CG Icebreaking Great Lakes

[Acaciavet]

Here is a report I just picked up off the Net. The Acacia Spent alot of time in the Straights My rack was next to the skin of the ship,you have to have done it to know what I am talking about.The old 180 tenders had no bow thrusters It was put that sinker over the side hope she rocked and then back down. I also remember one night when that large lake boat hit us in the stern. Share your ice breaking stories with us.

Sunday, March 23, 2008
Shipping season begins ... almost everywhere except Holland

BOB VANDEVUSSE Special to The Sentinel
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RELATED STORIESHere is a teaser, Holland. Ice is breaking and freighters are moving. The 2008 shipping season has begun � just not here yet.
Ice-breaking operations on the Great Lakes have been under way for about two weeks. U.S. Coast Guard vessels Mackinaw and Biscayne Bay started by working in the St. Mary's River below the Soo to get things going. With winter maintenance completed, the Poe Lock was filled Thursday and the pair locked up the following day. The Mackinaw broke tracks across Whitefish Bay and is keeping them open while the Biscayne Bay proceeded to Duluth to assist the cutter Alder, which was already working to open the port of Duluth-Superior. Ice in the port is reported to be between 20 and 36 inches thick. It then returned to the Soo for work in the St. Mary's River and is working its way back to its home base in St. Ignace.

Cutter Katmai Bay will groom tracks around the Soo Locks, and the Hollyhock, up from Port Huron, will assist the Biscayne Bay in opening the Straits of Mackinac after receiving propeller repairs at Cheboygan. When it is finished with ice operations, it will head to Chicago to begin switching out winter markers and replacing them with lighted buoys. Cutter Mobile Bay has been working in Green Bay. With a more normal winter after several mild ones, the Coast Guard is finding it resources stretched, so another Bay-Class cutter, the Penobscott Bay, based in New Jersey, has been sent up to assist with operations on the St. Lawrence River and Lakes Ontario and Erie.

Up in Duluth, the Mesabi Miner made a number of coal deliveries to Lake Superior ports this past week. On Thursday, the Welland Canal opened, with the captain of the Canadian Progress as the recipient of the honorary top hat. Friday, the Montreal to Lake Ontario section of the St. Lawrence Seaway opened as well, with the Canadian Miner being the first upbound vessel. When the Soo Locks open for commercial vessels Tuesday, the new season will be fully under way.

We had a wet winter; that has been good for the lakes overall, and they have begun their cycle of rising in the spring. Despite that fact, Lakes Michigan and Huron remain six inches below their levels of a year ago so water levels will remain a concern this year. We have some serious housekeeping to do here before we see our first vessel, but a dredging contract for Holland and Grand Haven was awarded to the King Company, and their tug Matt Allen and dredge Buxton II arrived at the west end of Lake Mac late last week. On Friday, they moved through the channel and began setting pipeline.

Over the winter, there have been a number of developments in the shipping industry, with several vessels changing hands and renamings announced. We also had the opportunity to spend an afternoon on an icebreaker in the Straits of Mackinac. We will fill you in on those items and more in future columns. For now, we will just enjoy the fact that the shipping season has begun.

[CGRDCS]

Here's a story from JACK'S JOINT, about breaking ice on the Eastern Part of the Great Lakes.

The Dirty Tricks Committee

By Dan R. Riksen

Republished Courtesy of the WYTM Association

 

 

A hundred and ten foot WYTM with 20 or more men on board tends to grow smaller in direct proportion to the amount of inclement weather that it encounters. This is particularly so when shipping on the Lakes has stopped and the vessel is essentially frozen in for the winter. Exterior maintenance in freezing temperatures is limited to those jobs that are absolutely necessary. Painting of living spaces is impractical due to the number of people living in the confined spaces on board and the lack of adequate ventilation when the vessel is buttoned up against the weather. And, to be practical, how much "soogying" and training can any of us stand?

As Commanding Officer of OJIBWA in the early 70's starting my second winter aboard I was again faced with this situation. OJIBWA had finished breaking ice for shipping in the Toledo, Detroit, Port Huron area and had returned to Buffalo for the winter. Long liberty periods had been granted to compensate for the weeks we had been deployed and ice probes to prepare for the opening of Buffalo Harbor in the Spring were still a couple of months away.

