By Sentinel Staff
The Blessing of the Fleet and Fishermen’s Memorial was held this afternoon in front of the Mariners Wall at ANB Harbor.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ceremony was private. However, a video will be played on a continuous basis all day Saturday, April 17, and Sunday, April 18, via North Star Television Channel 11, by Dan Etulain, owner and videographer.
The memorial included music, prayers, blessing of the boats and gear, bell-ringing in memory of loved ones, and spreading of flowers. In past years it was held at the Crescent Harbor shelter and included more clergy and music, the U.S. Coast Guard Color Guard, the harbor department taking flowers to sea, and a ‘‘mug-up’’ at the Sitka Lutheran Church.
Sponsors hope by Monday, April 19, to have the video streamed on Facebook at both the Sitka Lutheran Church and Southeast Alaska Women in Fisheries home pages, thanks to Aaron Minks, a local videographer.
Participants in this year’s blessing were Pastor Sandra Rudd of Sitka Lutheran Church and members of SEAWIF. Scriptures related to the sea and prayers for protection and blessing were read.
Karen Lucas, Mary Soltis and Debra Lyons sang ‘‘The Harbor Bell’’ by David Sankey which is based on the poem by John Henry Yates.
Following the ceremony and filming, flowers were placed into baskets and walked to the top of the O’Connell Bridge where they were dropped into the sea in memory of those who died.
The Mariners Wall site holds much nautical history and organizers thought it an appropriate backdrop for the smaller ceremony this year.
The brass fish, a weathervane on top of the Mariners Wall, was built by Gary Erb from metals of a sunken ship in 1988, when the wall was completed. A large ceremony was held that year.
Many historical bricks are on the wall in the bottom two rows extending 40 feet on both sides. The boat names offer a rich nautical history.
The 1,700 inscribed bricks cover both sides of the 40-foot wall. Memorial bricks are still being placed up the pillars. Individuals can contact SEAWIF, P.O. Box 2276, Sitka, if interested in purchasing a brick.
‘‘One of the bricks reads the name and this statement ‘swamped with too many deer,’’’ said Mary Todd Andersen, who is president of SEAWIF. ‘‘I asked them to put that in to remind people of marine safety. They really did swamp the skiff with too many deer, and someone lost their life.’’
Another brick reads: “John Fowler, shipwright. IOU 3 gaffs.” The fisherman who bought that brick – Ernie Matteson on the F/V Myra – actually borrowed three gaff hooks before a fishing trip and didn’t have a chance to return them to Fowler, who died at sea soon after.
Another fact about the wall pertaining to Fowler is that Eric Borgan, a bricklayer and fisherman, was his good friend. Borgan, who owned the F/V Bing, donated all of his labor to install the 1,700 inscribed bricks.
‘‘There was a brick purchased once years ago that a relative’s family sent us the story,’’ Andersen said. ‘‘Their relative and captain of a boat tossed a bottle into the sea and it was found off Yakutak. We were all in tears as we read the story of how he wrote that as the boat was going down. He didn’t make it, but the bottle was found later with the story.’’
The bronze plaque at the wall states ‘‘The Mariners Wall is a tribute to the marine heritage of S.E. Alaska, and a reminder to mariners to exercise caution while on the water,’’ and signed S.E. Alaska Women In Fisheries, 1988.
The following poem, written by a fisherman family’s brother, also is posted on the plaque.
‘‘To a Fisherman Lost At Sea’’
The ancient purpose of a humble livelihood
To fish still waters, abounding and good,
To fill the empty hold of his craft of wood.
How costly the catch he sought to earn
When from gray to black icy skies did turn,
When rising winds and swells forbid his return.
W.J. Collins (c)
This afternoon, eight bells tolled as the names of mariners who died since the last Blessing of the Fleet, in 2019, were read. In nautical terms, eight bells signifies mariners have finished their final watch.
Mariners who lost their lives over the past two years, since the last ceremony in 2019, are being recognized. Those mariners are:
2020 – Robert Allen Sr., Ryan James Allen, Ralph ‘‘Ken’’ Ash, Michael Bagley, Mark Bautista, Ernest (Chuck) Benson, Cecelia Borbridge, Joyce Ann Bowen, Eric E. Coonradt, Walter A. Dangel, Christian Didrickson, Willis LeRoy Donnally, Kelly C. Ferguson Sr., Andrew Gamble Jr., Jack Griffith, James Ogden Gorman, Michael Harry Helmrich, Myrtle Helem, Glenn Howard Sr., Mel Holmgren, Fred Howard Hope, Janis Mae Hahl, Michael R. Hornaman Sr., Robert James, George Kubik, Reo Lee Lloyd, Nels Herbert Lawson, Frank Leo Miles, William McNally, Ernest Matteson, John McMillen Jr., Doris Main, John Nielsen, Richard Nelson, James Parker, Lowell Severen Petersen, John M. Rouse Sr., Richard Lee Sam Sr., Lorraine Rude Thompson, Goldean Bunny Trow, Betsy Trainor, Susan Tisher, Edward Venneberg, Donna Winnop, Gary Winnop, Stephen Dell Warren.
2021 – William Allery, Paul Arvin, Mark Bagley, Doris Bailey, David Berge, Eugene Bourdukofsky Sr., Charles Bovee, Chris Brewton, Walter Clark, Robert Edenso, Brooke Fulton, Kyle Chambers Fulton, William ‘‘Buddy’’ Howard, Neil Huff, Earle Johnson, William LaMar, William Lovejoy, Steven Guy Lee, Terrence Moses, James Anthony O’Brien, Eric Olsen, John Polivka, Marta Ryman, Scott Stahla, Susan Sturm, Hal Taylor, James Thomason, Steven C. Younger.
Mariners who died at sea are Thomas A. Fuller and Theodocy Merculief.
Those with questions can call Mary Todd Andersen at (907) 738-0969.
