Fri, 07/30/2021 - 22:39

The renovated schooner Mary E sails the Kennebec River in 2019, slightly downriver from where she was launched in 1906. Courtesy of Maine Maritime Museum

BATH – The Coast Guard responded to a report of a capsized schooner in the Kennebec River, Friday evening, July 30.

Coast Guard Sector Northern New England watchstanders received a report that the historic schooner Mary E capsized near Doubling Point with 18 people onboard.

July 31 statement from the Maine Maritime Museum

Yesterday was a difficult day for the Maine Maritime Museum family. The schooner Mary E suffered a knockdown off Doubling Point Light on the Kennebec River, just downriver from the museum.

Above all, we are so grateful for the incredible efforts of the Mary E crew and the multiple organizations and individuals who assisted in bringing all those aboard safely to shore, including SeaTow, Bath Iron Works, Bath Police/Fire, Bath Harbor Patrol, and the Coast Guard.

We continue to work with the Coast Guard, and expect to right the vessel and bring the Mary E home. We will share more information as it becomes available. To our community, museum friends, and all those who have reached out: we are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and love for our little schooner and all those involved– thank you.

The 1906 schooner Mary E, Maine Maritime Museum’s flagship and the oldest Maine-built fishing schooner still sailing, was entered in the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior in 2019.

The Coast Guard dispatched a Station Boothbay Harbor boat crew. The Bath Fire Department and Sea Tow arrived on scene first and rescued all 18 people from the water and transported them to awaiting Emergency Medical Services personnel.

"We commend our partners in the Bath community for their prompt and effective response which saved the lives of 18 people," said Capt. Amy E. Florentine, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Commander, in a news release. "We will ensure a full and thorough investigation is conducted in order to determine what caused the incident."

Sea Tow towed the partially submerged vessel to shallow water near the Maine Maritime Museum. The vessel no longer represents a hazard to navigation in the area.

Coast Guard investigators and marine inspectors will be investigating the incident.