KAGAWONG—As part of the annual Marine Service and Blessing of the Boats ceremony at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Kagawong, an unveiling of a special marine plaque was carried out.
Dianne Fraser provided greetings to the congregation and requested all those in attendance to proceed to the marina.
Billings councillor Michael Hunt, on behalf of the township, said “the township of Billings, the Old Mill Heritage Centre committee and St. John’s church is unveiling this plaque today. It is dedicated in memory of all those dedicated to all those who have lost their lives in area waters.”
“Great Creator of the waters and the winds, we ask your blessing on these boats and those who travel in them,” said Reverend Catherine Hazlitt in blessing the boats in the Billings marina. “Watch over them as they sail over the waves; give them fair winds and safe passage, pleasant journeys and good harbours. May they see your hand upon their voyage, granting them safety to their journey’s end. This we ask in the name of the One who walked on the water, calmed the wind, and stilled the waves, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”
Doug Alkenbrack and Bill Savage then led everyone in the hymn, ‘He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.’
Everyone returned back inside the church for the rest of the service.
Kagawong resident and journalist Mike Strobel, of the Toronto Sun, told the story of the ill-fated journey of the 24-foot cabin cruiser boat The Rhu that broke up in a squall with the loss of four lives (including two children) at the mouth of Mudge Bay on August 23, 1965.
He had interviewed Jim Huffman, one of the survivors of the wreck, about 12 years ago, who told him the tragic and heartbreaking story of The Rhu, which saw him lose his best friend and his wife and their two children.
“I wrote about the ‘Blessing of the Boats’ ceremony the church hosts every year and had referred to shipwrecks in the area, one being The Rhu,” said Mr. Strobel. “Mr. Huffman had called me and said he wanted to talk about the incident that had taken place about 50 years earlier. So, a photographer and I went to the long-term home where he was living. Jim was in the late stages of dying from Parkinson’s disease.”
“It was one of the most moving and heart-breaking stories I have ever heard in all my years in journalism,” said Mr. Strobel, as he told the gut-wrenching story through the words of Mr. Huffman, who lost his family wife Shirley, and young daughters Karen and Catherine and his best friend Wyn Rhydwen after the boat had run aground. The morning after this had taken place a storm came in and had battered the boat and water had got inside, forcing them to leave the boat. The only survivors were Jim Huffman and Bonnie Rhydwen who both drifted across the Mudge Bay for 16 hours until the current washed them onto a sandy beach on Gooseberry Island. The two families had bought the boat that summer.
The bow of The Rhu was used in the construction of the pulpit of St. John’s Church.
Mr. Strobel will be recounting in detail the story at the History Day in Kagawong presentation on August 8 in Kagawong.
The congregation then took part in the hymn ‘I Feel the Winds of God Today,’ followed by a reading of a poem ‘Our Window’ written by Reverend Beth Topps, the former priest at the church, followed by the song ‘Sailing.’
Bill Savage then rang the bell to remember all those who have been lost on the water around Manitoulin Island while Ms. Fraser read the names of everyone who has passed on the water.
Rev. Hazlitt praised Ms. Fraser for organizing the special service and marine plaque unveiling. “It is very becoming to have that plaque unveiled here. Of all the Anglican churches on the Island this one is the closest to the water.”
