ROCKLAND — A doctor at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport was killed Monday when the top of a mast broke and fell on the deck of the Grace Bailey, a schooner partly owned by actor Marc Evan Jackson.

Dr. Emily Mecklenburg, 40, of Rockland, was declared dead when she was brought ashore by a Coast Guard boat following the accident. The Maine Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta said a cause of death has not yet been determined.

Mecklenburg specialized in internal medicine, according to MaineHealth’s website. She had been practicing at Pen Bay since 2016 and Waldo County General Hospital since 2018.

The hospital and medical center said in a statement on Tuesday that they were “heartbroken” to learn of Mecklenburg’s death.

“Emily was friend to so many and well known for the compassionate care she provided to patients,” the statement said, adding that her colleagues would be offered grief counseling and other support.

Mecklenburg graduated from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine in 2013 and did her residency at Maine Medical Center in Portland.

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 top of the rear mast split and fell, striking several people. Mecklenburg was a passenger aboard the Grace Bailey, which was returning from a sold-out, four-night foliage cruise.

Mecklenburg sustained an apparent serious head wound and was taken off the schooner first Monday. The three other injured people were then taken from the ship and transported to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport.

A passenger aboard the Grace Bailey said the accident happened “out of nowhere.” The passenger, who asked to not be identified, said the winds were not strong and the vessel had not made any sharp tacks when the incident occurred.

The Coast Guard began investigating the accident Monday, said Ensign Matthew Bartnick, stationed in South Portland. He said the investigation will be handled by personnel from the Marine Safety Detachment in Belfast. Bartnick did not know when the Grace Bailey was last inspected by the Coast Guard or how often it was required to be inspected, but said that information would be part of the investigation.

The failure or snapping in half of a schooner mast, when neither bad weather nor a collision is involved, is an extremely rare event, said Jim Sharp, a former captain of Midcoast schooners with more than 40 years of sailing experience. Sharp, who now runs the Sail, Power and Steam Museum in Rockland, was not aware of another time in his years of sailing when a mast failed on its own while the ship was under sail.

Sharp said the cause of such a failure would likely be rot created by fresh water from the rain getting into the wood at certain points along the mast, including where the metal wires that support the masts are attached. He said regular maintenance is required to repair and seal any areas where fresh water can get into the wood. Sharp estimated that the Grace Bailey’s masts are about 75 feet high.

“I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s unheard of,” Sharp said. “Usually these windjammers are very safe vessels. I know the man at the helm (Capt. Sam Sikkema) is not an inexperienced man.”

‘HEARTBROKEN’

Sikkema, the captain of the Grace Bailey and one of Jackson’s three partners, released a statement on the accident Monday afternoon:

“My crew and I are devastated by this morning’s accident, especially since the safety of our guests is always our biggest priority. Most importantly, we are beyond heartbroken that we lost a dear friend.”

Sikkema did not respond to questions about the accident emailed and texted to him. Jackson responded to questions about the accident Monday by saying, “We have no comment at this time.” A third partner, Suzannah Smith, did not respond to questions sent through text and email.

The Coast Guard responded to a report that the Grace Bailey had “demasted” around 10 a.m. and that four of the 33 people aboard suffered head and back injuries, the Coast Guard’s Boston office said in a statement issued Monday night.

A Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Lifeboat was dispatched to the schooner and transferred one woman to shore, where she was pronounced dead. The Coast Guard boat then went back to take the other three injured people to shore and eventually to the hospital. The names of those injured were not released.

“In this time of sorrow, we offer our deepest condolences to the grieving family, and our most heartfelt wishes for a swift recovery to those harmed,” said Capt. Amy Florentino, the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England commander. “Our investigation aims to identify causative factors that led to this tragic incident.”

Charlie’s Marine Services commercial salvage personnel responded and towed the Grace Bailey to Rockport Harbor. 

Jackson, who is known for his roles on TV shows “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “Parks and Recreation” and “The Good Place,” had been a part of several of the Grace Bailey’s overnight cruises this year but was not scheduled to be on this one.

He told the Press Herald earlier this year that a major reason he wanted to be involved with the Grace Bailey is to help preserve the state’s fleet of windjammers – sailing vessels that take vacationers on overnight cruises – and make Maine residents more aware of their existence and history.

A FOLIAGE CRUISE

According to the Grace Bailey’s website, the Rockland-based schooner had begun the foliage cruise Thursday and was set to return Monday. A folk trio called Skylark was scheduled to perform on the cruise. One of the musicians who was on board, A.J. Wright, declined in an email to give details of the accident, citing the Coast Guard investigation and the lack of information as to what happened.

“The captain and owners of the schooner have no additional information or knowledge of why the mast failed. Out of respect of the privacy of the crew and guests, no names or information about the passengers will be provided at this time, ” Wright wrote in an email.

Jackson and his partners were offering a 40% discount to Maine residents this season and next. Standard cabin prices for upcoming dates range from $1,110-$1,720 per person, meals included, depending on date and duration. The trips last between three and six nights.

The 118-foot, two-masted schooner has 15 cabins with accommodations for 29 passengers. The trips have no itinerary, Jackson told the Press Herald, so the various stops at Maine islands or in hidden coves are completely unscheduled.

Jackson, who lives in Los Angeles, grew up near Buffalo, New York, but was fascinated by Maine windjammers at an early age. He began applying to work as a deckhand on Maine schooners when he was 12 or 13. After college, he worked one summer as first mate on the schooner Mercantile out of Camden. Last year, after hearing the Grace Bailey might be for sale, he became a part of the new ownership group. The Grace Bailey previously had been owned by Ray and Ann Williamson, of Camden, from 1985 to 2002, according to the ship’s website.

The Grace Bailey was built in Patchogue, New York, in 1882 by Oliver Perry Smith and restored in 1990. It was named for owner Edwin Bailey’s daughter, according the ship’s website. In 1906, the ship was rebuilt and renamed for Mr. Bailey’s granddaughter, Martha, who was nicknamed Mattie. From 1906 until 1990, the schooner sailed using the name Mattie, but in the spring of 1990, after the restoration, the original name was used again.

“The city of Rockland extends our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of the victim,” the city said in a statement from the Rockland Fire Department.

Stephen Betts is a staff writer for The Courier-Gazette, and Ray Routhier is a staff writer for the Portland Press Herald.

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