Marine Radios Review

This year on the shores of Lake Superior something is amiss.  Warmer weather this year in the northland has played havoc with our normal sequence of events.  Nearly every year the lake is white with ice so the ice breakers have to plow and chew their way through the masses of ice.  Usually they are escorting a ship either out or into the Duluth harbor – communicating constantly on their VHF Marine Radios with the loaded vessel to insure safe passage through ice that sometimes reaches 4 feet thick or more.  These  “chunks” of ice or mini ice flows usually end up on the shore in piles many feet tall following a strong northeast wind which drives the ice against the shoreline and piles it high.  When this happens, you experience the beauty of “blue ice”.  Why does the ice appear blue?  When the light penetrates deeper into the ice, more photons from the red end of the color spectrum are lost.  A lack of reflected red wavelengths produces the color blue to the human eye.  We have to enjoy each day!  Happy Boater