Scene on the Sound: The Polar Star returns

 

Photo by Jan Hansen

In the golden light of the sunset, from my living room I am viewing the Polar Star at anchor just south of Jefferson Head. Welcome home.

--Jan Hansen

Photo by Jan Hansen

The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker, the Polar Star, sailed through Shoreline about 3:15 in the afternoon on Saturday, October 29, 2022.

USCGC POLAR STAR (WAGB 10) Homeported in Seattle, Washington, US Coast Guard Cutter POLAR STAR (WAGB 10) is the United States' only heavy icebreaker. Commissioned in 1976, she was built by Lockheed Shipbuilding along with her now decommissioned sister ship, POLAR SEA (WAGB 11). 

Three aviation-grade gas turbine engines provide USCGC POLAR STAR with up to 75,000 horsepower, making her the most powerful ship in the US Coast Guard. Each year, POLAR STAR travels to McMurdo Station, Antarctica to lead Operation Deep Freeze and break miles of ice up to 21 feet thick.