The El Faro’s captain, Michael Davidson, 53, of Windham, grew up on Casco Bay and knew from an early age that his career would be on the water. As a teenager, he worked as a deckhand with Casco Bay Lines.
He was an experienced captain who was said to approach the job with professionalism.
Other Mainers aboard the ship the day it sank last year were Michael Holland, 25, of Wilton, and Danielle Randolph, 34, and Dylan Meklin, 23, both of Rockland. All four were graduates of Maine Maritime Academy in Castine, as was a fifth crew member, Mitchell Kuflik, of Brooklyn, New York.
Holland grew up in Jay and was described as tough, resourceful and smart. He had sailed on cargo ships before.
Randolph, the second mate, followed a career path similar to her father, a Marine. She had sailed the Jacksonville-to-San Juan route several times.
Meklin was described as a skilled and resourceful mariner who was third assistant engineer aboard the ship. He had recently graduated from Maine Maritime and the El Faro trip was his first on the job.
Here is a list provided by the Coast Guard of the 33 crew members who died:
Louis Champa, Palm Coast, Florida
Roosevelt Clark, Jacksonville, Florida
Sylvester Crawford Jr., Lawrenceville, Georgia
Capt. Michael Davidson, Windham, Maine
Brookie Davis Jacksonville, Florida
Keith Griffin, Fort Myers, Florida
Frank Hamm, Jacksonville, Florida
Joe Hargrove, Orange Park, Florida
Carey Hatch, Jacksonville, Florida
Michael Holland, North Wilton, Maine
Jack Jackson, Jacksonville, Florida
Jackie Jones Jr., Jacksonville, Florida
Lonnie Jordan, Jacksonville, Florida
Piotr Krause, Poland
Mitchell Kuflik, Brooklyn, New York
Roan Lightfoot, Jacksonville Beach, Fla.
Jeffrey Mathias, Kingston, Mass.
Dylan Meklin, Rockland, Maine
Marcin Nita, Poland
Jan Podgorski, Poland
James Porter, Jacksonville, Florida
Richard Pusatere, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Theodore Quammie, Jacksonville, Florida
Danielle Randolph, Rockland, Maine
Jeremie Riehm, Camden, Delaware
Lashawn Rivera, Jacksonville, Florida
Howard Schoenly, Cape Coral, Florida
Steven Shultz, Roan Mountain, Tenn.
German Solar-Cortes, Orlando, Florida
Anthony Thomas, Jacksonville, Florida
Andrzej Truszkowski, Poland
Mariette Wright, St. Augustine, Florida
Rafal Zdobych, Poland
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