Day Four - Lake Erie to Conneaut, Ohio - January 24, 2003 Previous Page | Home |  Next Page Next morning we are preparing to get underway as the engineering crews have pulled an all nighter to get us back up and running. Heavy windrows of ice. The wind causes the ice to pile on top of itself becoming many feet deep. We catch up to the Jackman They didn't make it far in the difficult ice conditions without escort. Cleveland Seagulls escort. Cmdr. Nickerson Chief Engineer brings Cmdr. Nickerson up to speed. Lunch time. Special sea detail working which includes the navigation team, the anchor detail, and added watch standers in the engineering spaces. Arriving off Conneaut. We break a relief track. Jackman waits off the port. We head for the piers at full speed. Mother nature had other plans. The days of gale force winds have packed the ice from Lake Erie into the southern shore, piling it up. Mackinaw is stuck! We try using the bow propeller but it doesn't turn. The 12' propeller is embedded in ice that goes to the bottom of the channel. We use the Heel and Trim system to rock out of the ice. (See the video of this trip for the system in action) Backing away Door wasn't secured and the heel and trim system flooded the deck. Off port to break a few more relief tracks. We try backing in to use the propellers to break up the ice. We stop abruptly like a car backing into a concrete parking stop. Even leave a little paint from areas where ice normally doesn't reach. I'm given the option of walking to shore with escort if I need to get back. I'm thankful for lots of vacation time. Just like the Mackinaw I'm in it for the long haul and we continue working into the dark.   Previous Page | Home |  Next Page