‘El Faro Salute’ Memorial Dedication and Fundraiser

By Mario Vittone

Jay Sawyer is an artist from Rockland, Maine. Before the art he attended Maine Maritime Academy  and worked for nine years on the water before returning home to his family. Like all of you who make your living on the water, he had experienced good times and bad ones at sea. Like all of you, his reaction to tragedy at sea is different. When a ship sinks and a crew is lost the family and loved ones grieve the most, mariners next, and the rest of the world is a distant third.  

So when El Faro Sank and thirty-three lives were lost and two of them were from Jay’s hometown, he was a mariner again; inspired to use his talent to sculpt a memorial to honor El Faro and her final crew.  

“El Faro Salute!” will be a memorial to those lost, a place of remembrance for mariners, and a reminder to us all of the dedication and sacrifices made by seafarers around the world.

With the dedication of the memorial in Rockland on September 24th, the fundraising for El Faro Salute needs a final push. Donations recently passed the $100,00 dollar mark with under $35,000 to go.

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Please, watch the short video below to learn about Jay and the memorial; I think you’ll agree that mariners should be the ones to help get this done.

Make an online donation (You know you want to) at the link below:

El Faro Salute! | Penobscot Marine Museum

Checks can be made out to the Penobscot Marine Museum.

Be sure to write “El Faro Salute” on the memo line and include contact information for the museum to send a receipt of your gift for your records.  Include a note if the contribution is made in memory of any particular person. Mail the check to: 

Penobscot Marine Museum, PO Box 498, Searsport, Maine 04974

Note: gCaptain is not a paid spokesperson for this fundraiser and will receive no form of compensation from any donations.