Wednesday, August 21: We go to an "Icebreaker" in Town

Date:                           August 21, 2013

Day on the Cruise:     128

From:                          Straits State Harbor Marina, Mackinaw City, MI
                                       
To:                               Straits State Harbor Marina, Mackinaw City, MI

Statute Miles:              0.0 SM

Time:                           0.0 Hrs

Cumulative Miles:       2,924.1 SM

On Board:                   Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut

Still in Mackinaw City today. Waiting for the storms that are supposed to move through tonight with high winds and lightning. Oh boy! Just let the temps warm up and Summer comes back and all heck breaks loose!

Not much going on at the marina as we get ready to leave for Petoskey tomorrow. Weather still looks OK.

We went to an icebreaker today that is hosted by a non-profit here in Mackinaw City. We met some interesting people. Now, before we go much further, this was not the type of icebreaker as in social gathering. Rather, this was a de-commissioned Coast Guard Icebreaking Ship used to clear shipping lanes on the Great Lakes at the end of Winter!

The USGCC Mackinaw is a 270+' 70 year old Icebreaker that has been docked in Mackinaw City next to our marina. She was de-commissioned only in 2006 and serves as a museum.

She is on display at the old railroad yard dock. Before the Mackinaw Straits Bridge was built in the 1950's, Ferries moved rail cars back and forth across the 5 mile wide Straits between Mackinaw City and St. Ignace on the UP of Michigan. The railroad moved minerals and raw materials like iron ore from the UP to the mainland. So, Mackinaw City was an important rail head and transportation hub!

This device is an "A" Frame and was used to raise the tracks to the same elevation as the Ferry Boat

The Old "A" Frame

The CG Cutter Mackinaw is an interesting ship. She was built in Toledo, OH in the early 1940's to be used to keep the shipping lanes in the Great Lakes open so raw materials could be moved for steel making during WW II.

Looking at the Bow of the Mackinaw

Info Card

Plaque

The concept of the ice breaker is pretty interesting, and one that I never really understood until I visited The Mackinaw. The ship is very wide and does not have much of a keel. It sits low in the water, and she is very heavy, having a hull below the waterline that is 3" thick of solid steel with supports every 16". Very rigid! She is propelled by two propellers that are like 14' in diameter. These props are powered by Electric motors that get their power from diesel engines that drive generators.

There is another 12' diameter propeller at the front of the ship that draws water in toward the ship. This causes a current that makes the ice unstable and makes it easier for the ship to break it up as it moves forward in an ice field.

When the ship cannot break the ice by moving forward, it has a ballast system that allows the bow to be raised and the ship can move up over the ice and crush it. The ballast also allows the ship to be "wallowed" side to side to free it if she becomes stuck. (If "wallowing" is a good characteristic for an ice breaker, the Coast Guard might want to look at "Blue Moon" - ha ha).

The six diesel engines in this ship are enormous. They were used for locomotives back in the day, and one of the issues that led to de-commissioning was that parts were no longer available and operation of the power plants was labor intensive and inefficient. I can see why after touring below decks. The crew on this ship totaled about 75, and a good many of them were there to run the power plants!

The tour of the ship was very well done. Volunteers were stationed around the parts of the ship to answer questions, and the ship was left exactly as it was when it was de-commissioned. Furniture, computers, furnishings, kitchen equipment, etc were all in place. Nothing was really removed, so it was like going on a functioning ship. There were even uniforms hanging about. It really made the tour interesting and enjoyable.

Side Deck of the Ship

Our marina in the Background

Looking Over the Bow from the Bridge

The Stern of the Ship

This is the Bridge Where the Ship was Steered

Susan Looking Through the Glass into the Bridge

We learned that ice breaking is done at the end of the winter season. The event that starts the shipping season on the Great Lakes is the opening of the Sault St. Marie Locks on Lake Superior. This usually happens in March. So, the ice has to be broken in order for the big ships to start using the locks. The shipping season usually ends in December or sometimes in January. This ship operated in temperatures of 40 and 50 below zero. Ice was sometimes 6 to 15 feet thick!

The "icebreaker" was well worth the experience, even though we did not meet a ton of people!

This evening we did Docktails with "Sun Gypsy" and "Fandango". Both boats had guests aboard. We last saw "Fandango" in Georgetown, SC and in Southport, NC. It was good to catch up with everybody again!

The storms did roll through late in the evening. Rain was in and out very quickly!

Tomorrow we are heading to Petoskey, MI. Weather looks OK.

Thanks for Reading!