Blessing of the Fleet is summer tradition in Ashtabula

ASHTABULA – The 77th annual Blessing of the Fleet took place on Sunday, June 21, at the Ashtabula Harbor Public Dock and Carlisle Pavilion.
An informal blessing on boaters in the 1930s began when a priest at Mother of Sorrows Church decided to give some local sailors a special blessing before they set sail for a season of shipping on the Great Lakes. In 1949, the blessing of the boats was added.
With the event, participants welcome the new boating season and summer.
Christine Seuffert emceed the event, introducing Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere.
“Today, we gather as a proud lakeside community to honor a tradition that reaches back through the generations, one brought to us by immigrants who came to Ashtabula seeking opportunity, working our docks and helping build a strong maritime legacy we continue to celebrate today,” Timonere said. “Let us also take a moment to welcome the arrival of summer here in Ashtabula.”
Timonere said boating is not just a pastime in Ashtabula.
“It’s a way of life that connects us to our history,” Timonere said.
Ashtabula City Council President John Roskovics led attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance, while 2026 Lakeside High School graduate Sadie Drozd sang the Star-Spangled Banner and Knights of Columbus Leo J. Kane Assembly 832 and Commander Nicholas Ferrante posted the colors.
The prayer service and blessing was led by Father Raymond Thomas.
“Today we gather to bless the boats and those who will use them for work or pleasure,” Raymond said.
Raymond told of Jesus bringing His disciples to safety on the Sea of Galilee.
They were on a boat at sea when a violent storm came up.
“Jesus was asleep. The disciples came and woke Him and said, ‘Lord, save us. We are perishing,’” Thomas said. “Jesus said to them, ‘Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?’”
The winds and sea calmed, and the men were amazed.
The Toellner family, parents Brad and Maggie and children Andrew and Susanna, laid the memorial wreath on the water. They are part of the Fagnilli family.
Violinist Logan Surbella, in honor of Kyle Smith, and trumpeter Angela Pruett-Ponteri played Taps.
Additionally, Tom and Donna Nelson of ARU held a blessing of the boats in the marina.
The wreath was donated by Capitena’s Floral and Gift Shoppe. It was removed from the water after the ceremony.