Coast Guard

The original Coast Guard icebreaker Mackinaw busts a path into Ludington harbor for the carferry City of Midland on February 18, 1977, after the Midland became mired in ice just outside the harbor entrance during one of the coldest winters in decades. I scrambled over huge ice mounds in making my way all the way out the breakwater to the Ludington lighthouse to have a close-up vantage from which to make this image. The Mackinaw helped keep Great Lakes shipping lanes open for 62 years before being decommissioned in 2006 when the replacement Mackinaw went into service.

As a retired Coast Guard boatswain's mate, I am very impressed by the squared-away, ready-for-operations condition of this restored 26-foot motor surfboat at Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven. If only the small but sturdy rescue boat could talk. I cannot imagine the stories it could tell of search and rescue missions on Lake Michigan out of Pentwater during the early 1900s. The wooden vessel's four-cylinder engine propelled it at eight to eight and a half knots. Tin sheathing helped protect it. F22 at 1/5, ISO 200, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

The Hollyhock, a 225-foot Coast Guard buoy tender, made a surprise visit to Ludington Harbor this week. Tonight, we loaded our family into my dad's little Boston Whaler in order to get a closer look at the beautiful Coast Guard ship. Once we got close, we noticed that the Hollyhock was reflected on the surface of the water. F5.6 at 1/250, ISO 100, 18-50 mm lens at 18 mm

I photographed the USCGC Hollyhock in 2010 for the 365 Project while she was in Ludington for a few days. Today, my dad and I trailered our 13-foot Boston Whaler Super Sport down to Grand Haven, Michigan to photograph the Coast Guard festival for "Tuesdays with Todd and Brad Reed: A Michigan Tribute." Upon arrival in Grand Haven, we were excited to see the 225-foot Hollyhock was in port and open for tours. F8 at 1/1600, ISO 400, 10-17mm lens at 10mm

A Coast Guard self-righting motor lifeboat reached sheltered water inside the Grand Haven pierheads after “heavy weather” training operations on Lake Michigan in the large waves generated by Superstorm Sandy. The 47-foot vessel is designed to operate in seas up to 30 feet and winds up to 50 knots.

A fast-response Coast Guard rigid-hull-inflatable boat flies over the water on Lake Michigan off Ludington.

Like a tank on the water, Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 44345 pounds through breaking surf. The self-righting rescue boat and her crews aided mariners in distress between Big and Little Sable Points for more than 35 years.

Envious

Self-righting motor lifeboats like this Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel are designed to survive and thrive in high seas. This 44-foot vessel, 44359, crushes a large Lake Michigan wave during a patrol from Port Sheldon to Muskegon. I had the honor and privilege of driving 44s for over 25 years.

Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 47225 heads out the Grand Haven Channel for a "heavy weather" training exercise during Superstorm Sandy. At the helm is Senior Chief Kirk McKay, a Coast Guard Surfman highly trained in extremely heavy weather rescue boat operations. F4.5 at 1/2000, ISO 1600, 300mm lens at 300mm

I spent a lot of time underneath Coast Guard helicopters during more than 30 years driving Coast Guard rescue boats and training others to command and crew them. On this 1987 day, Active Duty and Reserve Coast Guardsmen taking part in a two-week “boat school” were conducting “helo ops” on Lake Charlevoix aboard Station Charlevoix’s 44-foot motor lifeboat with an HH-3F Pelican helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City. The precision drills included hoisting a boat crewman to the helicopter in a rescue basket. Skill and teamwork was always paramount and on display. “Always Ready” “44345 Fire Rescue”

Watching U.S. Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat 47284 performing a search and rescue mission off Ludington takes me back. I was a coxswain (boat captain) of this 47-foot self-righting vessel at Coast Guard Station Manistee for several of my 33 years in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. F4.5 at 1/500, ISO 100, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

United States Coast Guard Helicopter HH-65c 6517 out of Traverse City was flying a search pattern tonight over Lake Michigan. The men and women of the Coast Guard are well trained and hard working and in times of great need, our community of Ludington truly embraces their presence along our shores. F4.5 at 1/1600, ISO 320, 300 mm lens at 300 mm

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer is hoisted to a Coast Guard MH65 Dolphin helicopter during training offshore from Ludington in the late 1990s. Station Ludington’s 44-foot motor lifeboat stands by, its crew ready to assist and conduct joint training with the helicopter crew. The Coast Guard established its rescue swimmer program in 1984 to increase its ability to save mariners, downed aviators, stranded hurricane victims, injured hikers and others in distress.

Coast Guard Station Manistee's 45-foot rescue boat heads past Manistee Lighthouse on a Lake Michigan patrol. A summer squall has passed and the Coast Guardsmen are making certain mariners in the vicinity are safe.

As Coast Guard helicopter 6544 escorts the carferry Badger out of port on the ship's first sailing of the season, I cannot help but think back to the hundreds of times during my 33 years aboard Coast Guard boats that we worked closely with the rescue copters. F5.6 at 1/320, ISO 100, 80-200 mm lens at 130 mm

As a Coast Guardsman who was privileged to serve as the coxswain (captain) of one of these 47-foot Coast Guard motor lifeboats, I may be prejudiced when I say that I think they are one of the most impressive vessels on the water. The self-righting rescue boat reminds me of the movie "Back to the Future." I think the design looks like it is simultaneously from both the past and the future. This 47 is on patrol on the Grand River in Grand Haven, Michigan during the annual Coast Guard Festival. F9 at 1/500, ISO 200, 14-24mm lens at 20mm

November Storm in Grand Haven