Filmed during "Operation Taconite" in March 2006 and the original Mackinaw's (WAGB 83) last breakout on Lake Superior, the video captures its historical final up-bound passage through the Soo Locks and her final first cut across Whitefish Bay. When the Mackinaw was launched in 1944, the 290-foot cutter was the largest and most powerful icebreaker in the world. Mackinaw's homeport was Cheboygan, Michigan, and her entire career was spent on the Great Lakes.

Hermanson said, “I was able to film this incredible ship doing what she had been doing for 62 years - breaking ice six to eight feet thick on Lake Superior. I toured and filmed the heavy icebreaker top to bottom and include rare historical film footage, interviews with the last captain and crew, as well as former crewmembers". On June 10, 2006, the original Mackinaw was decommissioned and subsequently moved from Cheboygan to Mackinaw City where she is now the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum and will be open for tours to the public.”

The 60-minute DVD is available in regional gift shops and bookstores or directly from Keweenaw Video, PO Box 665, Houghton, MI 49931 phone 1-800-382-6088 or online at www.keweenawvideo.com or www.IcebreakerMackinaw.com

Watch a two minute sample of the movie on YouTube