Longboat Harbour blessing of the fleet has extra guests in manatees

Longboat Harbour boaters can take to the water with a little more ease after getting their annual blessing on March 22. 

The community has held a Blessing of the Fleet and Rum Runner Rendezvous party every year for more than a decade, with only one year off due to COVID-19. Commodore Bill Coughlin organizes the fleet every year. 

Father Robert Dziedziak from St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church said a blessing before boats began to come through. By the end of the day, 20 boats, including the Longboat Key Fire Department boat, and 23 stand-up-paddleboarders and kayakers came through. 

As the harbor got more crowded, the boats weren’t the only ones trying to avoid each other. About 30 manatees were also in the harbor, and some bystanders on dry land shouted to boaters to change course away from the sea cows, who can’t hear low frequency boat motors like those of the slow-moving boats in Longboat Harbor. There was a close call with at least one boat.

“Everybody’s intentions I think are good but when you have so many boats and they’re not high enough to see it can be bad,” resident Lewis Gluckstern said.  

March is mating season for manatees, and resident Mary Lentz said she saw babies nursing with mothers earlier in the day and was upset about how close boats got to the mammals.

Lentz, along with a few other residents, were trying their best to keep the manatees safe from harm. The mammals were very active and stayed close to the surface, splashing around, throughout the blessing. There are generally a lot in Longboat Harbour at this time of year, as they like the warm waters, but this is among the most residents like Gluckstern had seen. 

“It’s not just any ordinary time for them,” Lentz said.