It’s been decades since members of the clergy gathered on a pier in Greenport to bless the mariners of this bustling seaside village, but Porters took quickly to this tradition again when the East End Seaport Museum revived it this Saturday.
Six members of the clergy shared blessings with nearly 50 vessels that queued up at the dock behind Saylor Beach House, the new restaurant that had been Crabby Jerry’s, in a brief ceremony Saturday afternoon.
They were joined by cadets from the Mattituck-Southold-Greenport NJROTC and former EESM President Ted Webb and former Greenport Village Administrator Dave Abatelli — the only two Navy veterans who were dockside to celebrate the ships — who led the crowd on the dock in the singing of the Navy Hymn, “Eternal Father, Strong to Save:”
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.
The service was broadcast over a VHF radio held high in the crowd at the dock to the vessels queuing near the breakwater at the entrance to the harbor.
From oysterboats to classic schooners and catboats and small motor boats, including several Grady Whites and Boston Whalers filled with families and their pets, the parade of those wishing to have their vessels blessed was a reminder of the welcoming maritime heritage of this place, in a world where getting out on the water is rapidly becoming the domain of the elite.
It was also a field day for one man sunning himself in a Zodiac, cigar in hand, alongside his dog, as he weaved through the vessels as they approached the dock to be blessed.
“We need unity and positivity right now,” said East End Seaport Museum board member Karen Sauvigné, who organized the event, which she hopes will become an annual tradition. “The clergy looked beautiful and the Color Guard was terrific.”
Each clergy member present shared a unique blessing before the fleet came by to be blessed.
Father Roger Joslin of Greenport’s Holy Trinity Episcopal Church asked for the blessing of “boats large and small, those who work on them, those who protect our country, those who protect our citizens, those who gather food from the bay and from the sound, and from those who use these waters for pleasure and recreation.”
Rabbi Suzan Lipson of Congregation Tifereth Israel in Greenport recited the Wayfarer’s Prayer in Hebrew, “a prayer said at the start of a journey. It is customary to recite when one embarks on a long trip, asking god to deliver them safely, to protect them from any danger or perils they may encounter along the way and return them in peace.”
Mickey Bancroft, a retired Catholic priest who lives in Orient, read a portion of the Fisherman’s Prayer: “Loving god, the sea is so wide and my boat is so small.”
“Protect me and all those who pleasure at the sea. Bring us back to our ports safely and bless those who have gone down in the sea. May god grant them eternal rest,” he prayed.
“Let your blessing be upon these ships, and upon all those who serve and sail on them,” said Don Russo, president of Greenport Ecumenical Ministries. “My your protection always be with them in the name of the father, son and spirit.”
“We ask for your blessing of these boats. Protect them from storms and unseen dangers and guide them with your wisdom,” said Father Ron Garner of the Orient Congregational Church. “May they be vessels of safety, provision and joy for all who step aboard.”
“We thank you for the coastal resources that sustain us and and engage us as a community,” prayed Rabbi Barbara Sherrill of the North Fork Reform Synagogue in Cutchogue. “May this fleet and all who travel, make a living and recreate on the waters experience calm waters and safe returns.”
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