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Blessing welcome in bad sponge season

The hurricanes of 2004 and a bad bout of Red Tide have shrunk the harvest by more than half.

By NICOLE JOHNSON
Published January 6, 2006

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	Dust in the water Sponges are disappearing from the ocean floor, and so, maybe, is Taso Karistinos' way of life. (Nov. 27, 2005)

TARPON SPRINGS - Dressed in black robes and a chimney box hat, Father Sebastian Skordallos walked the docks Thursday, flicking basil leaves anointed with holy water onto boats, dogs, people and store fronts.

Dozens lined up to kiss the silver cross and receive a blessing as Father Skordallos, dean of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Cathedral, made his way down the docks in the annual blessing of the fleet, which precedes the Epiphany celebration.

But this year's ceremony, which symbolizes the city's religious heritage and its hopes for the future, held even more weight for people like Jeff Love.

"There's been nothing," said Love, a sponger for 16 years. "No bottom, no nothing, no life, and that includes sponges."

Tarpon Springs' spongers had averaged a harvest of 2-million sponges a year, said sponge merchant George Billiris.

But after the 2004 hurricanes and one of the worst recorded summers of Red Tide in history, that supply dwindled by more than half last year.

"This is the worst year I have seen," said Anastasios "Tasso" Karistinos, a sponger for 35 years. "This is a truly needed blessing."

The basil and cross used in the blessing come from the story of Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Helena found the cross on which Jesus was crucified under a basil bush.

"This is our religion," said Dena Martinez, as she and her 18-month-old daughter Stephanie were sprinkled with the basil. "This means good physical and spiritual health."

[Last modified January 6, 2006, 01:24:04]