The Long Island Advance - April 25, 2002

P O I N T O F V I E W

Final rest at sea

By Brian Curry

Whenever we can, Debra and I steal away down to the bay and have our afternoon cup of coffee there. Those few minutes of watching the water, the boats, the birds and the people recharge our batteries and allow us to mellow out. Of course, the late dose of caffeine doesn't hurt either.

Earlier this week we were sitting down at the mouth of the Patchogue River. We were deep in conversation about one thing or another and as a boat came by I heard a man's voice yell out, "Hay Brian!"

It took me a second or two to recognize the face, but when I did I was surprised. I hadn't seen this guy in at least five years. He was letting a well-dressed family off at the river line and, after he did that, he pulled alongside to say hello.

I asked him if that family had been his latest customers. He replied, "Sort of. It was his birthday and the family threw some flowers on the water in the bay." Deb was looking at us kind of weirdly until I explained exactly what Gus does for a living.

Forty-eight-year-old Gus Hald, of Babylon, is the president and operator of "Sea Services Maritime Funeral Providers," which allows the remains of those cremated to be scattered out at sea. I was actually with Gus when this entire thing started for him back in 1989.

Gus had received a phone call from a friend whose grandmother had died. In her will she had requested that her ashes be scattered in the water. An avid boater and a certified master sea captain, Gus had said yes and placing a few phone calls over lunch with me to determine the procedures and legalities to do this favor for his friend.

These phone calls eventually lead to "Sea Services, " which today completes ... these ceremonies...(around the world). "What I found out is that a lot of people, especially here on Long Island, were interested in this," Gus said. "It makes a lot of sense. Most of us have grown up on the waterfront, spent time on the beaches, or simply fished and boated."

Deb asked him how he got the business growing. "I talked to a lot of funeral directors and slowly they started calling me," Gus said. However he credits the advent of the Internet as the biggest plus for the business. "I remember reading an article in The Wall Street Journal that said all businesses needed to be on the Web by 2000. I took that advice and it meant a lot of business."

When John F. Kennedy, Jr. was buried at sea (by the U.S. Navy), Gus' company took off for good. "I had over 300 phone calls and e-mails that day. I must have given a dozen interviews to radio stations around the country about sea burials and cremations."

Hald also has been the subject of profiles in both the New York Times and Long Island Newsday. He believes he is doing a service to the families. "Even when remains are sent to me, usually from people who no longer live on the Island, I will send them a certificate showing where I scattered the family member.

The federal government requires ashes to be scattered a minimum of three miles off-shore in the ocean. Surprisingly, there are no laws that cover the Great South Bay. All his "sea burials" (you can have a non-cremated body buried too, but under many more restrictions) are reported to the Environmental Protection Agency.

So as Gus cast off and headed off into the sunset, we waved goodbye and I said to Debra without even looking in her direction, "Don't even think about it." But if the idea intrigues you, you can reach Gus at www. SeaServices.com.

Brian Curry is a weekly feature writer the Long Island Advance, in Patchogue, New York.

Read Other News Features about Sea Services

New York Times - " Ashes to Ashes, Then Into the Briny Deep"

Dear Abby on Sea Burial