US Edition
Coast Guard Says Rotten Wood and Poor Inspections Led to Deadly Schooner Mast Collapse
ABOARD THE SCHOONER GRACE BAILEY, PENOBSCOT BAY, MAINE, JUL 31 – The Coast Guard issued nine safety and two administrative recommendations focused on training and inspections after the Grace Bailey mast failure that injured six passengers.
- On the morning of Oct. 9, 2023, the schooner Grace Bailey's mainmast snapped and fell, killing Dr. Emily Mecklenburg and injuring five passengers.
- U.S. Coast Guard found wood rot and insufficient inspections likely contributed to the mast failure, noting rot started twelve feet above the base and the mast lacked pressure-treated sapwood.
- The Coast Guard’s Office of Investigations and Casualty Analysis issued nine safety and two administrative recommendations, urging broader inspection methods beyond visual checks, according to the report.
- Current owners of the Grace Bailey said they thoroughly overhauled the schooner and it passed a regular Coast Guard safety inspection, allowing trips to resume this summer.
- The U.S. Coast Guard is calling for increased mast inspections of commercial wooden sailing ships, citing over 275 certificated vessels and about 110 with wooden hulls, in the wake of a recent accident.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Lewiston Sun Journal
Rockland schooner’s mast had rotted before fatal snap, Coast Guard finds
The Coast Guard issued several new recommendations for inspecting and maintaining wooden masts in its report on a 2023 incident that left one dead and others injured.
Coast Guard Urges Aggressive Sailboat Inspections After Fatal Midcoast Maine Accident
The Coast Guard is calling for increased mast inspections of commercial wooden sailing ships in the wake of a fatal Maine schooner accident two years ago. The mast of the Grace Bailey collapsed off Rockland in 2023, killing passenger Emily Mecklenburg. “There are currently more than 275 sailing vessels certificated to operate as small passenger [...] The post Coast Guard Urges Aggressive Sailboat Inspections After Fatal Midcoast Maine Accident a…
Associated Press News
Coast Guard says rotten wood and poor inspections led to deadly schooner mast collapse
The U.S. Coast Guard says rotten wood and poor inspections appear to have played roles in the collapse of the mast of a historic Maine schooner in an accident that killed one person and injured several others.
Coast Guard finds Maine schooner’s mast was poorly inspected before deadly break
U.S. Coast Guard officials have found that wood rot and insufficient inspections likely contributed to the breaking of a mast on the historic Maine schooner Grace Bailey in 2023, which killed a Rockland physician who was on board, according to a newly released report from the federal agency. Among the problems were that the construction of the mast did not properly protect it from water damage, and the inspections by the Coast Guard and the sh…
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