This year Bob Daudlin arranged for us to travel up river to St. Peter's church for the annual blessing of the fleet. The weather was less than perfect however the priest and congregation arrived at the dock and the drizzle stopped and the fleet received the blessing below

Blessed are You, Lord our God for You have created a wide and wonderful world in which we can travel. Radiant Lord, we rejoice with hearts filled with gratitude that You are not a hidden God for You reveal Yourself daily through the mystery of travel and journeys. Blessed are You Illuminator of all Creation, for the gifts of sunrise, high noon and sunset. May your majesty and glory shine out from within all of creation spreading the way before them with beauty and adventure. Free that way from harm and evil, and send as their escort Your holy spirits and Your angelic messengers, who accompanied the voyagers of days past. On this journey, may they take with them, as part of their traveling equipment, a heart wrapped in wonder with which to rejoice in all they shall meet. Along with that clothing of wonder, may they have room for a mystic map. With the aid of this map, may they read the invisible meanings of the events of their journeys, of possible disappointments and delays, of possible breakdowns and rainy day troubles. Always awake to Your sacred presence and to Your Divine compassionate love, they shall see in all that happens, in the beautiful and in the bad, the mystery of Your holy plan. Father you have given Your people skills to build boats in order to explore the wonders of Your creation. May all who sail the waters be inspired by your Spirit to rejoice in a greater unity with Your creation. May the blessing of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit be upon these sailors and these boats. May it shield them from all harm and bring them home again in safety and in peace. Amen.