TONAWANDA — On June 4, the Inner Harbor Yacht Club hosted its annual "Blessing of the Boats" ceremony with a new name. From now on, the ceremony will officially be designated the "Anne Meyer Memorial Blessing of the Boats," in honor of Anne Meyer, the originator of the event which debuted in 1981.

The blessing took place at the South Terminal Wall of the Erie Barge Canal, east of the Delaware Avenue Bridge. Father Joseph Propiglia, director of the Apostleship of the Sea of the Diocese of Buffalo, officiated at the ceremony.

This was the first blessing without Meyer, who continued working on the event by sending out many related letters until her death in 2016. She was 100.

For the blessing, a flotilla of boats formed in the East River section of the Niagara River, opposite of the Radisson Hotel Niagara Falls Grand Island, with the Liberator serving as the lead boat. The procession then continued on to the Erie Canal, passing the reviewing stand for blessings as other boating traffic continued nearby.

Before the event, a pancake and sausage breakfast took place at the Inner Harbor Yacht Club on Fillmore Avenue in Tonawanda. A cookout followed for dinner.
For questions or more information about the Inner Harbor Yacht Club, contact Dave Herbold at 716-861-7497.