The United States Coast Guard ICEBREAKER MACKINAW WAGB-83 is known as the “Queen of the Great Lakes” and “The Largest Icebreaker on the Great Lakes”. She was built by the American Ship Building Company in Toledo, Ohio in 1943 as part of the war effort during World War II to meet the heavy demands of war materials and transportation during the winter months. She is 290 feet long and has a beam (width) of 74 feet. The Mackinaw was commissioned on December 20, 1944 and her home port was Cheboygan, Michigan.
Decommissioned in 2006, she now resides at her namesake home of Mackinaw City, Michigan, and is open for public tours, educational tours, overnight encampments and group events. Informative displays and tour guides will tell you the story of the Mackinaw’s 62-year career of breaking ice on the Great Lakes and serving as a goodwill ambassador throughout the region. While aboard you can visit the Mess Deck, Captains Quarters, Bridge, Engine Room, Ward Room, Sick Bay and so much more.
Aboard the ship is the “Ship’s Store” which has a wide array of nautical, military, and dedicated “Mackinaw” items to choose from. The store is open during regular tour hours and general admission is not necessary to visit only the store.
In order to log this cache as a find, you must go to the posted coordinates and take a picture of yourself or someone from your team or your GPS with the bow (pointy end) of the ship in your picture and post it in your log. If you don’t have a camera with you, send me an e-mail stating the three letters found on the gold stack (smoke stack) below the Coast Guard Emblem.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.