SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Families stick together though the good times and the bad.

The diving community is often described as a “close-knit family,” which includes people who work for the Heal the Bay Aquarium in Santa Monica. They are coming together to host a vigil for the people who died in the boat fire off Santa Cruz Island on Labor Day.

“Everybody is close and word spread very quickly that there had been an accident in the industry,” said Marsalaidh Ryan, Heal the Bay Aquarium director.

Ryan is also part of the diving community. Even though she didn’t personally know Marybeth Guiney, one of the fire victims, but some of her employees and volunteers did. Guiney was a sales director living in Santa Monica, but was also a regular volunteer and donor for Heal the Bay since 2011.

“Marybeth was very dedicated to volunteer work and ocean conservation in many different ways. She was part of the speaker’s bureau volunteer program,” said Ryan.

Guiney traveled to classrooms and spoke at the aquarium to adults and children about the importance of conserving the ocean and marine life.

Ryan and her team along with Eco Dive Center is hosting a vigil and gathering event at the aquarium on Thursday, September 5, starting at 6 p.m. for the family, friends and close knit community of divers affected by the accident.

“As a member of the local dive community, I think it’s important for us to come together and I know everybody in the dive community feels that way,” said Ryan.

The Heal the Bay Aquarium is on 1600 Ocean Front Walk in Santa Monica.

Vigil Event Schedule:

  • 6 p.m: Gathering and potluck at Heal the Bay Aquarium. Dive videos on display. Please bring a dish to share.
  • 7 p.m. to 7:15 p.m: Formal words from: Shelley Luce - Heal the Bay CEO, Richard Bloom – Assembly member for the 50th Assembly District, and Greg Morena - Councilmember on the Santa Monica City Council
  • 7:15 p.m. to 7:45 p.m: Open mic for storytelling and sharing
  • 7:45 p.m. to 8 p.m: Vigil procession down to beach
  • 8 p.m. to 8:45 p.m: Gathering on shore to hear bagpipes in memory of those lost
  • 8:45 p.m. to 10 p.m: Gathering at Rusty’s Surf Ranch on the Santa Monica Pier

For more information about crowd sourcing for the families involved or to learn more about the event, visit the website here.