Blessing of the Boats raises funds for sailing school.

Blessing of the Boats raises funds for sailing school.

LUDINGTON — The recent inaugural Blessing of the Boats raised over $4,000 for Ludington Youth Sailing School.  The event, which was hosted by Safe Harbor Credit Union and Ludington Bay Brewing Co.

“Ludington Youth Sailing School is going into our sixth season as a local not-for-profit sailing experience for youth between the ages of 8 and 17”, said LYSS President, Gary Ferguson.  “Because the Blessing of the Boats undertaking by Safe Harbor and Ludington Bay was organized to a high degree, our teaching school has realized much needed funds. This allows LYSS to continue the practice of teaching safe boating and water safety to our young people.  Thank you from all our past students and those we serve in the future.”

 Jenifer Merchant from Safe Harbor Credit Union praised all the generous sponsors, volunteers and community members for all their support and input. 

“It’s always awe-inspiring to work within our great community”, Merchant stated. “Even when the weather front blew in, everyone stepped up to re-locate our entire event to the safety of Ludington Bay Brewing. The weather came in quickly and everyone pitched in without hesitation, transferring the whole program to Ludington Bay Brewing, who were gracious enough to open their facility to us”. 

The event included a blessing of boats and boaters by Father Wayne Wheeler of St. Simon Catholic Church, along with raffles and live entertainment throughout the day.

“We’ve learned a lot from our inaugural event”, Merchant commented. “At the very least we learned to be ready for anything, but we’ve also learned that when adversity arises, our community members are ready to band together and find a solution. I think that speaks volumes about the quality of human beings here in Ludington. It makes you even more proud to call it home”.