VERO BEACH YACHT CLUB TO ANCHOR CITY’S CENTENNIAL YEAR WITH EXPANDED BLESSINGS OF THE AREA FLEET
The Vero Beach Yacht Club is partnering with the City of Vero Beach and the City Marina to help celebrate the city’s year long100th birthday celebration by inviting boaters from Vero Beach and surrounding communities to participate in an expanded Blessing of the Fleet October 11 and 12, 2019.
The annual Blessing is a long-held tradition that began centuries ago in Mediterranean fishing villages to help insure a safe and bountiful boating season.
Clergy from various denominations will gather at 3 p.m. Oct.12 on the City Marina fuel dock and bless participating boats as they pass by.
A mandatory Captain’s meeting will be held at the Yacht Club from 5-7 p.m. Friday October 11 with complimentary hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. Captains will receive the Blessing itinerary and their order of procession, along with commemorative gifts of the City’s Centennial Celebration.
On the day of the Blessing, participants should meet up by 2:30 p.m. between ICW markers 137 and 139. A Yacht Club member on site will coordinate the order of procession on Channel 72. The procession begins at 3 p.m.
Custom dictates for passengers on the boats to throw flowers toward the clergy as they pass by.
Following the ceremony, all participants are invited to the Yacht Club for a special $15 BBQ with live music. The City Marina will make mooring balls available to visiting boats and the club’s pontoon boat “Friendship” along with a vessel from the City Marina will ferry people to the club and back.
To be a part of this historic Blessing of the Fleet, click on the registration form and submit it no later than Monday September 30. The club is located at 3601 Rio Vista Blvd., next to the City Marina.
