Community
Photos: 2026 Blessing of the Fleet ceremony
The fleet is blessed, now it’s time to fish.
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Priests from St. Nicholas Catholic Church, wielding super soaker-style water guns loaded with holy water, led the annual Blessing of the Fleet ceremony near the conclusion of the Maritime Gig Festival on Sunday, June 7.
The ceremony includes a procession from the church to Skansie Brothers Park, a ceremony at the park and the blessing of the fleet tied up in the harbor. The tradition provides a prayer for protection for members of the fleet, as well as a remembrance of those lost at sea, before the ships depart to fish the waters off Alaska and elsewhere.
Our thanks to Sean Warner of Paramount Residential Mortgage Group and Bre Judge of Windermere, who took photographer Julie Warrick Ammann into the harbor on a boat to capture these images.
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- Priests from St. Nicholas use squirt guns to bless the commercial fishing boat Champion on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- Members of the Knights of Columbus lead the procession down Rosedale Street from St. Nicholas Catholic Church to Skansie Brothers Park. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- Priests from St. Nicholas use squirt guns to bless the commercial fishing boat Lucia on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- St. Nicholas priests and Gig Harbor Mayor Mary Barber laugh during the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- Members of the Knights of Columbus carry the Our Lady of the Harbor icon to the ceremony at Skansie Brothers Park. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- The commercial fishing boat Harbor Gem awaits its blessing on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- The Gig Harbor commercial fishing fleet awaits its blessing. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- The Gig Harbor commercial fishing fleet awaits its blessing. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- Priests from St. Nicholas Catholic Church use super soaker-style water guns to bless boats on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- The ceremony at Skansie Brothers Park before boarding boats to douse the fleet with holy water. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- The boat carrying priests from St. Nicholas, along with Gig Harbor Mayor Mary Barber and others, approaches the Champion and the Lucia. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
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- The boat carrying priests from St. Nicholas Catholic Church approach the Gig Harbor commercial fishing fleet on Sunday, June 7, 2026. Photo by Julie Warrick Ammann
