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USCGC Mesquite (WLB-305) sits in the ice off Keweenaw Point in Lake Superior in March of 1990.
USCGC Mesquite (WLB-305) sits in the ice off Keweenaw Point in Lake Superior in March of 1990. At 2 a.m. on the morning of Monday, December 4, 1989, the 180-foot Coast Guard buoy tender Mesquite ran aground in 12 feet of the dark, icy waters of Lake Superior off Keweenaw Point in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. With a crew of 53 aboard, the cutter was in the process of removing aids to navigation from the lake prior to winter freeze. The Mesquite suffered severe damage which caused extensive flooding of the engine room. A list to the port side developed, and by 6:20 a.m. Lt. Cmdr. J.R. Lynch, the commanding officer, had ordered abandon ship. Severe weather following the accident left the ship in a poor condition. By mid-December the Coast Guard had determined that the cutter could not be saved. The vessel was considered a 'constructive total loss'. It was towed the following July to Keystone Bay, a couple of miles to the west and sunk in 105 ft of water as a dive attraction.
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