By reporter Steven Smalley
For the 88th year in a row, the Ballard First Lutheran Church, led by Pastor Erik Wilson Weiberg, joined politicians, fishers, and community members Sunday afternoon to bless the commercial fishing fleet based at Fishermen?s Terminal.
?They bless one fishing vessel in honor of all of the fishermen who go out for the season,? says Julia Weisenburger, a member of the church choir. ?We like to think that God will watch over them and keep them safe.?
This year the vessel to receive the blessing on behalf of the entire fleet is the Sea Gem, owned by Captain Chris Cornwell of Bainbridge Island who was there with his family and crew.
Of the blessing Cornwell said, ?With the low prices today, it?s not a bad thing. We need all the help we can get.?
Also in attendance were King County Council Member Jeanne Kohl-Wells, who replaced the now retired Larry Phillips; Seattle Deputy Mayor Kate Joncas; Ross Perry, Port of Seattle, and many others.
The blessing was held in front of the bronze Seattle Fishermen’s Memorial at the docking facility. Dedicated in 1988, the plaque states: ?? As a tribute to the men, women, their families, and the members of the fishing community who have suffered the loss of life at sea.? The website for the memorial says it?s for ?The families of more than 675 local commercial fisherman and women who have lost their lives pursuing their livelihoods since the turn of the century.?
Kae Ellingsen was standing in the back of the event when she spoke with Magnolia Voice.
?My cousin?s name, Leroy Hansen, is on the wall over here,? she said. ?He died in 1983 on The Traveler. ?The Deadliest Catch shows what happens up there.?
