Tag Archives: Newburyport Fishermen’s Memorial

A place to remember – Words and songs offered as Fishermen’s Memorial is relocated

Nearly 200 fishermen and their families as well as the city’s religious and civic leaders came together on the waterfront boardwalk yesterday to mark the relocation of the Newburyport Fishermen’s Memorial, 20 years to the terrible day that Heather Lynne II capsized off Gloucester, killing the three men inside. “The site was chosen here as one of reflection, to honor the memories of those taken from us,” Mayor Donna Holaday said. “There is something special here, a closeness in this sacred place.” Originally dedicated in the year 2000, it was moved from where the new harbormaster headquarters is currently being constructed to the east end of the boardwalk. The stone memorial features three plaques. The first is dedicated to all Newburyport mariners who have lost their lives since 1655; the second to the crew of the Heather Lynn II that capsized on the morning of Sept. 5, 1996, after striking a tugboat’s towing cable 10 miles off Gloucester; and the third is dedicated to Sean Cone and Daniel Miller of the Lady Luck, which went missing off the Gulf of Maine on Jan. 31, 2007. Read the story here 13:34

A fitting honor for fishermen – The rededication of the Newburyport Fishermen’s Memorial on Sept. 5.

Veterans of the community’s working waterfront are joining forces to ensure that the upcoming rededication of the fishermen’s monument will pay adequate homage to those who lost their lives at sea. Kate Yeomans, the riverfront educator who wrote a book on the loss of fishermen two decades ago, has been retained as a consultant to the rededication of the Fishermen’s Memorial on Sept. 5. And Paul Hogg, harbormaster and former commercial fisherman, has been supervising the refurbishment of the monument itself. The ceremony, beginning at 9:30 a.m., will commemorate the anniversary of the loss of the fishing vessel Heather Lynne II, a Newburyport-based fishing boat that crossed paths with a tug and barge in the early morning hours off Cape Ann on Sept. 5, 1996. The fishing boat capsized, leading to the loss of the three crewmen. “The re-dedication is an important moment because it honors these men,” said Yeomans, a onetime journalist who wrote the 2003 book, “Dead Men Tapping: The End of the Heather Lynn II.” Read the story here 15:52