The Coast Guard formally recognized the crew of Michigan Sea Grant’s Summer Discovery Cruise ship at a ceremony at the Coast Guard Detroit Air Station for saving two people. The crew of the Clinton responded to a mayday call on the Detroit River on Aug. 11, 2013 when out on an educational cruise.
During the award ceremony, Capt. Jeff Ogden, commander of Coast Guard Sector Detroit, presented Norman Raymond, Stephen Stewart and Elizabeth Nebei with the Captain David P. Dobbins Award for excellence in search and rescue. Patrick Livingston and Jenna Roy also earned the award but were unable to attend the ceremony.
While operating the education vessel, the Clinton, Raymond responded to a mayday call by the Canadian Coast Guard reporting two people in the water in the Detroit River. The crew found a personal watercraft running but unmanned on the river and began searching for the two missing people.
They found the father and son clinging to a buoy nearby. The crew brought the son aboard, while a Canadian Coast Guard vessel rescued the father.
To learn more about the incident, see: SDC to the Rescue!
The Dobbins Award is presented by the Coast Guard in recognition of outstanding action accomplished while conducting a search and rescue mission on the Great Lakes. Dobbins was appointed the first superintendent of the U.S. Lifesaving Service of the Great Lakes in 1876. He distinguished himself by performing and organizing numerous heroic rescues during his career. In memory of his heritage, initiative and dedication, the award is presented to individuals who perform distinguished search and rescue acts on the Great Lakes.
