May 28, 2001
Blessing
Opens Boating Season, Promotes Safety
Rough water underscores message of third annual ceremony aboard Star
LARRY MUHAMMAD, The Courier-Journal
Rough water and a strong current kept most boats off the Ohio River yesterday.
But that only slightly dampened the third annual Blessing of the Ships, a Star of
Louisville ceremony that opens the boating season with an emphasis on safety.
Seventy passengers on the Star watched as the Rev. Paul R. Richart of St. Paul Catholic Church in Sellersburg, Ind., said a blessing: ``Today we gather to bless this boat and those who will use it for work or pleasure. The Lord calmed the Sea of Galilee and brought his disciples to safety. We commit those who use this craft into his care.''
Then William and Daniel Owens, 8- and 4-year-old sons of Star of Louisville chef Kerry Owens, lowered plastic replicas of river patrol boats into the Ohio in a symbolic launch.
And seven girls wearing white dresses and ribbons in their hair - Jessice and Jennifer Campbell, 8 and 5 Savannah Hall, 9 Destiny
Coogle, 7 Mary and Carolyn Arthur, 9 and 8 and Kayla Marino, 8 - dropped rose petals from the barge adjoining the Star. ``These are symbols of peace and tranquility of the Ohio,'' Richart said.
But the river yesterday was anything but - with rough, debris-strewn waters and a level four feet higher than normal - underscoring the purpose of the ceremony.
``There's water running over the top of the gates of the dam, so you've got a tremendous amount of current, which makes it extremely tricky to dock,'' said Officer Brian Hinton of the Jefferson County Police River Patrol, ``so river conditions aren't good. It's a safety factor. . . . If you hit some debris, you're going to run the risk of hurting someone or possibly do some expensive damage to your boat. Normally we have hundreds of boats out, and now it's a ghost town.''
Last year more than 50 boats participated in the blessing, but this year's no-shows didn't faze organizer Bonnie Meyer. ``We're river people and this doesn't slow us down,'' said Meyer, the Star's special events coordinator. ``The safety message will get out. All the
boaters know we're doing it.''
The Jefferson County River Patrol made 68 boating-related arrests last year, issued 95 citations and reported four deaths - two drownings and two from boating accidents.
Said Katrina Schnurr, the Blessing of the Ships princess, who teaches physical education in New Albany/Floyd County Schools, ``I was raised on Waldoah Beach, next to Cox Park, and as a child I saw everything from dead bodies to boat wrecks. And I think it's very important to bless this water to help increase awareness of boating safety and try to prevent some of these tragedies from occurring.''
