Name: Coast Guard cutter Acacia makes its last Beaver Island icebreak, 2005
Start: 2005-05
End: 2005-05
Location: Beaver Island

Event

Date: 2005-05
Kind: Transportation
Eras: Modern era
Concepts: maritimetransportationemergency-managementcommunityheritage
Within: Beaver Island

Summary

The May 2005 Beaver Beacon reported the Coast Guard cutter Acacia outside Beaver Harbor on what was described as its last icebreak before decommissioning. Island residents gathered at Whiskey Point to watch the cutter and remember its role in winter access and maritime service.

Evidence limits

This is a newspaper account of a vessel visit and community observation; it does not establish the complete icebreaking season, the exact decommissioning date, or all prior Acacia visits.

Sources

See the sources block above.

Sources

Rich, Sean, South Shore, and Anna, “Coast Guard Ice Breaker,” Beaver Island Forum, July 11–November 9, 2005, topic 385.
The thread relays a July 2005 *Petoskey News-Review* report that Charlevoix would not receive an Acacia replacement after decommissioning, then adds later participant discussion of Mackinaw II and Bay-class tugs as possible successors for buoy tending or ice duties. This is a newspaper relay plus community interpretation, not a Coast Guard fleet record; the later comments also qualify the original claim that only three upper-Great-Lakes icebreakers would remain.
forum · www.beaverislandforum.com · 00 · t000385
Beaver Beacon, May 2005, "The Acacia's Last Icebreak."
Reports the cutter Acacia outside Beaver Harbor, the community gathering at Whiskey Point, its icebreaking assistance, and the vessel's anticipated decommissioning. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2005-05_Beaver-Beacon
Beaver Beacon, May 2005, held issue PDF, source scan.
The held issue scan confirms the cutter report.
data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2005-05_Beaver-Beacon

Added 7 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Coast Guard cutter Acacia makes its last Beaver Island icebreak, 2005”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-acacia-last-icebreak-2005/, accessed [date], citing Rich, Sean, South Shore, and Anna, “Coast Guard Ice Breaker,” Beaver Island Forum, July 11–November 9, 2005, topic 385. (and 2 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-07. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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