O’Leary said that the Marine program at Georgian College in Owen Sound was “… very important to the community.” Drawing from Aristotle, he quoted, “There are three sorts of people: those who are alive, those who are dead and those who are at sea.” He alluded however to the quote as a metaphor for those who may be emotionally ‘adrift’.Īmong the dignitaries who attended were Owen Sound Deputy Mayor Brian O’Leary, MPP Bruce-Grey Owen Sound Bill Walker and MP Grey Bruce Alex Ruff. Graham Bland drew comparisons between the ships that sail the Great Lakes and those who sailed during ancient Biblical times. The Pilot Flag hangs in honour recognizing that it is the ship’s Pilot who decides on a safe docking. The church was decorated in Mariner flags from companies whose sailors who have kept the ships sailing and, who today, keep them moving. Members of the International Shipmasters’ Association (ISMA) A Cappella Concert chorus joined in singing a moving rendition of Stan Rogers 1981 song the Northwest Passage. O’Donoughue is a graduate of the Georgian College Marine Program in Owen Sound who has gone on to become a Great Lakes Captain. Many Mariner officers attended the service from as far away as Ohio and Detroit and included readings by several mariner ships captains, including Captain Seann O’Donoughue. Mariners with a model of a Great Lakes freighter: (For a larger view, Click on Image)

In a moving ceremony, the Mariners who travel the Great Lakes were remembered and recognized at the 28th Annual Mariners’ Service & Blessing of the Great Lakes Fleet on Sunday, February 9th (2020) in Owen Sound at St.

Great lakes captain brett walker