To lift morale and with apologies to Admiral Dan Gallery, USN from whose books I gleaned the idea, I asked the crew to form a "Dirty Tricks Committee." Since BRAMBLE, a 180' ice-breaking buoy tender, would be down in the Spring to help us open Buffalo for shipping, she would be the focus of our committee. The ground rules were simple. The jokes would have to have some class and could not cause any damage to BRAMBLE. In other words, painting her anchors pink would not be permitted. The last requirement, since I was a W-3 warrant officer at the time and BRAMBLE’S CO was a LCDR, was that the jokes could not put me in line for a Court Martial. With that encouragement, the crew went to work preparing for the arrival of BRAMBLE .

Spring arrived and OJIBWA began ice probes to ascertain the composition of the ice fields at the Buffalo end of Lake Erie. To those not familiar with the Great Lakes, the natural flow of water is North East down Lake Erie, through the Niagara River and into Lake Ontario. The prevailing winds are also from the South West. Both of these factors tend to make for heavy ice fields in the vicinity of Buffalo. For instance, the freezing thickness of ice in Lake Erie could be 12 inches. As the wind blows across the ice causing one ice field to raft up on another, you may end up with a field 24 inches thick. As the wind blows across that field the same thing happens and you have 48 inches of ice. Again, and 96 inches. As long as the temperature stays below freezing, the open water created by rafting of ice will freeze again. This process all along Lake Erie resulted in ice flows over 12 feet thick in areas off Buffalo during my tour there. Conducting ice probes allowed us to "chart" the area and plan where we could break track to open Buffalo for shipping.

OJIBWA met BRAMBLE in open water West of Port Colborne that Spring and returned in company to Buffalo. Since BRAMBLE was senior, her CO became the OTC. (Officer in Tactical Command.) As such he "invited" me to his wardroom the following morning to discuss the days work. OJIBWA was directed to move the track a little further off the shoals near the Canadian side while BRAMBLE would straighten out the entrance to the pack off Port Colborne. Both ships sailed on their assigned missions.

Those readers that were born after the 1940's probably never heard of a shaving cream called Burma Shave. Burma Shave however, advertised their product on a series of small signs approximately 5" by 30" or somewhere near that size. These signs were placed on short poles along the roadside and each contained a couple of words that made up a short rhyme in the series similar to the following:

                                    The place to pass

                                    on curves

                                    you know

                                    is only at

                                    a beauty show

                                    Burma-Shave

BRAMBLE, who at the end of the day, had to return along the fresh track broken by OJIBWA was treated to a series of signs planted on short poles in the ice that read:

                                    OJIBWA’s track

                                    amidst the flo

                                    leads BRAMBLE back

                                    to Buffalo

                                    Burma-Shave

The signs were apparently well received by BRAMBLE’s crew, but her CO stopped and had them removed so they were never seen by commercial interests. They did however set the stage for the next days operation.

After a meeting the next morning, both ships sailed in company to clean up the track near the entrance to the pack off Port Colborne where there were a series of heavy pressure ridges. The 180's and 110's made a good team. Although their horsepower was similar, a 180 displaced substantially more which allowed her to carry through a pressure ridge that would require a 110 to back and ram to get through. A 110, while she didn’t have as much displacement, had a much stronger Horsepower to displacement ratio which allowed them to back and ram faster and rarely let them get stuck. 180's would frequently get stuck. When they did they would swing an "ice sinker" from side to side with their boom, causing the ship to list and break suction with the ice. It was used similar to the "heeling tanks" on the Wind class icebreakers. BRAMBLE’s ice sinker was a 10 ton cement block painted white with black dots to resemble a die.

BRAMBLE got stuck in a pressure ridge. She called for OJIBWA to come break her free. Unbeknownst to us, her CO had passed the word for all hands to "watch the horsepower of this tug." Accordingly, a good percentage of her crew was on deck as we approached. BRAMBLE was swinging her ice sinker. OJIBWA was coming up to her on a slow bell through broken ice that was far less than an impressive display of our horsepower. As OJIBWA passed close aboard, our BM1 was on our bow, very solemnly swinging a boathook back and forth to which was secured a length of marline and a cardboard box, painted white with black dots. BRAMBLE’s entire crew, less a slightly red faced CO, was clapping and cheering.

