Pray Today For The Crew Of The FV Emmy Rose

Today we are reminded once again of how dangerous it is to work on the water.

Since early Monday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard has been searching for four fishermen approximately 20 miles northeast of Provincetown, Massachusetts. The four  fishermen all from Maine were aboard the 82-foot fishing vessel Emmy Rose, a boat that was based in Portland.

The Coast Guard in Boston received a notice from the vessel's emergency beacon sometime around 1 a.m. and dispatched numerous boats and aircraft to the area. Upon arrival to the vessel's last known position, Coast Guard crews discovered debris and an empty life raft. Seas were at 6 to 8 feet and the winds were at 30 knots at the time.

The fishing vessel Emmy Rose would usually dock in Gloucester, Massachusetts, to unload it's catch.  It would load up with dry ice in Portland before departing on 3 to 4 day fishing trips. Family members with their children would always gather and see the Emmy Rose's crew off to sea, kissing them goodbye and waving from the docks as they motored off into Casco Bay.

Over the years it's a familiar occurrence to immediate family members of those who work the sea for a living, blowing kisses and waving as a boat leaves the shore and wishing for their safe return home. But all too often the ocean has other plans.

The Lost Fishermen's Memorial Park stands proudly on the shore in Lubec with the names of those Mainers lost at sea etched within its granite. It's a solemn reminder of what our Maine men and women are up against every time that they depart the shores of our great state. We will keep the four fishermen currently lost in our prayers today and our thoughts with their families.