The U.S. Coast Guard has made public the results of its inquiry into the two-year-old death of Dr. Emily Mecklenburg and the five injuries caused by the fall of a wooden mast on the Schooner Grace Bailey in Rockland.
Nine safety guidelines for the upkeep and inspection of wooden masts are listed in the paper.
The primary investigator, Commander William Wallen, stated that there were no issues found during the visual examination of the Grace Bailey’s masts.
“The anomaly with these masts is that there was no visual indicator that would have directed somebody to complete more in-depth inspections in any way,” Wallen stated.
According to him, more testing revealed that the mast’s deterioration and collapse were caused by fungus and moisture.
Every ten years, the mast must be unstepped, or taken down for a thorough inspection, Wallen said. However, he stated that in the instance of the Grace Bailey, that was obviously insufficient.
“We definitely discovered evidence that suggested we should unstep the mast more frequently. We can’t say from the study whether it can be extended to the full fleet of vessels, but the Coast Guard and inspections experts will undoubtedly be considering it,” Wallen stated.
According to Wallen, the last time the Grace Bailey was unstepped was in 2014. Her final journey before getting significant maintenance was in October 2023.
According to the suggestions, boat owners should also have a written Prevention Maintenance Plan that mandates crew training on best practices for non-destructive wood mast inspections, record-keeping of mast materials, and so on. According to Wallen, there was no Prevention Maintenance Plan for the Grace Bailey.
According to him, the Coast Guard will implement an action plan that incorporates the suggestions and includes updating or changing existing regulations pertaining to vessel inspection and navigation.
The Gracy Bailey’s crew released a statement expressing their gratitude for suggestions that would make wooden sailing vessels safer and their continued love and respect for Emily.
Click here to read the U.S. Coast Guard report.
