Ice breakers clear paths for watermen on Chesapeake Bay
By Candus Thomson, The Baltimore Sun
2:27 PM EST, January 25, 2011
ABOARD THE M/V SANDUSKY — For watermen who require safe passage to Chesapeake Bay oyster bars and fishing grounds each winter, the appearance of one of the state's four icebreakers is like money in the bank.
Like giant plows on an asphalt road, the ships carve channels from piers to open waters, clearing away dangerous sheets of ice that can slice through the hull of a fishing boat.
"Any ice at all is a real hazard for them," says Shawn Orr, captain of the 80-foot M/V Sandusky, as he guides his vessel Tuesday through a row of watermen's boats tied up at Kent Narrows. "It's really important to them that we're here because they have to get out and make a living."
As the Sandusky passes, a waterman smiles and waves.
Despite several weeks of biting cold that jump started the ice season on Chesapeake tributaries and harbors, this winter hasn't been particularly harsh. But a "fair amount" of ice has built up in protected waters, Orr says.
The icebreakers have been dispatched to Middle River and portions of the lower bay to help the commercial fishing fleet. Last month, the Sandusky broke up ice around Hart-Miller Island off Baltimore County, which allowed Natural Resources Police officers to rescue two stranded duck hunters.
The Sandusky, a buoy tender and the state's second-largest ice breaker, can tackle ice up to 8 inches thick. The largest, the 100-foot M/V Tawes, can handle ice up to 10-inches thick.
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