I grew up in Prince Edward County and there were always yarns told about the sailing schooners that swarmed the Lake. One year a schooner was trying to tempt fate and it was late December and freezeup was happening, they tried leaving Weller's Bay and got her stuck in ice, no motor, no tug could get to her from anywhere. After a day of waiting and the ice firmly set they all walked to shore with their gear, were taken by wagon to the railway station and they all tootled off to Toronto to spend the winter at home. A week later the company gets a message the ice has broken up and the ship is adrift!. They muster all hands and away they fly on the first train to Trenton and then wagon back to the bay and row out and set out to get her to Toronto, they get to the gap into Lake Ontario and find the ice again stopping them...still no motor lol. and they again are stuck waiting for a break, but this time the ice has them for good, and they surrender and leave it until spring with a man staying nearby to keep a watch and check on it every so often. Pretty sure its a true story.
From my 7 yrs of dredging experience on the Great Lakes, I couldn’t help but notice that the more you run through the ice day after day the thicker it gets. It shoves the broken ice under the not broken ice and it freezes together. We would have to dig the ice away and break it up w the clam bucket. Nothing colder than being out on the water in the winter.
Spent 1980/81 on Lake Michigan, Bay of Green Bay, Straits of Mackinaw and up to the the Soo. It was colder that year and we had more ice coverage (and thicker). Served on the USCGC Mobile Bay, Sturgeon Bay WI. All I can say breaking ice or breaking out a beset ship is an art. IMO any CO who is about to take command of a 140 or even a buoy tender, or the new mackinaw needs to spend a winter getting some experience before being turned loose on one of these bad boys.
cool! I am curious how it gets home, like the ices is now thicker than it was when it got stuck. maybe it will have the ice breaker go in front of it the entire way home.
The ship you are referring too is and old freighter with the bridge in the bow. It is the Michipicoten bu ilt in 1952. Right now it's in Fraser ship yard. Most likely going to be scraped. I click on to your comment and it goes to me?
The ice breakers, Canadian and American tugs and Coast guard travel to where the are needed. A lot of times Erie freezes up first because of its shallowness while the bigger lakes are ice free.
My understanding the freighter itself is an icebreaker but it has to be up to speed and seeing as it just left port it didn’t have time to build up sufficient speed
@PeterJCimino Don't think so. The harbors freeze before the lakes do and living on lake Superior the Duluth harbor can freeze 12 to 18 inches. They are colder than Buffalo too. Go Bill's
U.S. taxpayers fund the Coast Guard. It is a branch of our military. They patrol the northern border on the Great Lakes among other duties/locations. Hope I got that right. lol
@@loisvreeland7623 you did perfectly! The lake froze faster than anyone could ever predict! That was something unexpected and caught everyone by surprise. No ship would want this to happen. Very thankful for the USCG as well as their Canadian counterparts!
I grew up in Prince Edward County and there were always yarns told about the sailing schooners that swarmed the Lake. One year a schooner was trying to tempt fate and it was late December and freezeup was happening, they tried leaving Weller's Bay and got her stuck in ice, no motor, no tug could get to her from anywhere. After a day of waiting and the ice firmly set they all walked to shore with their gear, were taken by wagon to the railway station and they all tootled off to Toronto to spend the winter at home. A week later the company gets a message the ice has broken up and the ship is adrift!. They muster all hands and away they fly on the first train to Trenton and then wagon back to the bay and row out and set out to get her to Toronto, they get to the gap into Lake Ontario and find the ice again stopping them...still no motor lol. and they again are stuck waiting for a break, but this time the ice has them for good, and they surrender and leave it until spring with a man staying nearby to keep a watch and check on it every so often. Pretty sure its a true story.
What a great story!! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you CG Neah Bay and CG Samuel Risely. Job well done.
Good news indeed.
Safe trip home.
From my 7 yrs of dredging experience on the Great Lakes, I couldn’t help but notice that the more you run through the ice day after day the thicker it gets. It shoves the broken ice under the not broken ice and it freezes together. We would have to dig the ice away and break it up w the clam bucket. Nothing colder than being out on the water in the winter.
