All boats invited to ‘Blessing of the Boats’

All Canyon Lake registered boats are invited to participate in the Blessing of the Boats, which will officially launch the Canyon Lake Opening Day of Boating Season tomorrow (Saturday) at 2:00 p.m..

The Canyon Lake Yacht Club, which is hosting the event, intends for Opening Day to be a major annual event signaling the official start of warm-weather activities on the lake, club representative Ron Wilbur said.

Commodore Dennis Reams of the Yacht Club will preside over the event in Canyon Lake. Boats will assemble at 1:30 p.m. in two locations, one at the Holiday Harbor docks for later powering over to the ceremony location, and one at the cove on the Main Lake side of the boat tunnel to East Bay.

Yacht Club boats will be at both locations to provide instructions and to escort the boats for the Opening Day and Blessing of the Boats ceremony which begins at 2:00 p.m.

At the conclusion of the brief ceremony, boats will form into a single line parade following the Yacht Club lead boat. The flotilla will then pass close to the guest dock at the Canyon Lake Lodge where the Pastor Thor Ramsey of the Canyon Lake Bible Club will offer a benediction to each craft and crew for a safe and fun boating season.

Boats gathered last year to participate in the Blessing of the Boats, an event scheduled for tomorrow to officially open boating season in Canyon Lake. Photo provided by Canyon Lake Yacht Club

The Yacht Club flagship boat will then lead participant boats on a slow parade around the Main Lake, finishing in Catfish Cove for a tie-up celebration.

The Blessing of the Boats event will be Canyon Lake’s second. The first was scheduled last year and was to be the inaugural Opening Day event.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions the event was postponed from April and moved to July, making the “Opening Day” name irrelevant since boating season was well underway. Instead, the event was called a Midsummer Blessing of the Boats in anticipation of the larger event for this year, Ron said.

Any boat with current Canyon Lake boat registration can participate tomorrow.

“This is a festive event,” Ron said to those planning on participating. “Participating boats are invited to dress up their boats with ribbons, flags and flowers in keeping with the tradition of boat and fleet blessing events.”

All Canyon Lake residents and guests are invited to view the blessing and boat parade. Great viewing spots include the beach at Holiday Harbor and the Lodge grounds by the pool, which overlooks the marina.

Around the world, the Blessing of the Boats is a century-old tradition. Originating in fishing villages in the Mediterranean, this annual festival was an important part of boating life. Captains, crews and families sought divine favor for bountiful catches and safety for working boats and the men that served on them. Today, annual “blessing” events are held by most yacht clubs and boating fleets across the globe.

The other aspect of the ceremony, Opening Day commissioning, is a tradition signaling the reopening of yacht clubs in the spring, putting boats back in the water after a long winter.

Yacht clubs on the West Coast more recently have picked up the tradition.

“As in most Southern California coastal cities, Opening Day is a symbolic event in Canyon Lake since the weather allows year-round boating,” Ron said. “The Canyon Lake Yacht Club is proud to introduce this new tradition to our community.”

The Canyon Lake Yacht Club was established in 1990 by Canyon Lake residents who loved to get out on the lake. Since that time, it has operated as a social and philanthropic club within the Canyon Lake constellation of sanctioned clubs and organizations.

The club of over 165 members maintains a fun and busy social calendar, bringing members together for dinners, cruises and other recreation.

The club also produces several annual community events including Opening Day/Blessing of the Boats, the Parade of Lights in December, Lake Clean Up days, and the awards dinner where scholarships are awarded to local college students.

More information about the Blessing of the Boats event and about the club in general is available on the club’s website, www.canyonlakeyachtclub.com.