The recent Blessing of the Fleet at Beachport was a remarkable event for three key participants.

With a gathering of hundreds looking on, visitors Rose Fry and Matilda Lush braved the chilly waters of Rivoli Bay to dive from the jetty and retrieve the blessed cross from the deep.

It was the first such liturgical occasion for Millicent/Beachport Anglican parish priest Father Lyndon Sulzberger in his 25 years of ordained ministry.

Father Lyndon then used the blessed cross to bless the 20 vessels which form the Beachport professional lobster fleet as they steamed past the jetty.

The Blessing of the Fleet dates back decades at Beachport and is arranged at the start of the fishing season each year by the churches of Beachport and the Beachport Professional Fishermen’s Association.