Jonathan Stine and his wife Shannon Dahl are standing outside at the Wrangell Mariners’ Memorial in the midst of spring among a large group of people. Many have friends and family members with them to celebrate the blessing of this year’s fleet and honoring Wrangell mariners who’ve died, some at sea. They’re looking at plaques with names on them on a curved wall next to the ocean. It’s safe to say the majority of people know somebody listed on the plaque.
“Our nephew Arnie’s on a plaque there, and then Shannon’s brother, Chris, is down there,” Stine said. “We flew up.”
Dahl said they traveled from Ridgefield, WA to attend this memorial for mariners who died at sea. It’s the second time they’ve come to Wrangell for the Blessing of the Fleet. The first time was in 2022, for their nephew.
“The first time was when our 27-year old nephew, Arnie, his fishing boat sank and he drowned right off by Point Baker,” she said. “Then his father passed away last June. Chris Dahl was from Wrangell. He spent the last 10, 15 years up here. He fished his entire adult life and loved fishing. So they’re both on the wall.”
Dahl said she and her husband took this short, three-day trip just for the Blessing. They’re leaving tomorrow.
“This is so nice that the community does this,” she said as she choked up. “It’s cathartic. It’s just wonderful.”
Volunteers have been adding names to the Wrangell Mariners Memorial for the last four years. Plaques with anchors on them signify those who lost their lives on the water.
“We have done the blessing on this site since, I think, 2019 but it was not constructed (then),” Jenn Miller-Yancey said. She’s been the president for the group who maintains the memorial since 2018. “We started before construction actually was finished. And then 2022 was the first year that we had the walls up and we had plaques.”
But she said it’s been a longtime dream for Wrangellites connected to the water.
“The project had been an idea in Wrangell for at least 20 years, maybe even 30,” Miller-Yancey said. “Very long time, lots of hands, lots of ideas, lots of minds of Wrangellites behind this project.”
Miller-Yancey introduces the ceremony. She said they made 18 new plaques this year.
A Girl Scout color guard walks towards the front. They start the ceremony with the Pledge of Allegiance. The gatherers follow by reciting the national pledge.
Seventh grader Quinn Davies read a poem about living and working out at sea. The school choir sings the Wrangell Song with the music teacher strumming her acoustic guitar to add to the melody.
Captain Chase Tomberlin Green from the Salvation Army read and invited the community to participate in a prayer to bless the fleet. He read Psalm 104, which celebrates the tie between a creator, creation and care.
Families and friends gather near each other, dipping their heads and remembering their loved ones. Some recite the prayer by reading from the paper leaflet given to them in the beginning.
A few fishing vessels watch from Zimovia Strait, listening on VHF radios.
After the blessing, Miller-Yancey and other board members read the names of mariners since 2022, some who have passed away at sea. They also read fishermens’ names that are dedicating their time out in the water this year. A bell chimes after each current fisherman.
Additionally, Pastor Kem Haggard lead a prayer for the safety and protection of those who sail on the waters.
After he finished the prayer, a bell is chimed eight times, signifying the end of the mariners’ watch.
It’s a time to remember — both those lost and those who go on risking their lives to provide.
