ROCKLAND, Maine — An effort is underway to create a memorial for people lost at sea.
Jen Chapman of Thomaston has organized a gathering for Sunday for people interested in seeing such a project move forward.
“Recent events of the ship El Faro has brought to light that there is no Lost At Sea Memorial for the midcoast Maine community. There is nothing where family members can engrave a person’s name who was lost at sea, to honor, immortalize and visit to remember their lost loved ones,” Chapman said on a Facebook page she created for the memorial effort.
Four Maine residents, including two with Rockland ties, lost their lives when the cargo ship El Faro sank Oct. 1 near the Bahamas.
On Thursday, Chapman said she spoke with an artist who provided her with a sketch of the proposed memorial.
Chapman said she wants to show the city of Rockland that there is support for the effort. If the memorial were placed on city property, it would need the approval of the City Council.
“I need to show the city of Rockland that we as a community, we as a fishing community support this project. I need your help. I need a sea of faces to come and say you support this project,” Chapman said.
The organizational meeting is scheduled for noon Sunday at the Trackside restaurant at the intersection of Union and Pleasant streets.
She said donations will not be solicited at the meeting, but she expects fundraising will start in the spring.
“I’m excited to be part of the generation who will get this monument created,” Chapman said Thursday.
The memorial proposed by Chapman includes a 7-foot tall rough granite monument of a man, dressed in foul weather fishing gear, throwing a life ring.
Her plan includes placing large solid pieces of smooth, polished granite where the names of those lost at sea will be engraved.
She said the monument would be a gift to Rockland with the condition that it is placed at Buoy Park, overlooking the bay, the breakwater and the sunrise.