When the USCG cutter Escanaba splashed in sideways into the Saginaw River, it was the first of her kind. 165 feet long, it was steel reinforced to take on the worst winters on the Great Lakes. Esky was immediately put into action, saving countless lives on Lake Michigan and routinely breaking open the Straits of Mackinac each spring. World War II called the ship to the North Atlantic, where the crew saved over 100 lives in one of the worst Nazi submarine attacks during the war. Listen to a survivor from the Dorchester, who was dragged aboard the cutter after being submerged in the freezing waters. Only a few months later, the Esky mysteriously exploded while guarding another convoy, and only three men were rescued. Hear from one of the survivors as well as the captain of the tug (another Great Lakes built ship) that pulled him to safety. It’s a Mixtory exclusive!