles Peirono was arriving, and told us he remembered us from the year before!

We told him it was Peggy's birthday, so she should get a DOUBLE blessing!

 

I always like for a photograph to "tell a story" without words, so I requested a photo of the priest, beside  the "BLESSING OF THE FLEET" logo on the back of my tee shirt.  

The lake level in 2026 was lower than 2025, so we needed to use the regular boat ramp launch, instead of directly beside the parking lot.  As we were putting our kayaks into the water, Diana pointed to a boat that was idling out in the lake, but had no driver in it.  Peggy walked over towards the boat, to see if the owner needed someone to paddle out to retrieve the boat, and he said, "No, he was controlling the boat with a remote control device!"  That was a first for us!

As we paddled out into the lake, Peggy received the "God Wink" we had asked the priest for, as there was a smiley face balloon floating in her path, just waiting for her to retrieve!  The year before, when we paddled on Bull Shoals Lake on my birthday, Diana had brought a balloon bouquet to tie onto the back of my kayak, so I was delighted that now Peggy could say she also had a balloon for her kayak  on her birthday!

I took this photo as I was paddling towards the priest in the pontoon boat.  He had a loud speaker, so we all could hear him, as he led us in saying The Lord's Prayer together.  

I read  a paraphrase of the prayer of Jabez,  in I Chronicles 4:10 that says, "Oh that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain."     That is my prayer for all boaters and for all those who read this blog! 

This "Blessing the Fleet" event at Pontiac Cove Marina gave me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia

OZARK ISLE EXPEDITION!

Ozark Isle started out as a Corp of Engineers campground within Bull Shoals Lake in northern Arkansas.  It was originally the top of a mountain that was made somewhat inaccessible, when it became surrounded by water, due to the dam across the White River, that led to the formation of Bull Shoals Lake.  For this reason, a "causeway" was constructed by the Corp of Engineers that would connect the isolated island, the short distance that would link it to the "mainland". 

 A photo of the causeway is shown below, that also shows the locked gate that keeps unauthorized vehicles off of the island.  Locals have known for years that the locked gate did not mean they were forbidden from walking on the island, but most visitors would not know this, since there are no signs indicating pedestrians are allowed.

Many people, especially those who live in the Oakland area, have continued to use the island as a place to walk, bicycle, and view wildlife, especially birding enthusiasts.  Photo below shows Mary Beth Piorkowski (Ozark Isle Nature Preserve 501c3) and Roy Stovall (North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists), who led a walk, open to the public, that occurred at Ozark Isle, on January 1, 2024.  Shortly after January 1, 2024, the Corps approved a plan submitted by the two nonprofit organizations they represent, to restore Ozark Isle as a day-use park, for hikers, bicyclists, dog walkers, birders, and paddlers.  It is called OZARK ISLE NATURE PRESERVE, and you can see photos of the progress they are making on this project on the Facebook (www.facebook.com) page, under the same name. 

Mary Beth ( who lives very close to Ozark Isle ) had the idea that the abandoned Corp of Engineers campground could be salvaged and made into a Nature Preserve, and she had faith that it was within the realm of possibility.  For this reason, I am using this blog as my visual aid to help me learn one of my First Place 4 Health ( www.FirstPlace4Health.com ) memory verses that says, "For we live by faith, not by sight."  2 Corinthians 5:7  .   A map of the island is shown below.

The AllTrails map below, shows the areas suitable for walking/biking/hiking/strolling.

Photo below shows the group that enjoyed this "FIRST DAY 2024 HIKE".  I had no trouble getting in my 10,000 steps on this outing, because Ozark Isle consists of 462 acres!  There is no drinking water source on the island, so each person carried the fluids they would need for the day. 

