Expeditions by Tricia: May 2026

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!