Cutter Mackinaw
In 1988, the Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackinaw was being considered for decommissioning. It had served as the largest icebreaker on the Great Lakes for over forty years then. Reporter Stephen Ward, and me as recording engineer spent about a day and a half on board in the cold of January documenting the sounds and voices on board the Mackinaw. We got on board on a frigid day, were assigned our bunks, told to wear these insulated thermal floatation suits called Mustangs whenever we were on the weather decks, and also told where we could not go due to safety or security concerns. Beyond that, we had the run of the ship and could record anyone and anywhere we wanted. As VIP’s, we took our meals in the wardroom mess after getting our food cafeteria style with the crew. We were in officer country,…