Story & Photos Courtesy of Debbie Tuma
The 69th Blessing of the Montauk Fleet took place on Sunday, June 8 under cloudy skies, with breaks of sun and mild weather. Captain Frank Braddick, of the “Hurry Up” charter boat, was on board the Viking Starship to welcome all the clergy and families of the 14 people who worked on the water, who have died in the past year. The families brought beautiful flower wreaths to throw in the water to commemorate their loved ones.
This Montauk tradition of blessing the boats for the coming season, was brought to Montauk by the late Capt. Vinnie Grimes. 
He discovered this fishing ceremony while in the service in Europe. The Montauk Boatmen’s and Captain’s Association has been running the Blessing for almost 70 years. Captain Frank Braddick has been running it for them for the past 40 years.
But during the June 8 Blessing, he announced that this will be his last year doing it, and for now, Capt. Jill Maganza of the boat, “November Rain,” will be taking it over for the Boatmen’s and Captain’s Association. Many thanks to Capt. Braddick for his many years of service to the Blessing of the Fleet!
On Sunday, June 8, over 100 boats of all sizes paraded past Gosman’s Dock to get blessed by the local clergy aboard the Viking Starship. There was Reverend Bill Hoffmann of the Montauk Community Church, Father Liam McDonald of the St. Therese Roman Catholic Church, Cantor Deborah Stein of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, and Reverend Benjamin Shambaugh of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton.
They raised their hands and blessed the boats, from charter boats to commercial draggers and trawlers, to sail boats, dingies, Boston Whalers, Cigarette boats, inflatable boats, and huge yachts. Even Billy Joel’s boat participated, as in past years. Also, during the ceremony, Faith Mullaly sang the National Anthem.
Afterward, all the boats sailed out of the harbor to the Bell Buoy. David DaSilva played Taps on the “Hurry Up” boat, while the families threw wreaths into the water for their loved ones who died in the past year, who worked on the water. This year, these included Capt. Barry Kohlus, Capt. David Kohlus, Capt. John Gallo, Butch Maher, Joe Billotto, Capt. Ed Beneduci, Phil Gamble, Peter Anderson, John Wanag, Capt. Jim Jolly, Douglas Colbath, James Hunt, Ralph Cusimano, and T-Bone Tiernan Crowley.
The Montauk Boatmen’s and Captain’s Association was started in 1965 by a group of local captains for the purpose of ensuring their voices were heard by lobbying politicians at the state and federal levels. Their mission was to preserve the sport fishing culture in Montauk and ensure long-term and equal access to our local fisheries. The Association thanks Capt. Frank Braddick, The Viking Fleet, and the local clergy members for all their help in putting together this great Montauk “Blessing of the Fleet” tradition!
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