FTV A Tribute to MMA Alumni Lost at Sea

Today has been a great day on the Kennedy. After a sunny morning formation we hit a little bit of rain for about 10 minutes and then the sun came right back out. The seas are very calm and if you are not following us on our tracker we approaching the Bahamas and the spot where the last reported coordinates of the El Faro.

We had a touching ceremony in remembrance of the 33 sailors lost at sea as well at a wreath laying ceremony with our cadet chief mate, Adam Szloch, our cadet chief engineer, Matt Kupeic, After the ceremony our work day continued.

For those of you who do not know the El Faro was a Container ship that lost propulsion and sunk on October 1st, 2015 in the terrible wind and waves of Hurricane Joaquin. This tragedy hit close to home because out of the 33 people who were lost at sea, two were from Massachusetts Maritime Academy and six were from Maine Maritime Academy.

Today we paid our respects for those who were lost at sea with a memorial service attended by all cadets and crew on aboard the ship. We laid a wreath in the ocean and Captain Bushy said a few words, we sang the Navy Hymn, said the Mariner’s prayer, and rang eight bell’s signifying that the ceremony ended. In closing we played taps and reflected on all who were lost. This very sad and tragic event that happened this year reminded us to send our thoughts and prayers to the families who have lost their loved ones at sea.

Members of the maritime industry understand that even though they are rare, sometimes tragedy does at sea. We wish to thank everyone that commits their life to the sea and we will never forget what happened to the 33 sailors that were aboard the El Faro that day.

Storms at sea are harrowing experiences.and hurricanes are the largest and among the most dangerous storms on the ocean. No crew wants to find itself in the midst of one. Towering walls of water, driven by powerful winds, slam into the ship. A major storm can batter even the largest, sturdiest vessels. And they're an unavoidable part of life on the water.
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