Hi gang, Rick Ostler here from North American Waterway bringing you Used Pontoon Boats along with news and views from the boating industry. PORTAGE DES SIOUX - Boats with tiki huts, balloons, flags and funny names like The Scoundrel and Aquatraz came from north and south along the Mississippi River to be blessed recently in Portage Des Sioux at the 51st annual Blessing of the Fleet event.
About 100 boats participated in the "water parade,"
which featured two starting points - the Yacht Club of St. Louis in St. Charles and Harbor Point Yacht Club in West Alton. The parade started at about 1 p.m. from both locations, and many lavishly decorated boats came to the shrine of Our Lady of the Rivers to receive a blessing of safe travel.
The theme of this year's parade was "Margaritaville," and many of the boats were decorated like Mexican tiki bars. One boat released balloons from the cabin as it came around the parade route.
Most of the boats came to the statue between 2:30 and 3 p.m. to be blessed by "Deacon Bob" of St. Francis Church in Portage Des Sioux.The church began the event in the 1950s when a flood threatened the town. The Rev. Edward Schlattmann led residents in prayers to Mary, asking to be spared from the floodwaters.
When their prayers were answered, the town decided to pay tribute to the Blessed Mother by erecting a statue called Our Lady of the Rivers. Ever since, the statue has served as a landmark for boaters and as the Blessing of the Fleet site.Several first-time attendants said they were impressed by the turnout and participants' decorating efforts. Maryann Schmidt of Smithton said she was not used to boating on the river but enjoyed watching the parade."This is our first time at the Blessing of the Fleet event, and I really had fun today," Schmidt said. "I just loved it. We usually go to the Lake of the Ozarks, but this was a different way to spend a day on the boat.
"Boaters competed against one another for the Best Decorated Boat award in five categories.
The Best Decorated Cruiser award went to Night-N-Gale, a 47-foot Chris craft. The Best Decorated Houseboat was Aquatraz. The Best Decorated Sailboat was the Kontaloa, and the Best Decorated Pontoon Boat was Misbehavior. The Best Decorated Runabout had no name, as it was just purchased and its owner had not yet named it.Con Trios Yacht Club also presented an award for Best Decorated Boat to club member Alan Deutschmann for his Sound of Pleasure boat.
Con Trios hosted a party after the parade at the marina in Grafton.Three judges decided on winners of the categories and presented the awards. This year's panel included Gary Meinershagen, commodore of the Con Trios Yacht Club; Jerry Daugherty, a Portage Des Sioux alderman; and Frank Amato, Division 3 captain of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
Darryll Weil of Fenton, Mo., runs Blessing of the Fleet's Web site and is a member of the Clifton Terrace-based Con Trios Yacht Club. He watched the event with his wife, Maureen, and friends."We participated in the parade once in 2004," Weil said. "I decorated it with a huge bear because the theme was Lewis and Clark that year. Now, we just take photos because if you are in the parade, you can't see the parade." Thanks to;
Local News: NEW: Decorations grab attention at annual boat blessing | decorated, parade, boat : TheTelegraph
No comments:
Post a Comment