Ice Rescue

[BMC Seth Tomas]

Here is a press release from our Sunday adventure.... no boats to play with, so we tend to the waterfowl instead!

[BMCM Stuart S. Slesh]

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII, don't know Seth. From the picture, it kinda looks like the four Guardians were in the water, and the swan was wondering why.

[BMC Seth Tomas]

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII, don't know Seth. From the picture, it kinda looks like the four Guardians were in the water, and the swan was wondering why.

It ended up being that way! The swan was frozen in in that black spot you see behind it. Once my guys got close enough, it was so scared that it nearly ripped it's own leg off trying to get away from them! They had to chase it all the way to the shoreline to catch it with the blanket! I was laughing so hard during parts of it while my guys were defending themselves with hunks of ice as the swan went on the defensive and wanted to attack them! They were holding 2'x2' pieces of ice up while treading water as shields!

[BMCM Stuart S. Slesh]

See, I think the swan's version to his friends went something like this....

"There I was, sitting on the Black River, minding my own business, when suddenly, and without warning........"

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

Yea, don't let the cute swans fool you. They'll tear a guy up if given a chance.

Seth, no skiff was available? Were all 4 Guardians teathered by life lines? I couldn't quite tell from the photo.

That reminds me of a video I saw where a firefighter was crawling out to a goose that was frozen in the ice. It was in an urban pond that was ringed by big-buck homes and the homeowners called the FD to come save the goose. So the FD showed up (more of a PR thing than anything). The firefighter has his ice-rescue suit on and was crawling out to the goose. People have gathered from far and wide, hoping to get a glimps of the dramatic rescue. When the firefighter got to within about 20 ft of the bird, the goose stood up, looked at him, and flew away. It had just been sitting there the whole time. You can see in the video the firefighter's head just drop, like he's saying, "You 've got to be kidding me." It was pretty funny.

[DCCS Brett Wickett]

I'm just wondering how fast that river freezes, or how slow that swan was in order for it to be swimming along and then all of a sudden its' poor feet were frozen.

[BMC Seth Tomas]

The river went from being clear of ice to about 1.5" in a couple of days...must have been a s....l......o.......w swan to get stuck!

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

I'm just wondering how fast that river freezes, or how slow that swan was in order for it to be swimming along and then all of a sudden its' poor feet were frozen.

What will happen sometimes is when a bigger bird like that walks out or lands on the ice, if the ice is thin enough, the ice may crack just a bit to allow some water to seep up to the surface without the bird falling through. That little bit of water will freeze pretty quick if the air temp is cold enough. If the bird sits there in that real thin layer of water for any amount of time, it will freeze to the ice. Doesn't happen often, but when the conditions are just right, it will happen. Usually it's the tail feathers that are most suseptable to this. Kind of like when you're getting ice out of the ice maker at home, and your hand is a bit wet, the cubes stick to your hand all of a sudden. Pretty much the same thing.

[MKCM Brett Ayer]

Yea, don't let the cute swans fool you. They'll tear a guy up if given a chance.



Someday I'll tell you a story about a dog adrift on an ice flow in the straights of Mackinaw that turned out to be a very pissed off coyote :)

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

Someday I'll tell you a story about a dog adrift on an ice flow in the straights of Mackinaw that turned out to be a very pissed off coyote :)

Oooooooo. Nice!!! :eek: :eek:

[BMC Seth Tomas]

Someday I'll tell you a story about a dog adrift on an ice flow in the straights of Mackinaw that turned out to be a very pissed off coyote :)

Why someday? Let's hear it now! :D

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

I got a call one night that there was a cat under this lady's mobile home that didn't belong to her, and she wanted it removed. So I roll up, look under the trailer and saw the cat had a white stripe down it's back. When I told her what it was, she yelled, "Shoot it!!". I told her if I did that, she would have a few more problems. She agreed.

[BMCM Wray Gillette (Ret)]

Someday I'll tell you a story about a dog adrift on an ice flow in the straights of Mackinaw that turned out to be a very pissed off coyote :)


I got a one about a deer, on the Potomac River Ice.. He was going to be our dinner but..... There is a picture of it here:

http://www.community.coastguardchannel.com/profile/WrayGillette

We named him Fred... He is still above my fireplace...


Wray... :cool:

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

Up in Duluth one year we rescued a real dog off an ice floe. It was a lab/greyhound or great dane mix. Or something like that. It had a lab body and face, with long, skinny legs. We kept it, named her "Floe" and had her trained up pretty good. Until one day Floe followed MK1 out to his truck. When the MK1 got in his truck and closed the door, Floe jump up and put her paws on the door to look through the window. MK1 went bizerk, bitched to the OinC, and we had to issue PCS orders to Floe. One of the non-rates took her home.

Nice dog. Could run like crazy, but couldn't stop with those long legs. Found that out the hard way, when we threw a ball for her across the yard. The ball made it to the sea wall before Floe. The ball stopped, Floe didn't. You could hear the sound of head on metal for miles.

[SKC Raymond Kurtz (Ret)]

I got a call one night that there was a cat under this lady's mobile home that didn't belong to her, and she wanted it removed. So I roll up, look under the trailer and saw the cat had a white stripe down it's back. When I told her what it was, she yelled, "Shoot it!!". I told her if I did that, she would have a few more problems. She agreed.


That was toooo funny! BTW my mom had a skunk as a pet when she was a kid.

[BMC Seth Tomas]

I've never been one to do well in front of a camera, but here is a news clip myself and my BM3 did this afternoon about the swan rescue. Must have been a slow news day, because they spun this story up in the area today! I've saved plenty of lives that never got recognition like this did!

http://www.woio.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=3332868&h1=Coast%20Guard%20Rescues%20Stuck%20Swan%20From%2 0Black%20River&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=129267&LaunchPageAdTag=News%20-%20Hard%20News&activePane=info&rnd=23408041

Go easy on me.....

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

Seth, I think you did very well. Having been sprung in front of the camera from time to time myself, I know is isn't easy. You looked like an old pro.

Although I do have to ask you. What's the deal with the big skull and cross-bones on the inside garage door. Someone practicing for train cars later on? (sorry, couldn't resist) :D

[MECM Steven Lowry]

I thought it was an excellent interview. It played out like a light-hearted story with a happy ending. Who could ask for more?:cool:

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

Seth, Congrats on making the iCommandant website. :D :D

[BMC Seth Tomas]

Seth, Congrats on making the iCommandant website. :D :D

....thanks.....my email inbox has been flooded with emails, and my watchstander keeps getting random phone calls from around the country. The last one was some guy in Utah thanking us for our rescue!

I never thought this would spread like wildfire like it did! WOW! :D

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

....thanks.....my email inbox has been flooded with emails, and my watchstander keeps getting random phone calls from around the country. The last one was some guy in Utah thanking us for our rescue!

I never thought this would spread like wildfire like it did! WOW! :D

Yea, well, don't forget us little people when Katie Couric shows up.

[BMC Seth Tomas]

Yea, well, don't forget us little people when Katie Couric shows up.

...."Katie, I'd like to give a shout-out to all my peeps on CGChiefs.com. I couldn't have done it without them!"....

Does that work for ya?;)

[BMCS Jeff Lucas]

...."Katie, I'd like to give a shout-out to all my peeps on CGChiefs.com. I couldn't have done it without them!"....

Does that work for ya?;)

Pefect. Then give her a big, wet one, with tounge, for us.

[AMTCM John Long]

Pefect. Then give her a big, wet one, with tounge, for us.

I'd pass....

BTW....what is the name of that river.......Swan River???