Water Burial Ideas: Meaningful Ways to Honor a Loved One at Sea

One of the most meaningful ways to bury a loved one is with a water burial at sea. Whether the departed or their family has nautical connections, a burial at sea is a meaningful way to lay a beloved person to rest. While traditional water burials involve burying a casket at sea, modern water burials are more often ash-scattering ceremonies. There are several meaningful ways to honor a loved one through a water burial. From full-service ash scattering ceremony planning to the perfect water urns, let’s explore these ceremonies and ways to have a successful burial at sea. 

What Is a Water Burial?

A water burial is any ceremony where a person’s remains are laid to rest in a body of water, like the ocean or a lake. This includes sinking a full casket into the ocean, the classic burial at sea, to scattering ashes from a boat. Ash scattering ceremonies at sea are becoming increasingly popular as cremation rates rise. Many people also scatter ashes at other significant bodies of water, like lakes or rivers. Always use discretion and check out your local ordinances about scattering ashes at that location. In general, if you want to scatter at sea, you need to be at least two nautical miles from shore before any type of human burial can take place. 

Types of Water Burials and Ceremony Ideas

Scattering Ashes on the Water’s Surface

Scattering your loved one's ashes at sea is a time-honored tradition. Not only is the journey to sea and back symbolic of the cycle of life and death, but traveling on the ocean is a beautiful way to bookend a sacred ceremony. You can have a fairly traditional ceremony at sea with the proper arrangements: music, flowers, refreshments, and speeches. One person can scatter, or people can take turns. Alternatively, multiple people can scatter from several smaller scattering urns. 

Using Biodegradable Urns in Water

Water urns are designed to slowly, discreetly release ashes underwater. Made from biodegradable materials or even ice, these special urns take the guesswork out of scattering ashes at sea. Part of the ceremony includes watching the ashes gently dispersing under water.

Memorial Reef and Underwater Tributes

Donate your loved one's ashes to the ocean and its creatures through a memorial reef project. Not only does laying your loved one's remains in a biodegradable urn on a living ocean reef help ocean life grow, but it also allows your loved one to become one with the earth again. 

Symbolic Rituals and Acts of Remembrance

You don’t need to have a full burial at sea to have a meaningful ceremony on the ocean. A symbolic, memorial boat ride can be an emotionally significant moment for you, your family, and other loved ones to remember and honor someone dearly loved. 

Gentle, Eco-Conscious Urns for Water Burials

The Living Urn takes its environmental impact seriously and is dedicated to using as many non-toxic, renewable resources as possible in the production of its urns and memorial products. Its signature line of urns is made from sustainably sourced bamboo and handcrafted without traditional adhesives. Ash scattering is simple, even at sea, with a specially designed scattering urn. We also offer biodegradable water urns that dissolve in the water, releasing your loved one's ashes gently into the sea. Our eco water urn, or the sculptural ice urn, is designed to honor your loved one with a graceful water burial, eliminating the risk of ashes blowing away. Using an eco-conscious urn is a way to celebrate the cycle of life and a loved one who cared about the earth. 

Planning a Thoughtful Water Burial

Planning is key to a successful water burial; you are, after all, going out on the water. Be sure to bring sunscreen in case guests forget, and encourage them to bring umbrellas in case of rain, as well as slickers or waterproof clothing and shoes with grip. Coordinate with the charter boat company on who will provide chairs, music systems, and any refreshments or flowers. Some offer these services as an add-on, but you may need to bring your own items. Be sure to double-check what is allowed on board; for example, glass or alcohol may be exempt. 

Asking for support in planning a water burial is an excellent way to tap into the people who are offering support during this trying time. Delegate as much as possible to family and friends, and designate a central point of contact for the boat charter company so people know who to go to with their questions. If planning food and drinks on the boat is prohibited or seems too complicated, many families opt for an onshore celebration of life after scattering ashes at sea. 

We also offer full-service ash scattering; tailor your experience to meet your needs. We can help you plan an ash scattering ceremony, organize it for you, or scatter the ashes somewhere special on our own. 

Celebrate a Loved One with The Living Urn

Burying your loved one at sea is a meaningful way to honor your loved one and a way for family and friends to lay their loved one to rest in peace. Be gentle with yourself if you’re planning a water burial for someone you cared about deeply; grief and loss are hard on our bodies, minds, and spirits. The Living Urn is here to support you and your family during this time of loss with thoughtful ash scattering ceremony support and eco-friendly scattering and water urns. 

However you wish to celebrate your departed loved one, The Living Urn has a meaningful and thoughtful solution. From modern and contemporary display urns, beautiful planter urns, and cremation keepsakes, the Living Urn offers unique ways to commemorate your loved one. Famous for helping people become trees after they pass, the Living Urn also offers meaningful keepsakes, like cremation stones and memorial jewelry.