Seafaring Sunday: Blessing of the Boats

Having found out about Seafaring Sunday only the day before, and having dropped my dad to the airport for an early flight, I arrived in St. David's just as the bright morning light was draping across the one-time island. On Chapel of Ease Lane, just down from the church itself, I follow another early bird down the narrow paved access 'tween stone garden walls down to the public dock at the east side of St. David's. Waiting together, I speak with a 'right thru' St. David's Islander in her 70s and claiming Pequot descent and relation to legendary black pilot Jacob Minors. She is precise in her geneaology, relating names and details of various ancestors and memories related to the St. David's community and landscape, particularly the places where 'you feel a real presence, you feel your foreparents'. Others gradually tricke down to the recently rebuilt dock. By appearance, there's some locals, presumably mainly SDI's, along with a couple tourists who made their way here somehow, who are given the reasoning for the forthcoming event 'because it is heritage month and to bring back the memory of yesteryear'. We are given photocopied programmes reading:

'Today's service, with the Blessing of the Boats, reflects the long association of St. David's Island with the fishing and boat-pilot ocupations and the origins of Chapel of Ease, consecrated in 1849. At that time, there being no bridges or land links between St. David's and the rest of Bermuda, Bishop Field was rowed across the harbour by four sons of clergymen who volunteered for the service. Many boats were in evidence that day as the Bishop passed through their midst waving and giving his blessing. This service is part of our Anglican contribution to Bermuda's Heritage Celebrations.'

In the distance, the oars of a small tender work in unison as an orange and black pilot boat stands by her. The uniformed Salvation Army Band calls in the pristine little tender that has been patiently rowed all the way across from St. George's by teenage Sea Cadets of T.S. Admiral Somers. She comes dockside and her special guest passsenger the Rev'd W. David Raths disembarks in order to begin the dockside service. Hymns and prayers come before the Blessing of the Boats, where each vessel in the steady procession is given a customised prayer and a shake of holy water on her bow by the Rev'd and his Deputy Wardens, all dressed in full regalia. The Sea Cadet tender begins the procession, followed by the pilot boat, and a number of other vessels. The pilgrimage is made by fishermen in their hard-worn vessels, a pleasure craft hosting a young family of a mother, father and daughter all dressed for church, and even a small inflatable rowboat rowed by a couple from down the shoreline. I'm surprised at the number of boats attending, around 11, but overhear nostalgia that at some time it was about 30 boats. Later the Band leads the congregation uphill towards Chapel of Ease for a Sunday service. Under a colourful stained-glass scene of island fishermen hoisting bountiful netfuls of fish, Rev'd Raths laces maritime references into his sermon and introduces a solo hymn by retired tug tender pilot Mr. Kenneth Todd (who also sang at the Pilot Darrell commemoration in mid-April, see post). A traditonal codfish breakfast with all the fixins' follows at the wooden church hall just down the road. I was disappointed to cut short my time at the breakfast—sacrificing both informal interviews and some mouthwatering grease—to get myself in time to the other Seafaring Sunday event across in St. George's.