For those who don't get the Cleveland Plain Dealer and those like myself that was on the ice on friday and wondererd how so much ice could break up so rapidly a clip from todays paper. By nightfall, however, many residents had concluded the wind and temperatures had nothing to do with the ice breaking up. They blamed the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw, which Comar and another fisherman said went through about 9 a.m. outside the pack of ice anglers. But the 240 foot Mackinaw which cuts a 300 foot wide path through the ice, did not contribute to the shifting Lake Erie ice, said Lt. Dave French of the U.S. Coast Guard's public-affairs office. The Mackinaw has been working Lake Erie for the last week, or so. The Mackinaw was in Cleveland Friday night, French said When we got the call about stranded ice fishermen, they were asked to assist. The Mackinaw is now heading north, up the Detroit River. According to boatnerd.com an internet site about Great Lakes shipping traffic, the Mackinaw was on the Detroit River on Thursday morning, stopping at the U.S. Coast Guard Group Detroit before heading for Lake Erie. The Mackinaw was spotted by Lake Erie islanders on the north side of Kelly's Island at noon Saturday.
