WAGB 83 Mackinaw: CUTTER RESCUES PROFILE

World War II put a heavy strain on demand for Great Lakes cargoes like iron ore, oil, coal and wheat.  It also stole many of the icebreakers that were needed to stretch the shipping season.  On December 17th, 1941, Congress authorized construction of a ship that would be so large that it couldn't leave the lakes, and it's massive keel was laid March 20th, 1943 in Toledo Ohio.

290 feet long and a massive 74 and a half inches wide, the Mighty Mac displaces 5,252,4 tons and when commissioned in 1944, it was the most powerful and capable icebreaker in the world.  It incorporated a bow propeller and a water ballast heeling system that aided in ice breaking, and it was soon breaking records on the inland seas.  It was also on-scene commander for two of the most famous modern rescues, taking survivors aboard from the shipwrecks M/V Cedarville and German freighter Nordmeer.  The Cedarville was lost near the Mackinac Bridge in 1965 after colliding in thick fog with the Topdalfjord.

The Cedarville's crew were tossed into the icy straits and plucked from the water by the German freighter Weissenburg.  25 men were then transferred to the deck of the Mackinaw and eventually shuttled to a local hospital.  CUTTER RESCUES has rare film footage of the men in the hospital along with eyewitness accounts of the accident.

The Mac was also instrumental in bringing the crew of the Nordmeer to shore when it ran aground near Alpena, Michigan.  On November 21, 1966 twenty nine men were brought ashore from the wreck, and the Mac returned just nine days later when the remaining 8 crew were stranded during a killer storm that sank the Daniel J Morrell.

A rescue chopper from Detroit plucked the Captain and his men from the wave ravaged ship in just 22 minutes, dropping them to the tossing deck of the Mackinaw.  CUTTER RESCUES interviews the decorated pilot who made the perilous flight and also shares rare shipwreck footage of the Nordmeer after sinking.

The Mac would serve the lakes for nearly 60 years, but her giant size would eventually be her downfall.  The only ship of her kind, it is impossible to find parts for repair.  It also requires some 75 Coast Guardsmen to operate the Mac, as opposed to 56 aboard Mac's replacement, WLBB 30. The new Mac would also have a ATON crane to maintain buoys and handle oil spills, which it's predecessor couldn't.

But the mission of this massive cutter didn't end with it's decommissioning.  Today it is a floating museum, dedicated to the men and women who have worked aboard her.  On display in Mackinaw City, Michigan, it's very close to where the Cedarville rests- and where the Mac brought the survivors ashore in 1965.

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