Mackinaw by Loyd Desy    from the collection of Emma & Lester Stokes

WAGB 83 United States Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw The 290 feet long old Mackinaw  (WAGB 83) was built in Toledo, Ohio and commissioned in December, 1944. It was joined by the new Mackinaw (WLBB 30) in October 2005 and decommissioned June 10, 2006. Now it is the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum Tour of the Mackinaw October 24, 2005

Mackinaw is surrounded by sailboats as the 330 mile, 2003 Chicago to Mackinac race begins - courtesy of USCG

Old Mackinaw (WAGB 83) freshly painted for decommissioning ceremony in Cheboygan River on June 10, 2006. On June 21, a skeleton Coast Guard crew sailed the Mackinaw to her final mooring at the former Chief Wawatam railroad dock in downtown Mackinaw City, Michigan. USCGC Mackinaw at the Millard D. Olds Memorial Mooring in Cheboygan, Michigan - November 23, 2001 WAGB 83 had 30 skippers during her nearly 62 year career: Cmdr. Edwin J. Roland   1944-46 Cmdr. Carl H. Stober  1946-47 Capt. Harold J. Doebler  1947-49 Capt. Carl G. Bowman  1949-50 Capt. Dwight H. Dexter  1950-52 Cmdr. Willard J. Smith  1952-54 Capt. Clifford R. Maclean  1954-56 Capt. Evor S. Kerr  1956-58 Capt. John P. German  1958-60 Capt. Joseph Howe  1960-62 Capt. Benjamin Chiswell, Jr.  1962-64 Capt. George H. Lawrence  1964-66 Capt. George D. Winstein  1966-68 Capt. Otto F. Unsinn  1968-70 Capt. Lilbourn A. Pharris, Jr.  1970-72 Capt. John H. Bruce   1972-74 Capt. Lawrence A. White  1974-76 Capt. Donald D. Garnett  1976-78 Capt. Gordon Hall  1978-80 Capt. Francis J. Honke  1980-83 Capt. P.R. Taylor  1983-85 Capt. A. H. Litteken, Jr.  1985-88 Capt. J. J. McQueeny  1988-89 Capt. A. H. Litteken, Jr.  1989-89 Capt. R. J. Parsons  1989-92 Capt. C. A. Swedberg  1992-95 Cmdr. K. R. Colwell  1995-98 Cmdr. E. Sinclair  1998-2000 Cmdr. J. H. Nickerson  2000-03 Cmdr. Joseph C. McGuiness  2003-06

New Mackinaw Mackinaw launch Mackinac Bridge Straits Lighthouses Mackinac Island Seaplane Tour Satellite Pictures 3 minute video of Mackinaw underway - courtesy of United States Coast Guard     Length: 290 feet Beam: 74' 4" Speed: 18.7 knots Power Plant: Six diesel engines with electric drive, three shafts (one forward, two aft), 10,000 bhp. Ice breaking Capability: Three feet at three knots

more Straits of Mackinac aerial pictures

The cutter Mackinaw passes under the Mackinac Bridge

Construction of the United States Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw was started on March 20, 1943 by the Toledo Shipbuilding Company. The company went into bankruptcy during construction and the American Shipbuilding & Dry-dock Company completed the Mackinaw and launched it on March 4, 1944 at a cost of $10,000,000. The Mackinaw was been stationed in Cheboygan, Michigan from its commissioning on December 30, 1944. 

When first commissioned, the Mackinaw was the most powerful  icebreaker in the world. At the conclusion of her career, the Mackinaw was still the largest United States Coast Guard Cutter assigned to the Great Lakes and set the standards by which other icebreakers are measured. The Mackinaw is the only "Mackinaw" class icebreaker which was built and its design borrows from the "Wind" class. 

At full load the Mackinaw displaced 5,252.4 tons and drew 19' 2.25" of water. Her innovative features included a 12 foot diameter bow propeller which draws water from beneath the ice ahead, both weakening the ice and sending water along the sides of the hull and reducing ice friction. The Mackinaw also has a heeling system which can shift nearly 112,000 gallons of ballast water from side to side in 90 seconds, allowing a rocking motion which assists the Mackinaw in freeing itself from ice.

The Mackinaw had a compliment of 8 officers and 67 elicited men and women. The last members of the ship's compliment will left the Mackinaw at on June 30, 2006, turning the Mackinaw over to Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum (IMMM).

Why "WAGB?"   The "W" has been applied to all Coast Guard ships since W.W.II. During the war, to avoid problems that could arise from a Navy and Coast Guard ship having the same number on their bows, a "W" was painted before the number to signify the ship as a Coast Guard ship. The "AGB" is for Arctic Glacier Breaker. The Polar Rollers (Polar Star, Polar Sea) and Healy are also WAGB's.  The "AGB" is for Arctic Glacier Breaker. The Polar Rollers (Polar Star, Polar Sea) and Healy are also WAGB's. 

Learn much more about WAGB 83, the United States Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, in this recently released DVD. The photographer goes aboard the icebreaker Mackinaw as it conducts its final spring breakout during "Operation Taconite" in March 2006 The video captures the Mackinaw's  final up-bound passage through the Soo Locks and her final first cut across Lake Superior's Whitefish Bay. The 60-minute DVD is available in regional gift shops and bookstores, directly from Keweenaw Video, PO Box 665, Houghton, MI 49931 phone 1-800-382-6088

Unless otherwise noted - all photos copyright 2001-2007 by Keith Stokes. . My home page