CLEVELAND — Coast Guard crews across Lake Michigan had a busy weekend and responded to more than 10 cases of mariners in distress, rescuing four and assisting 13. Unfortunately, two lives were lost on Lake Michigan this weekend.
Coast Guard 9th District crews throughout the Great Lakes region responded to 135 cases, rescuing six people and assisting 148 others.
The following synopses are the rescue and assist cases the Coast Guard was involved in on Lake Michigan.
A rescue aircrew aboard an MH-65C Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City, Mich., was transiting across the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay, Friday afternoon, when they spotted a man in the water clinging to his partially submerged kayak at 8:50 a.m. The rescue aircrew hoisted the man into the helicopter and transported him to the air station. Once there, he was evaluated by emergency medical services and released in good condition.
A rescue boatcrew aboard a 41-foot Utility Boat from Coast Guard Station Two Rivers, Wis., rescued one person from a boat sinking in Lake Michigan, three miles southeast of Two Rivers, Friday night. Two rescue crewmembers with a dewatering pump went aboard the vessel to control the flooding. The rescue crew towed the vessel to the Manitowoc Marina in Manitowoc, Wis.
A rescue boatcrew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Coast Guard Station Michigan City, Ind., rescued two people who were on a 16-foot vessel that capsized in Lake Michigan, Friday night.
A rescue boatcrew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat-Small from Coast Guard Station Calumet Harbor, in Chicago, assisted two people in a 31-foot boat that was taking on water 500 yards off Navy Pier in Chicago, Saturday afternoon. Initially, a rescue crew from the Chicago Marina had the vessel in tow, but the tow line broke. Two members of the Coast Guard rescue crew with a dewatering pump went aboard the vessel to assist with flooding. The rescue crew towed the vessel to Monroe Harbor, in Chicago.
A rescue boatcrew aboard a 25-foot Response Boat-Small from Coast Guard Station Frankfort, Mich., assisted four people aboard a 33-foot vessel taking on water in Lake Michigan 15 miles north of Frankfort, Sunday afternoon. The people aboard the vessel were able to keep the boat from sinking and were able to make way, with the RB-S crew escorting them to the Betsie Bay Marina in Frankfort.
A rescue boatcrew aboard a 41-foot Utility Boat from Coast Guard Station Muskegon, Mich., assisted six people aboard a 21-foot vessel that had caught fire, in Lake Muskegon, Sunday night. The people aboard the vessel were able to put out the fire and a good Samaritan towed the vessel with the UTB crew escorting them to the Great Lakes Marina in Muskegon.
A rescue boatcrew aboard 25-foot Response Boat-Small from Coast Guard Station Kenosha, Wis., assisted a rescue crew from the Kenosha Police Department in searching for a man who reportedly shot himself and then jumped in Lake Michigan near Kenosha, early Monday morning. The rescue crew from the Kenosha Police Department rescued the man and took him to shore, where emergency medical services were waiting to take him to a local hospital.
