Blessing of the Fleet @ Portage Des Sioux

I'd sailed on the Mississippi River for years in my younger days but somehow I had always missed the annual Blessing of the Fleet and its boat parade. I finally made it this year and am glad that I did. Like many others, we came to enjoy the festivities from the shore. The Palisades Yacht Club (PYC) at Portage Des Sioux served as the judging point for the boats which were decked out (or mostly not) in decorations. Right next door is the Our Lady of the Rivers Shrine where the blessings actually occur.

Here at Portage Des Sioux are several marinas that stretched out for several hundred yards along the Mississippi River. I had expected that parking might be a problem but there was tons of parking (except at the PYC where the judging occurred). We parked at The Longshot Saloon (see my review of it) and could walk around to the various areas with ease.

We had an enjoyable time. Even though the temperature was 93F degrees, the 5-10 MPH breeze off the river made our visit comfortable. We plan to come back next year. I might add that there were probably only a hundred-or-so yachts out on the river in front of us, but that is a lot more than you'll probably otherwise see grouped closely together at one time right here.

Oh, and I might add that a lot of yachts were also in-harbor with their passengers enjoying the events of the day as well.