Billy Owens
There is no better way to kick off summer than sponsoring a Blessing of the Fleet at Big Water Marina on Lake Hartwell! May 25 was a beautiful day with lots of people and lots of boats out on the water to participate in the event and observe National Safe Boating Week.
We were able to get WYFF News 4 to air a boating safety segment the day before our event, and they covered the Blessing as well. If you could not make the Blessing, hope you got to see it on TV.
We had our VSC Inspectors positioned on a floating dock where boats could simply pull up and get their free inspections. We even had a squadron mobile boat service (Charles Guderian and his pontoon Big Easy) transporting inspectors boat to boat.
Friar Chris Dunn did a wonderful group blessing of the fleet, followed by sprinkling holy water on each individual boat in the cove. The squadron is so thankful to Friar Chris for the time he took to make this a special day. We also want to thank Big Water Marina and Campground General Manager Darlene Reid for all of her cooperation and assistance planning the event over the past few months.
[layerslider id=”1″]The afternoon was enjoyed by all, listening to the band Carolina Rising, cooling off in the water, and eating the great food at Raines at Big Water. The burgers were very good! If you get a chance this summer please check out Big Water Marina’s new restaurant and bar.
The squadron managed to sign up some America’s Boating Course students for the following Saturday at Big Water, and even a new member, with maybe a few more to follow!!