This photo shows Roy Stovall, who heads up the Trail Patrol, for the North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists.  When Mary Beth talked to the Corp of Engineers administrative staff in Mountain Home, Arkansas, they told her they might consider her idea, but she would need to partner with a group like the Arkansas Master Naturalists, who are set up to do the volunteer trail work and trail maintenance, that such a project would involve.  Hence, she contacted Roy.  Roy gave a presentation to our Master Naturalist group, who endorsed the idea as a worthwhile project.

The "bump" you can see in the distance, in this photo I took while on Ozark Isle, is called Bull Mountain, located in the town on Bull Shoals, Arkansas.  The tower that is visible on top of the mountains, used to be a tourist attraction, which I climbed decades ago with my family.  It is no longer open to the public, but rather, is used as an elevated location for communication devices

One of the people in our group used their Garmin GPS device to show the location of Ozark Isle, in relation to where they lived, at a distant location on Bull Shoals Lake.  Unlike Bull Mountain, they determined there was no "line of sight" from the island to their location miles away. 

These two avid birders, Tony and Heather, had their binoculars on our First Day Hike, and alerted us to the bird species they were able to spot. 

Although you cannot tell it from the thick layer of leaves, there is actually a paved road that these folks are walking on. 

Besides paved roads, there are also some gravel roads on the island.  Notice the lady in the blue coat on the left is carrying a white bag.  That is because most members of our Master Naturalist group always have a bag with them when hiking, so we can pick up any litter that we find along the way.  If you are not doing this already, please do so!

On a chilly January 1 hike, there is a reduced risk of having one of those pesky ticks attach to your body!  However, as the weather in the Ozarks warms up, the risk of getting ticks and/or chiggers increases.  But, now, with the walkways on Ozarks Isle to be maintained by volunteers, one will be able to stroll on cleared and paved walkways in the summer, reducing the exposure to the itch-causing little critters!

These concrete picnic tables have withstood decades of exposure to the weather, and now their future is looking brighter, as they will be a pleasant rest area in the newly named Ozark Isle Nature Preserve.

The playground on Ozark Isle is still in tact, and some of our group took a quick swish down the tan slide.

 

 

The photo below shows the bathroom facility that was in use, at the time the Corps of Engineers closed the park to camping, in 2004.

The photo below shows what was probably one of the original rest room buildings that was built on the isle by the Corps.  I remember this style of bathroom, from when I first started visiting Corps of Engineer parks on Bull Shoals Lake, in the 1960's.

I was impressed by the efforts of the original park designers/construction workers, in the building of this "tree well", to protect this tree that stood beside one of the roads. 

This photo shows one of the First Day hikers, beside the sign pointing to Camp Area C.

This "Y" intersection shows the sign pointing to Camp Area D.

Besides the entry causeway, there is another shorter causeway, that forms one of two shallow lagoons that attract migrating waterfowl. 

This photo shows one of the former campsites, that included an RV parking space, concrete picnic table with benches, food preparation table, and grill for cooking with wood fire.  There are no plans to re-open the former campground to overnight camping. 

This photo shows the long walkway, as we leave the island, and start back toward the mainland, where our cars are parked.  The island has almost five miles of roads (mostly paved), and 8 miles of shoreline.

However, there is another Corps of Engineers park in the Oakland area, across from Ozark Isle, where a marina is located, as well as a playground, boat ramp, rv/tent sites,and picnic tables.  It also has a restroom building that is open seasonally.  You can find out more details about the Oakland park, by visiting the official Corps website at www.swl.usace.army.mil

The photo below shows why the area where I live is called the "TWIN LAKES" area.  On the east side of my home is Norfork Lake, and on the west side of my home is Bull Shoals Lake.  As you can see, both these lakes are predominantly in Arkansas, but they also extend northward into southern Missouri.  Thus, Ozark Isle Nature Preserve will draw regular visitors from both northern Arkansas and southern Missouri.  As it becomes more widely known, more visitors from other states will probably also enjoy activities there, when they are in the area. 

This is me, giving thanks to God, that I get to live in an area that values nature, and preserving spaces that encourage outdoor activities.  This place gives me "MILES OF SMILES"!!  Tricia