2009 Blessing of the Fleet
30 vessels took part including Port Authority, CCGC CAPE CHALLION, Coast Guard RHBIB, GRIFFON RHIB, and Ministry of Natural Resources Conservation Officer Vessel and 30 people were on land. Ian Angus represented the city of Thunder Bay.
This year the featured vessel was the Thunder Bay Yacht Club racing fleet. Once the Blessing of the Fleet was over, the Triangle Race started. Thank you to Bill Dunlop, the Fleet Captain - Sail for coordinating this.
The Thunder Bay Triangle
The Thunder Bay Triangle is a medium distance yacht race, about 25 nautical miles that will take about five hours to complete. It is the second race in the Thunder Bay Yacht Club’s Offshore Series. The series consists of five races throughout the season. The longest race in the series is a race from Thunder Bay to Houghton Michigan, about 100 miles across Lake Superior. The Triangle Race is a favourite among Thunder Bay sailors as it takes competitors past the Welcome Islands out to Hare Island which is just off Thunder Cape, which is the foot of the Sleeping Giant. The race is just long enough to present sailors with a variety of wind and sea conditions which requires crews to adapt by changing sails to meet differing winds strengths and speeds. Further information on racing is found at www.tbyc.on.ca.
The Blessing of the Fleet is made possible by the help of a number of people, and it is appreciated:
The Officiants: Rev’d Ed Swayze, Rev’d Peter Smyth.
The volunteers who worked to make the Blessing of the Fleet a success, particularly Barb & Craig Williams;
Lieutenant Commander Les Newman, master of ceremonies;
Guy Jarvis, Harbourmaster, Thunder Bay Port Authority;
The City of Thunder Bay for the use of Marina Park;
The MacGillivary Pipe Band www.members.shaw.ca/macgillivraypipeband;
Lieutenant Commander John Bell, Commanding Officer HMCS GRIFFON for GRIFFON’S assistance; and
Rollason Flowers Limited for the donation of flowers.