Blessing of the Fleet

From Blessing of the Fleet Website:

The custom of the Blessing of the Fleet can be traced back to Old World European fishing communities where God was publicly acknowledged and asked for a bountiful harvest and the safety of the men at sea. In 1949, St. Margaret's held its first Blessing of the Fleet envisioned by a parishioner, Clarence Mallet, who moved to Bayou La Batre from Louisiana in 1925 with a strong belief that God's blessings were essential to a good harvest from the sea. With this conviction, he convinced Father Alex O'Neill to hold the first Blessing of the Fleet.