Preparedness « Coast Guard Great Lakes

Hypothermia kills: These tips can save your life

Seasonal Safety Risks The Great Lakes environment shifts drastically with the seasons. The frozen wintry expanse thaws to a lush boater’s paradise in the summer. The region is currently in what is called the “shoulder season,” when any day can [...]

Understanding the weather can save the day

Blog post written by PA2 Levi Read, D9 External Affairs Division, with information obtained from Dave Anderson, a Coast Guard auxiliarist. As the months pass and February turns to March and then April, the weather will change. Here in the [...]

An ice rescue crewmember from Coast Guard Station Marblehead, Ohio, rescues a victim actor from the ice of Lake Erie during Icy Resolve 2013, an ice rescue training exercise held at the station, Feb. 9, 2013.

Cool customers

This is a first-hand account of Icy Resolve 2013 from the eyes of Cmdr. Lisa Ragone, an incident commander at the full-scale exercise. I served as the secondary incident commander from Coast Guard Sector Detroit for an ice rescue exercise [...]

Ray Johnston, president of the Chamber of Marine Commerce; Marc Garneau, former astronaut; Rear Adm. Mike Parks, Commander, Coast Guard Great Lakes; Monte Solberg, Former Canadian Minister; Stephen Brook, vice president of the CMC

Concern for the Great Lakes crosses international boundaries

Written by Lorne Thomas The Great Lakes are a bi-national treasure that we at the Ninth Coast Guard District are particularly well suited to serve and safeguard, but we can’t do it alone. We share the lakes with Canada – 1,500 [...]

120902-G-ZZ999-002 Summerstock Reserve member at Station St. Cla

Summerstock: A plan of action to patrol the Great Lakes

On Aug. 18, 2012 a rescue boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Sackets Harbor, N.Y., rescued two men from a boat that was taking on water in Lake Ontario. All across the nation, Coast Guard rescue crews engage in similar responses [...]

121127-G-AW789-005 USCGC Bristol Bay Operation Fall Retrieve

Operation Fall Retrieve in full swing as winter approaches

The ice is coming! The ice is coming! The cold season is upon us here in the 9th Coast Guard District. As the month of December has begun and the official winter season nears, we are all preparing for the [...]

There’s an old English proverb that says, “Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.” That proverb would be best served carved onto every boat that enters the water. Things can change in a moment’s notice, and boaters have to be prepared. And, it’s because they were prepared that Ryan Miller and his son Cody Mack, Brian Nelson, and Jack Fischer Jr., all from Michigan, are still alive to tell their harrowing story of spending 14 hours in the waters of Lake Huron after their boat capsized July 9.

Hope for the Best, Prepare for the Worst

Click here to read a July 13 blog post, in which this crew of boaters was named the Coast Guard’s “Shipmate of the Week” Written by Petty Officer 1st Class Brian Huth, 9th Coast Guard District public affairs. There’s an [...]

Coast Guard small boats ready to provide safety and security during the NATO Summit

From the field: Coast Guard, other agencies join forces during 2012 NATO Summit

Post written by Lt. j.g. Brian Dykens, maritime security public information officer, 2012 NATO Summit: Coast Guard units from around the country are partnering with other federal, state and local agencies on Chicago waterways to protect NATO Summit participants and [...]

Members of the Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Chicago Marine Police and Illinois Dept of Natural Resources host a public safety meeting for uninspected passenger vessel operators.

From the field: Marine Safety Unit Chicago hosts 2nd annual meeting for operators of uninspected passenger vessels

Guest post by Lt. Leslie Downing, MSU Chicago: Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Chicago joined forces with local Coast Guard Auxiliary, Illinois Department of Natural Resources and Chicago Marine Police to host a public safety meeting for operators of uninspected [...]

Members of Coast Guard Maintenance Augmentation Team Sault Ste. Marie participate in a community food drive.

Maintenance Augmentation Team Provides Exemplary Support to the Fleet … and to their Community

Photos by Senior Chief Petty Officer Dave Mooney, supervisor, Coast Guard Maintenance Augmentation Team Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Coast Guard units must work together to overcome ever-expanding operational requirements aboard an aging fleet of cutters. To take some of [...]