Boats get priest's blessing in the annual 'Blessing of the Boats'

St. Brendan may be the patron saint of sailors and navigators, but the boats and boaters in Muskegon have been blessed by Father Tom.

The Rev. Thomas C.H. Scott, that is, the priest at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, which on Sunday held its sixth "Blessing of the Boats" in Muskegon's outer harbor.

It was the first of the series to be officiated by Scott, who was formally installed as rector of the downtown church on May 19 after taking over 11 months ago.

The event took place aboard the Port City Princess, a former Mackinac Island ferry that Ralph Precious brought to Muskegon for conversion into an excursion boat. Ralph's widow Sylvia and son Randy began the annual event in part to honor him, and Sunday's boat-blessing was preceded by a prayer in his memory.

The Precious family are longtime members of the church. All told, about 80 people from St. Paul's went aboard for the two-hour cruise, which included brunch.

Although there weren't many boats in the vicinity, one or two got close enough to receive a shouted blessing and a few drops of holy water flung from Scott's silver aspergillum, something that looks like a long-handled ice cream scoop.

Nevertheless, the blessings were intended equally for all Muskegon watercraft, including the now-retired USS Silversides and Milwaukee Clipper.

"Absolutely," said Scott, standing fully robed in the bow of the Princess. "And every drop of water that lands in the channel just makes this a holier place."

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/06/boats_get_priests_blessing_in.html