CARPINTERIA, Calif. — After learning about the Conception dive boat disaster, research historian and anthropologist Marla Daily made it her mission to not only understand how the tragedy happened, but to make sure the 34 lives lost are never forgotten.
“We’re doing this really for the victims. Time moves on, news changes. We want to make sure we have a placeholder for this tragedy going forward,” Daily, who serves as the president of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation, said.
Daily had no prior connection to the victims or their families, but over the last year she has been reaching out to them to hear their loved ones’ stories. She decided to develop a memorial in their honor.
“It’s a way for us to bring the dead back to life, to tell their histories, to save them,” Daily said.
A former bank in Carpinteria will eventually serve as a museum and archive gallery dedicated to California’s islands. Daily said the surrounding the museum will be a courtyard garden complete with a monument dedicated to the Conception.
For the momument, Daily managed to acquire something very special: a propeller retrieved from the dive boat’s wreckage.
“It’s four-bladed. It’s bronze. It weighs close to 300 pounds. It was a Herculean feat to cut it off the vessel,” Daily said.
With the cooperation of multiple law enforcement agencies, Daily said she was given access to the remains of the Conception at Port Hueneme in Ventura County. She recalled the moment she stepped onto a platform and looked into the burned ship.
“You can look into the carcass of the vessel and it’s just all black. I was just emotional. I couldn’t speak. All I thought was, ‘This is where 34 people lost their lives,’” said Daily.
Daily said she wasn’t able to take any photos or videos of that day at the port, but the FBI later shared with her images of the propeller being removed from the vessel.
She said the finished monument will have the 34 victims’ names engraved, and she wants their loved ones to know she is determined to preserve their legacies.
Daily added that she hopes the monument serves as a point of light and closure.
“A point of serenity for family members to feel welcome to come and sit and remember and reflect."