Although Buffalo was opened for commercial traffic that year without further gestures on OJIBWA’s part, there was a certain amount of tension aboard BRAMBLE the next few days as they waited for the other shoe to drop.


Welcome to Spring.   !!!!!!!!!!!!

Hawk     

[Acaciavet]

That was a great read Hawk.The Acacia did some missions with the Jib. We also got to see the Canadian Ice Breaker Mccloud in Action off Buffalo one day.She had so much HP at the screw that she left a wake when she went buy us. Being that she was a Canadian Ship we as per customs manned the Rail. Before she past I was piped to the bridge wher the old man gave me instructions. "Speed no unauthorized Hand Jesters" I had mittens on.

[Bill]

When I was on the Acacia we were breaking ice off Harbor Beach, MI when we lost power and got caught in a shifting ice field. By the time we got the engine repaired we were stuck. Nothing we tried worked, so as a lost resort we had to get the Mac to break us out.

[BuoyJumper]

Thought my fellow shipmates might like to see the photo that goes with the story posted by Hawk

[Acaciavet]

We were stuck in Whitfish Bay for a week waiting on the Mac. They secured showers to save water.However the Mid Watch BMOW heard the sound of a shower being taken in the Officers Head. Well one of the deck force boys took the Faucet handles.The next morning at quarters the XO was nuts over this. Every time I watch the Kane Mutiny all I can think about are those handles.

[CGRDCS]

Bouy,  Thanks for the picture, Shipmate   

Beers are on me.

Hawk   

[vftb]

    Looks way too cold to me    This is a much better environment for a 180    Ok, ok, I'll shut up and go back to the club now 

[EX-CG-GM]

We were stuck in Whitfish Bay for a week waiting on the Mac. They secured showers to save water.However the Mid Watch BMOW heard the sound of a shower being taken in the Officers Head. Well one of the deck force boys took the Faucet handles.The next morning at quarters the XO was nuts over this. Every time I watch the Kane Mutiny all I can think about are those handles.

Reminds me of a "no ****ter".  We were on Ocean Station november and it was summer.  No A/C back then.  Lost our evaps so had to go to serious water ratioing.  No showers.....when a squall was sighted the ship would steer into it and we would run on deck, get maked and try to get clean.

Still, we were getting pretty damn ripe.  Berthing area smelled like it was full of corpses.

And then we learned.....that the officers were taking showers. Someone asked the X.O. about it.  He was pretty much a ****.

His answer:

"Officers take showers because officers are GENTLEMEN, and GENTLEMEN do NOT smell!"    

Made him even less popular with the crew then he had been before.

Eventually a C-130 flew out spares for us and the evaps were repaired.

The morale on that ship had been in the toilet ever since we cross decked from the Dexter to replace the original crew.  As far as I know it never really improved.  I hated that ship, had zero respect for the C.O. and hated the X.O.  Best day in the CG was when I transferred off.   

[sparky]

Don't think I ever slept any better than underway in Lake Huron through pancake ice just kind of scraping along the side rocking gently and feeling those two diesels throbbing away.       

[CGRDCS]

Here is a story from today's Detroit Free Press.

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/NEWS05/803240374

Hawk 

[Acaciavet]

I loved Ice ops in the Soo.Tahnks for the News Story Hawk

[sparky]

When I was stationed at Base soo in the early sixties, spring thaw meant we stood a good chance of finding that case of beer we had put outside our barracks the first night it snowed in October and hadn't seen for six months as long as we beat the crews of the Tamarack and Naugatuck to it.

NOG here cap'n, you're next in line, over.

[BuoyJumper]

I don't know how you could talk about Ice Breaking on the
Great Lakes and not talk about the "Mighty Mac"

A COAST GUARD CHANNEL PRESENTATION
                               Episode #1

     


A COAST GUARD CHANNEL PRESENTATION
                               Episode #2

     

[BuoyJumper]

A day on the Coast Guard cutter Alder



    BREAKING OUT DULUTH HARBOR .... JANUARY 2008