3 lawsuits filed against owners of Maine schooner years after fatal incident
The main mast of the Grace Bailey lies broken as the schooner sits off the coast of Rockland after the Oct. 9, 2023 incident. (Kurt Schleicher/Associated Press)
Three lawsuits were filed early this month in the U.S. District Court of Maine against the owners of a schooner involved in a fatal incident in 2023.
Dr. Emily Mecklenburg, 40, of Rockland, was killed when the top of the rear mast of the Rockland-based Grace Bailey split and fell on Oct. 9, 2023. Three others who were injured are now suing Grace Bailey Navigation Co. Inc. and the schooner.
The two-masted schooner, built in 1882 and restored in 1990, was about a mile east of Rockland Harbor at about 10 a.m. when the mast fell. A report released by the U.S. Coast Guard last year determined that the inside of the main mast had rotted.
The boat had been involved in other accidents, but this was its first fatality, the Press Herald reported at the time.
Two separate lawsuits that name Grace Bailey Navigation Inc. Co. and the schooner as defendants were filed last week on behalf of Maureen Colvin, of Scituate, Massachusetts, and Katherine McCann, who lived in Montville at the time of the incident but currently resides in Newfoundland, Canada.
A lawsuit on behalf of Christopher Sarao, of Lubec, was filed on Oct. 2 against the company and vessel. It was amended on Friday to include his wife, Diane Sarao, who was also on board, as a plaintiff. The amended suit also added numerous additional defendants, including members of the crew, the former owners of the Grace Bailey, and people and companies responsible for repairs and examinations of the vessel in the years leading up to the incident.
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Colvin, a passenger, was “abruptly impacted from above” by the sail and was “propelled down approximately eight feet of stairs, resulting in a violent and painful impact with the floor deck below,” her suit says, but went on to aid other passengers.
McCann, who was a hired musician for the voyage, was injured and eventually transported by LifeFlight to a hospital, according to her suit, and has since received treatment from several providers and continues to do so.
Christopher Sarao, also a passenger, was assisting those injured in the “initial collapse” when “a fallen spar shifted and struck his forehead,” the suit states. Diane Sarao has suffered emotional distress, according to the suit, including “recurring distressing dreams about the event.”
All three lawsuits bring counts related to negligence and unseaworthiness against Grace Bailey Navigation and seek monetary relief. McCann’s lawsuit tacks on a count of “maintenance and cure” as the musician was “in service” of the vessel, while the Sarao suit tacks on counts of negligence against its additional defendants.
Grace Bailey Navigation did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.
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Tagged: lawsuits, us district court
Drew is the night reporter for the Portland Press Herald. He previously covered South Portland, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth for the Sentry, Leader and Southern Forecaster. Though he is from Massachusetts,. More by Drew Johnson
