The Mighty Mackinaw, one of the U.S. Coast Guard’s most powerful icebreakers, is now a museum in Mackinaw City  (Great Lakes Magazine photos)

Cold enough for you? Imagine working on the U.S. Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackinaw WAGB-83 as she and her crew cut through the frozen waters of the St. Marys River and Lake Superior.

Now retired, the Mackinaw WAGB-83 was commissioned during World War II to replace the icebreakers that had been put into active duty. The Great Lakes needed this aid to navigation for boats carrying materials for the war effort, and on December 20, 1944 she began a career that ended in 2006 when the new Mackinaw WLBB-30 went into service.

From spring into fall you can tour the decommissioned ship, which is docked in Mackinaw City as the Icebreaker Mackinaw Maritime Museum. A visit to the ship is still on my To Do list. But for the next best thing on a winter’s day, check out the Boat Nerd pages of photos and stories as well as video dedicated to The Mighty Mackinaw. (The Boat Nerd material was originally produced for the 2003 issue of Great Laker Magazine.)