Plowing a course for rescue

Positioned between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, Mackinac Island offers a summer getaway famous for fudge and horse-drawn carriage. For annual distance races from Chicago and Detroit, a race to Mackinac is a high-point of the season, but not a course you want to travel in the winter.

But it was in sub-freezing temperatures on February 7 when the need for emergency assistance required the U.S. Coast Guard to respond in an unusually improvisational way.

With notification of a woman in need of critical medical attention on Mackinac Island, difficult weather conditions prevented helicopter assistance, so the call went out to the Coast Guard Cutter Katmai Bay, a 140-foot icebreaker which was clearing a path to the north on the St. Marys River.

Katmai Bay arrived at the island’s main dock and embarked the woman with the help of local Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The ship then used its icebreaking capabilities to plow a course to nearby St. Ignace in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where EMS was waiting. The woman was successfully transported to a local hospital where she could receive next level care.

“Today’s efforts by our crews demonstrate the flexibility and ingenuity of our search and rescue planners in finding solutions to complex cases, regardless of the weather,” said Capt. Anthony Jones, Sector Commander of Sector Sault Ste. Marie. “My hat is also off to the crew of the Katmai Bay, who shifted from icebreaking to search and rescue in a matter of moments to help this woman get the critical care she needed.”