Bangor Daily News By Jules Walkup – ROCKLAND, Maine – The woman who died when a mast broke on Grace Bailey schooner in Rockland Monday morning has been identified as Emily Mecklenburg, according to the Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.
Mecklenburg, 40, was a doctor at Pen Bay Medical Center. The Maine Chief Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet determined the exact cause of her death.
“The Pen Bay and Waldo family was heartbroken to learn that our colleague Dr. Emily Mecklenburg, was tragically killed in a boating accident off the Rockland Breakwater. Emily was a friend to so many and well known for the compassionate care she provided to patients. We have reached out to her family to offer our condolences, and we have arranged for grief counseling and other support for our care team. Along with our community, we grieve Emily’s loss and send our thoughts and prayers to her family,” Arthur Durity, communications and public affairs director for Maine Health, said in a statement.
She was pronounced dead when first responders arrived, and the other three people were taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
The Grace Bailey, built in 1882 as a lumber-carrier, is now used as a vacation cruise ship in Rockland. The boat was coming back from a four-day foliage cruise with 33 people when the main mast suddenly broke and came toppling down around 10 a.m.
It’s unclear why the mast broke, but the U.S. Coast Guard is investigating. The windjammer is currently sitting in Rockland Harbor.
The Grace Bailey, owned by actor Marc Evan Jackson and captained by Sam Sikkema, has been sailing on the midcoast for years, which is why the sudden fall of the mast came as a surprise, according to a statement from Sail Grace Bailey, the company that owns the schooner.
According to the ship’s website, the Grace Bailey has been operating as a windjammer since the end of World War II.
Jules Walkup is a corps member.