My daughter works on them if she was on it god be praised 🙏
saw that today through the window at harbor center with all the ice breaker boats
Ice is amazing...it can trap a huge ship !!!!
First time I have seen this is +50 Years !!!
Spent 1980/81 on Lake Michigan, Bay of Green Bay, Straits of Mackinaw and up to the the Soo. It was colder that year and we had more ice coverage (and thicker). Served on the USCGC Mobile Bay, Sturgeon Bay WI. All I can say breaking ice or breaking out a beset ship is an art. IMO any CO who is about to take command of a 140 or even a buoy tender, or the new mackinaw needs to spend a winter getting some experience before being turned loose on one of these bad boys.
Yay! ❤❤❤
Stay frosty my friends
@26shirts should make a shirt design about this somehow, and the bills...
RIP to all the people who perished…
LOL!!
I'm free, I'm free!
The Mackinaw ice cutter is about 10 miles west of the Manitoulin. Time 1:45 pm
Time to get to safe Harbor for winter lay up, lol
cool! I am curious how it gets home, like the ices is now thicker than it was when it got stuck. maybe it will have the ice breaker go in front of it the entire way home.
@EbenPiazza Its currently all alone in the center of Lake Erie travelling at 8knots north of Cleveland OH. So its making its way so far!
open waters ahead....
I thought this was the ship that had a huge crack in its hall and was to be scrapped. Did they fix it
The ship you are referring too is and old freighter with the bridge in the bow. It is the Michipicoten bu ilt in 1952. Right now it's in Fraser ship yard. Most likely going to be scraped. I click on to your comment and it goes to me?
The ship you are referring too is the Muchipicoten. It was built in 1952 and has the bridge in the bow.
@@BillFarwell thank u
Heli - a million dollar afternoon tour?
Is it asking a lot that Lake Erie Get an Ice Breaker like what is in Lake Superior?
The ice breakers, Canadian and American tugs and Coast guard travel to where the are needed. A lot of times Erie freezes up first because of its shallowness while the bigger lakes are ice free.
My understanding the freighter itself is an icebreaker but it has to be up to speed and seeing as it just left port it didn’t have time to build up sufficient speed
The CCGS Samuel Risley breaks ice and keeps navigation clear from Lake Erie to Lake Superior ..
Funny, but I did not see the Manitoulin move an inch.
When the USCG chopper arrived I had to land to avoid conflict in the air. The ship started to move just after this flight ended.
I was gong to say... good call..could've been a good fine!
I am so pleased that they are free and away off home...
Bravo to the rescuers...
🇿🇦🫶🏻🛟
The Captain a DEI hire??
but...but...that climate change ??? you know the thing..
how thick can those freightors go through anybody know
From what I have heard, the ice was close to 3 feet thick so I would surmise that it has to be less than 3 feet.
@PeterJCimino Don't think so. The harbors freeze before the lakes do and living on lake Superior the Duluth harbor can freeze 12 to 18 inches. They are colder than Buffalo too. Go Bill's
The ice cutter Mackinau can cut thru up to 32 inches continously at 3 knots. It can ram up to 42 inches but that would take forever.
I sent a message to myself. Bright.
It's the end of Jan why are they still out there anyway? They better be paying for the ice breaker and ems to be out there
is there a bill for this?
The coast guards job is to keep shipping lanes clear it’s part of their role!
you pay taxes right
@@bosshog8844if you don’t think I understand where the funding for the USCG comes from and your here to just throw salt, move on…
U.S. taxpayers fund the Coast Guard. It is a branch of our military. They patrol the northern border on the Great Lakes among other duties/locations. Hope I got that right. lol
@@loisvreeland7623 you did perfectly! The lake froze faster than anyone could ever predict! That was something unexpected and caught everyone by surprise. No ship would want this to happen. Very thankful for the USCG as well as their Canadian counterparts!