Quilcene marina to host first Blessing of the Fleet event

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, April 22, 2026

QUILCENE — The first Blessing of the Fleet in Quilcene’s history will take place Saturday.

“I’m a retired Navy captain and I’ve been in a number of ports in the world, and often times they do have blessing of the fleet,” said Brian Cullin, the coordinator of the event.

The tradition originated in 1920s and ’30s in the Northeastern United States, with the blessing of fishing fleets, Cullin said.

“It has evolved into something which is just a celebration of opening day of the maritime community,” Cullin said. “The Navy is often involved. They sometimes provide a blessing vessel or a chaplain or both to conduct the ceremony and the celebration. It has become very much an ecumenical type of event where often times indigenous spiritual leaders are present, as well as more Western religious representatives. Ours will be following in those footsteps.”

The event, which will include a boat parade, a water taxi tour, music, food, a cold plunge and open houses, will begin at 10 a.m. and go until 2 p.m. at the Herb Beck Quilcene Marina, 173 Linger Longer Road.

The parade will begin at noon with a signal cannon and bagpipes provided by Nancy Fredrick.

“It will be in the bay,” Cullin said. “The blessing vessel, my sailboat, is going to be anchored off the marina. On it will be the most senior Navy chaplain in the Pacific Northwest. This is the last duty he is doing before he retires. His name is Captain Ray Rivers.”

Rivers will perform the ecumenical blessing from Cullin’s boat, and Dana Ward will perform a blessing from the shore, representing the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, Cullin said.

The parade of boats will come from Frenchman’s Point or Fisherman’s point, ushered in by safety boats, and pass in the blessing boat before they go out the way they came in.

The boats will vary from tug boats to trawlers, kayaks, rowboats and large sailboats. Anyone can enter the parade, even on the day of the event, Cullin said.

One of the safety boats will be the Brinnon Fire Department’s boat, Cullin said.

“They’ve got a 20-foot fire boat that will come up from Pleasant Harbor with hopefully a small flotilla of boats,” Cullin said. “The fire boat will lead the parade. He’s got a water cannon. He’s going to be using that to be a part of the celebration too.”

A water taxi will provide free historical tours of the bay throughout the day.

Cold plungers from groups in Brinnon and Port Townsend are expected to join a 1:45 p.m. plunge, and all are welcome to join in.

The Quilcene Historical Museum has developed a handout of the maritime history of the area, including Quilcene. The museum also will have an open house at Worthington Mansion.

In addition, there will be an open house at the Quilcene Harbor Yacht Club, located at the marina.

Live music will be provided for the length of the event by the Boiler Room String Band, Quimper’s Watch, No Borders Band and the Derek Stallman Band.

“We were specifically going for traditional music with some maritime flavor in it,” Cullin said.

Food will be provided by the Chimacum High School food truck.

The Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group will share information on its floodplain restoration project at the Big Quilcene River.

Present also with information will be the Northwest Watershed Institute, Jefferson Land Trust, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Habitat for Humanity and the Port of Port Townsend.

Sponsoring the event is Pacific Seafood, with in-kind support from the Port of Port Townsend, Quilcene Harbor Yacht Club, Quilcene Historical Museum, Habitat for Humanity and the U.S. Navy.

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Reporter Elijah Sussman can be reached by email at elijah.sussman@peninsuladailynews.com.