Juneau»Blessing of the Fleet 2019

In a simple but moving May 4 Juneau waterfront ceremony, the commercial fishing fleet was blessed and the names of recently deceased commercial fishers were added to the 200-plus names already engraved on the memorial wall.

Girl scouts offered flowers to spectators to throw off the pier during the service, a Coast Guard color guard presented the colors, a pipe band looked somber and played somberly, a memorial wreath was dropped from a fishing boat, fishing boats paraded slowly through the inner harbor to be blessed, holy water was lashed at the boats with a rope dipped in a pail of what may have been holy water, the deceaseds' names were read, the mayor spoke, flowers were thrown off the pier, an eagle watched most of the proceedings, people found names on the memorial wall, and photos were taken. Dogs and children were well behaved. Despite the substantial inherent risks of fishing commercially, most of the deceased did not die at sea, fortunately.