Burial at Sea
Ash Scattering at Sea
Peaceful – Beautiful
 

Burial at Sea San Diego – Ash Scattering San Diego

Rose petals floating on ocean surface after ash scattering

San Diego Burial at Sea – San Diego Ash Scattering – provides a wonderful healing opportunity for families to heal. We would be happy to be of assistance and offer you quality burial at sea services on qualify  yachts  during your time of need.

Being very near the ocean, we are able to offer very competitive prices for small or large family groups wishing to scatter ashes for Burial at Sea Services in San Diego and surrounding areas.

The burial at sea – ash scattering – service is, we believe, one of the very best ways to say farewell to a loved one. It creates healing memories that last a lifetime.

To further support our families, in addition to our San Diego ash scattering at sea service, we have established a funeral home San Diego Funerals Your Way (FD: 2188). We are one of the best reviewed funeral homes in San Diego and licensed in California to assist families with complete funeral home services ( cremation, burial etc).

Our families have the convenience of only dealing with one provider.  As well as simple cremation, Funerals Your Way offers the complete range of funeral services including traditional burial as well as cremation services.

Families selecting cremation & sea burial

Ash scattering is it significantly less expensive, rich in nautical background and preserves land usage. It is a celebration of life – saying goodbye in a peaceful beautiful setting.

Our captains are licensed by the United States Coast Guard and have much experience. Additionally, we are commercially insured and licensed by the state of California as a “Cremated Remains Disposer“.  We love helping families at this difficult time in their lives.

Burial at Sea – Ash Scattering – Services

There are basically 3 types of burial at sea services – ash scattering – which we normally perform. Each has it’s advantages and the type of event each family will select depends on the wishes of the group. In the vast majority of scattering services,  the family is in attendance.

Regardless of the type of burial at sea selected, we always create a sea burial Memorial Certificate for the family which specifies the date, time, location of the scattering (lat/long) and a picture of the deceased (should the family provide one). On trips with the family in attendance, we encourage attendees to take pictures as a rememberance of the scattering event. These may be posted on our obituary site and thus shared with other family members who could not attend.

Attended Sea Burial

In the vast majority of scattering services,  probably 90% ,  the family is in attendance on the yacht for the burial at sea service. This type of service provides the most healing and closure opportunities.

We always plan with the family how they wish their trip to proceed. Topics such as did they wish clergy on board, music, flowers, singing, verses read, how do they wish to scatter, catering, bar service and more.  

Each trip is completely customized based on the desires of the particular family. Some families want extensive preparations and some do not.

On Shore Sea Burial

Sometimes for various reason the family does not wish to be on the yacht for the actual scattering. In this case there are two options;

Wave Goodbye – where the yacht pulls close to the shore on the way out to perform the burial at sea. it is a last opportunity for the family to wave goodbye.

View from Shore – the family and view the burial at sea being performed from shore. The viewing location is often Cabrillo Monument, Ocean Beach Pier or the Pacific Beach Pier.

 

Un-Attended Burial

On some occasions, the family cannot be in attendance at all for the burial at sea. In these instances, we are able to scattering the cremains in their absence.

We always take some pictures of the event and create a memorial certificate detailing the location and time of the scattering.

It goes without saying that we take the same care with the loved one as if the family was on the yacht and participating in the burial at sea ceremony with us. 

 Un-Attended sea burial scattering generally take place within a couple weeks of us receiving the cremains. 

Flowers on the ocean during an ash scattering at sea

Sea Burial – Wreaths, Flowers For Ash Scattering

Flowers and Wreaths may be added at your discretion with prices varying, depending upon the arrangements desired. Flowers which are going to be placed in the water must  be 100% biodegradable – no plastic or non natural elements.

If you are going to place wreaths in the water make sure that they are not held together with wire. Wreaths do provide a great focal point for viewing as they mark where the cremains were placed in the ocean after the cremains themselves have dissipated.

Leis are also a very nice touch. When a person takes the lei off and places it in the ocean it is said that they are giving love to the deceased.

Wreath of Red Roses for Scattering at Sea - Sea Burial
Wreath of Yellow Roses for Scattering at Sea - Sea Burial
Wreath of Pink Roses for Scattering at Sea - Sea Burial

burial at Sea – Scattering at Sea – Military

Often veterans who live in coastal communities, such as San Diego, have a special connection with the sea and may select to be scattered at sea.  This is especially true for Navy veterans, but veterans from all branches of the services have been stationed in San Diego at one time or another and have a special affinity for the area.

It is common to have Military Honors performed before the actual scattering takes place and it is always our honor to be of assistance with organizing this event. We will need  a copy of the deceased’s discharge papers (DD214 or similar) showing an honorable discharge from the U.S. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force or Coast Guard. Those who served in the U.S. Merchant Marine during World War II are also eligible.

At the completion of the honors service the flag is presented to the next of kin – it is very moving! Please view the video below for an honors ceremony that was preformed just before boarding our of our yachts for sea burial.

Military Honors, in this case performed by the Navy, before the family boards the yacht for the Burial at Sea.

Since the military DOES NOT allow the family to be present on military ships for ash scattering, many military families choose to use our services.

The only branch of the service that currently sends a live bugle player for military honors is the US Marines, all other branches use a recording. Since live bugle players are available through the organization “Bugles Across America”, we do our best to coordinate their participation in the honors ceremony – making is more special.

Ash Scattering – Sea Burial – Location San Diego

Our ash scattering ceremonies may be performed at any location selected by the family, many take place at locations, off the San Diego Coast, such as Ocean Beach Pier, Crystal Pier or the Cabrillo Monument on Point Loma. California Funeral law states that ash scattering must take place at least 500 yards from shore.

The exact GPS position of the ceremony as well as weather conditions are recorded. This information is then used to complete the Memorial Certificate which will be sent to the family.  We perform burials at sea for all religious traditions and customs.

Burial at Sea – Memorial Services

It is also possible to perform a burial at sea with no remains. This can be done when it is not possible to retrieve remains – in the case of a ship sinking or other disaster where no body is found. A service can be performed as a memorial or flowers placed in the water. Although not strictly a burial at sea, it does provide the family and friends with a form of closure to aid in the grieving process.

Memorial services are also common on the anniversary of the actual scattering. Because we record the exact position of each scattering, we can visit the exact location again.

Shipping Cremains – Ashes

If you are planning to have an attended burial at sea (ash scattering) then you may bring the ashes with you the day of the charter. This is actually our preference, since the cremains remain in your control. Even if you have decided to use a biodegradable urn, we will be able to place the remains in the urn when you arrive on the yacht.

If you wish to have us scatter the ashes in your absence, or will be viewing from shore, we will need to receive the ashes before or earlier on the day of the event. The easiest way is to just drop the ashes off at our office in person. If this is not possible, the ashes may be mailed. You will also have to complete this Ash Scattering Authorization form to allow us to scatter the ashes on your behalf.

Mailing the ashes may require you to have a transport permit. Just give us a call and we will help you determine this and will obtain the permit for you if necessary.

Post Office for Mailing Cremains

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