Montauk Pioneer - June 19, 2009 - Coming Full Circle

Since Vinnie Grimes brought the Blessing of the Fleet to Montauk 53 years ago, it has been a tradition here each June, the week before Father's Day. And for all those years, I have gone out in this event on my father's charter boat, "The Dawn." I would always bug my father, Captain Bob Tuma, to steer the boat up close to the Coast Guard cutter, so I could get a picture of the clergy members blessing each boat as they went by. Then I would bug him some more, to get up close to the Coast Guard cutter as the families aboard it threw flowered wreaths in the water in memory of their beloved fishermen who died during the past year.

But this year was different for me. I was now on board the Coast Guard cutter, tossing a wreath into the water for my own father, who passed away last November at the age of 85. It was a weird feeling, being out on a huge military ship during this somber ceremony, instead of bobbing around on his wooden boat, surrounded by friends and family. For the past 20 or more years, our Blessing of the Fleet party included Montauk residents Carol Morrison, Joan Matson, Maria Lubinska, Anne Collins, Bob Strain, my Dad's mate Richie, my Mom, and several others.

But it was also a comforting feeling, to know that he was being honored, like his fellow captains and mates, for one of the main things he lived for, to run his charter boat in these waters off Montauk. Despite battling lung cancer, he had continued to run his charter boat a few times over last summer, not being able to stay very long on land. One of the hardest things for him to deal with, in spite of declining health, was having to give up the thing he loved the most-fishing.

As I looked out over the scenic panorama of boats circling around the wreaths, which were floating in the water for eight deceased Montauk fishermen, I thought that my father would be at peace in these waters, where we put some of his ashes, last November. It was where he spent most of his time, running his boat, for the past 65 years.

And other family members on the Chinook Coast Guard cutter felt the same way. Ellen DePaola of East Hampton, who was aboard to honor her husband, Capt. Frank DePaola, 59, who died last February, said, "He lived to fish-we named his boat 'Kim,' after our daughter. He chartered his boat out of Captain's Cove and Montauk Marine Basin. I think this is a great way to remember him and his colleagues."

Cody McMillan, 16, tossed a wreath in for his father, Marty McMillan, 51, who died last November when they were fishing together in their boat off the lighthouse, in a bad squall. His father, of Manhattan, had accidentally fallen overboard and drowned. He kept his 30-foot boat, "Tin Man," at West Lake Fishing Lodge for many years, and the staff there were devastated by his passing.

"We threw some of my Dad's ashes into his boat slip this morning, and now we're honoring him here-I think this is fitting since he loved fishing in Montauk so much," said Cody McMillan, of Levittown, who had come aboard with his uncle and aunt, Matt and Linda McMillan, and his 16 year-old cousin, Ryan McMillan, all from Mastic Beach.

"I think wherever he is, my uncle Marty is fishing," said Ryan McMillan.

"My brother was a great fisherman-he never went out on a boat when he didn't catch something," said Matt McMillen.

A wreath was also thrown in for Montauk shark fishing legend Captain Frank Mundus, who put Montauk on the map for "monster sharks" and whose family was out of town.

"My husband used to fish with Frank when he was young, and Frank inspired him to go into the business," said Gail Fagan, wife of Captain Pete Fagan, 57, who died last July, and who worked on Montauk charter boats and draggers.

Gail Fagan, who was aboard with her son, Dan, said, "This is blessing is a tribute to our life of 35 years. If my husband wasn't fishing, he was clamming or hunting."

Peter Vaughan, of Larchmont, was honoring his father, Captain Jack Vaughan, of Scarsdale, who kept his boat, Robin Anne, at the Montauk Marine Basin. "My mother Constance and I came out because we think it's a great way to remember him. The last time my Dad and I were this close to a Coast Guard cutter was when we were out shark fishing and a cutter went by and almost knocked us over in their wake."

The eight captains who were honored in this year's Blessing of the Fleet, sponsored by the Montauk Boatmen and Captain's Association, were: Michael O'Reilly, Gene Ritter, Robert Vaughan, Peter Fagan, Frank DePoala, Bob Tuma, Frank Mundus, and Marty McMillan. A ninth wreath was also thrown in to commemorate all the Montauk fishermen who have died over the years.

At the Blessing, which was organized by Captain Frank Braddick, over 150 boats were blessed by the local clergy, including Rev. Charles Ehrhart of St. Therese Catholic Church, Rev. Anne Stewart Miller of the Montauk Community Church, Cantor Debra Stein of the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, and Father Alex Karloutsos of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons.

Cantor Debra Stein, who has performed over a dozen blessings, said, "Living in a fishing community that makes it living on the water, I think it's very important to have this ceremony each year, as a meaningful way to start the new season."