CG Icebreaking Great Lakes

[pachesma]

Don't know if any of you "GL Coasties" have ever seen this website:

http://www.boatnerd.com/

I look at it every day. All kinds of ice breaking pics on there, specially right now as its "break out" season-JRC

[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 #3

     


A COAST GUARD CHANNEL PRESENTATION
                               Episode #4

     

[kmkeyser]

Doesn't this thread make me homesick....

Was on MOBILE BAY from '01 to '03 and 05 to 07.  Spent 8 hours one day backing and ramming into 8+ thick brash and plate ice that had clogged Buffington Harbor.  We must have gone a total of 1500 yards.  I sure do miss that mission.  One of the best kept secrets in the CG.

[RWLucas]

We were stuck in Whitfish Bay for a week waiting on the Mac. They secured showers to save water

Why?  No shortage of fresh water on Lake Superior.  On the Mesquite we pulled drinking water strait from the lake. 

[BuoyJumper]

Senior Chief,

Good to hear from another MESQUITE vet.  I honestly don't remember the MESQUITE getting her potable water right out of the lake in the mid-1960's.  Do you know if that was something that came about later or was that always done on the 305?  One of the changes that came about when I was aboard was the installation of the waste water holding tank in the #2 cargo hold.    

[BuoyJumper]

Senior,

Here's some photos of the 305 breaking ice I thought you might like to see.

[RWLucas]

Good to hear from another MESQUITE vet.  I honestly don't remember the MESQUITE getting her potable water right out of the lake in the mid-1960's.

I was on in 1980-81.  I think in the 60s some ships and some towns were still dumping sewage into the lake - not sure if towns did but I know that ships did.  By 1980 the lake was clean enough to draw water with very little treatment needed. 

During some training, evaluation or assist visit from some people from Area or someplace, not your normal annual District Inspection, one of them asked at abandon ship drill how much water you could drink in the first 24 hours in a lifeboat.  Answer was as much as you want.  Everyone gave the same answer.  Evaluator was practically jumping up and down in anger at how stupid we were and asked the petty officer in charge (BM2, I think, may have been QM) where we're getting all this water.  He said 'off the starboard side of the boat'.  We all agreed, and the PO explained to him that first off we didn't expect to be in the boat that long, even if the engine broke we could always hitch a ride on a passing laker, and you could drink all day and all night and not drink the lake dry.  He asked why the starboard side and the PO told him  "drink starboard, piss port". 

[sparky]

When I was on the Acacia in 66-67, the drains from the heads went right into whatever river or lake we were in at the time. I remember one time there was a painting crew over the side on a raft and we had the 17,000 lb sinker swung over to the starboard side so the deckies could paint the waterline. Someone went into the crew's head and flushed them and it went dead center over the painting crew..

Also, I'm sure that many of the town's along lake Huron did their direct dumps into the lakes. When we would arrive in Alpena I think it was we would go up intothe turn around basin next to a GM plant and after going ahead and then back a few times to get turned around, the screw turned up all kinds of ugly turd looking items. That brown water extended quite a ways out into the lake from there so that's how it used to be. True story.

[BuoyJumper]

The "Mighty Mac" keeping commerce moving, securing our
borders and dealing with the different kinds of ice.

A COAST GUARD CHANNEL PRESENTATION
                               Episode #5

     

[BuoyJumper]

CGC HOLLYHOCK WLB-214 icebreaking on
the Saint Clair River in Algonac, Michigan.

   

[sparky]

Made THAT trip a few times but I don't think the Acacia ever went that fast.

[tc1uscg]

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

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

Hawk 

I see in picture nr 6 that 300lbs of bondo they ordered covered the dent pretty well. 

[pachesma]

Ya mean afta this:

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=47972


-JRC

[sparky]

Any of you guys ever watch the Detroit River Webcam...has sound too. Anyway, I get nostalgic every so often when watching the lake freighters go by and the occasional salty and every once in a while the Hollyhock or some other cutter or CG small boats...kind of fun.

website is http://www.detroithistorical.org/webcam/default.htm

[BuoyJumper]

A COAST GUARD CHANNEL PRESENTATION
                         ICE LIBERTY Episode #6