Icebreaking?

SamAca10

10-Year Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
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I've recently become interested in icebreakers, specifically Polar Sea and Polar Star.

Has anyone ever been on one? What's it like? The more I read about them, the more fun they sound!

Do you think it's possible to be stationed on one as a first assignment?
 
It is possible to be stationed Polar Sea, Star or Healy, however they're underfunded and falling apart. Thank the U.S. federal govt. funding for that. Their days are limited. Pretty cool ships though. Once they're gone who will break ice? The Russians.
 
Polar Sea is scheduled to be decommissioned this year. The "savings" are expected to pay for the much-needed repairs of Polar Star, which will be ready to sail again in 2013. I believe Healy will be the only Polar Class icebreaker in service over the next few years.

PS - Don't forget about The Mighty Mac (USCGC Mackinaw - WLBB 30) the only heavy ice breaking resource assigned to the Great Lakes.

photo167.JPG
 
Healy is not a Polar class icebreaker, it has it's own class. It also can't break as much ice as the Polar Sea and Star. Mac is cool, but not built to do the kind of breaking the polar rollers do.

And of course, there are the small but important Bay class ice breaking tugs as well.
 
Hopefully Polar Star is up and running by 2014....

Healy would be cool, but I thought it's more of a scientific vessel, right?

The Mack would be cool, but I'm from the great lakes region and want to see more of the world...didn't you say you were on a 140' before LITS?
 
Hopefully Polar Star is up and running by 2014....

Healy would be cool, but I thought it's more of a scientific vessel, right?

The Mack would be cool, but I'm from the great lakes region and want to see more of the world...didn't you say you were on a 140' before LITS?

I was TAD on a 140'.
 
The 140's do a lot of icebreaking on the Hudson River in NY and Kennebec River in Maine.
 
Luigi59, What a great picture! Thanks for sharing!
My family and I were out on our boat fishing this past summer, we were excited because there was a Canadian Coast Guard ship that looked a lot like the one you have shared here. We were on Lake Ontario. Our boat seemed so tiny in the water, next to that one! The folks were so friendly and invited us to take pictures!!! They stayed around for about an hour and then left.
At the time,ds had just came home from AIM and he just chatted away about CGA! What a great family day out on the water!! Again, thanks for sharing! rangermom
 
Luigi59, What a great picture! Thanks for sharing!
My family and I were out on our boat fishing this past summer, we were excited because there was a Canadian Coast Guard ship that looked a lot like the one you have shared here. We were on Lake Ontario. Our boat seemed so tiny in the water, next to that one! The folks were so friendly and invited us to take pictures!!! They stayed around for about an hour and then left.
At the time,ds had just came home from AIM and he just chatted away about CGA! What a great family day out on the water!! Again, thanks for sharing! rangermom

Coast Guard Canada often sends a ice breaker to the big Coast Guard Festival in Grand Haven every year and opens it up for tours. We toured their ship last year and were frankly shocked at some of the crew! A couple were grossly overweight, and several had long messy hair and bar-bells in their eye brows and nose! I asked about the uniform standards and was told the Canadian Coast Guard is not a military organization and thus they do not have the same grooming, height/weight, standards as the USCG. Canadian Coast Guard is a part of the transportation department with a mission of aides to navigation and water rescue -- no law enforcement or coastal defense. Very interesting tour I would highly recommend attending the Grand Haven Michigan Coast Guard Festival this July 30 through August 7. Plenty of US Great Lakes Cutters to tour too.
 
I got a chance to serve on a Wind Class Cutter. Best experience one could have. I would highly recommend the experience-blue and red nose and shellback along with many ports of call.
 
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