Boating on the Hudson since 1885
It was such a wonderful event that brought together 80 members and guests to celebrate the start of the boating season and to honor those who are no longer with us.
The event kicked off with a warm welcome from our Commodore John Disciglio, who introduced our officers and directors. He also thanked everyone for their participation and support of the club.
Then, we had the pleasure of having Deacon Peter Haight of Newburgh lead us in a beautiful service. He has been doing this for us for many years and we are so grateful for his presence and his words. He blessed all of the boats and their crews, and he also helped us remember our club or family members who passed away in the past year. He said some touching prayers and we read their names, while a bell rang for each one. Then, flowers were tossed into the Hudson River as a tribute to our loved ones.
The program also included some fun with a Boat Parade. We had 11 boats join in the parade and show off crews. As they sailed by the Memorial Walk, we cheered them on and applauded their efforts. It was a lot of fun to see all the different boats.
Finally, we enjoyed a delicious brunch in our clubhouse, with chilled Mimosas for the adults. The food was amazing and the company was even better. We had a chance to chat with old friends and make new ones, while enjoying the view of the river. The clubhouse and grounds looked fantastic, thanks to the hard work of the members who came out for the clean up day.
Thank you everyone who helped make this event possible, especially Director Jim Jankum and his wife Karen, who arranged for the food and setup of the clubhouse; Immediate Past Commodore Greg Dombroski and his wife Linda, who handled the logistics and program; Brian and Diane Pine, who provided the flowers and buntings; Art Livesey for putting out the website posts and emails promoting the Blessing and being the MC; Mike Cahill our Fleet Captain who put together a great boat parade ;Tom and Denise Costa (of the North Plank Road Tavern) for donating the Champagne for the mimosas; and Tate Brenner ( Art Livesey’s Grandson) for taking the pictures for our post .
We hope you all enjoyed the Blessing of the Fleet. It was a great way to kick off the boating season and to celebrate our club’s spirit and history. Let’s look forward to seeing each other on the water soon!
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