U.S. Coast Guard Ship Breaks up Great Lake Ice

If you are fed up with this winter and the ice on all of the lakes, then maybe you need to take notes from the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard ship, The Mackinaw, is an ice breaking ship that is used to break up the shipping lanes from Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The massive ship can break through ice over two feet thick so that ships can continue to deliver goods necessary for economic sustainment.

The ships on Lake Huron and Superior carry oar and coal to the factories in that area. The Mackinaw helps to keep the shipping lanes open so that these ships can go through small openings. In the video above, the captain of the Mackinaw talks about how it took 17 hours to move one ship 7 miles. The crew members describe being on the boat like living on an earthquake.

If you want to get your boat out and sit on the real water right now in much of the Northern part of the U.S., then get one of these boats. Otherwise, wait a few months and we’ll probably have open water soon enough.