- Dates
- 2008-03-28 – 2008-03-29
- Kind
- Transportation
- Where
- Beaver Island
- Eras
- Modern era
- Concepts
- maritimetransportationtechnologyweathercommunity
- Within
- Beaver Island
Summary
After the icebreaker had to leave, Bud Martin and James Kenwabikise improvised a way to free the stranded Emerald Isle and tanker. They repaired the steel-hulled fish tug Ruby Ann, moved it over land and ice with heavy equipment, cut a channel through ice reported as 18 inches thick, and repeatedly rammed the tug through the shelf. The work opened a route that allowed the ferry to depart on the afternoon of March 29.
Evidence limits
This is an illustrated feature account, not a vessel log, marine-safety report, engineering assessment, or complete crew and cost record.
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, April 2008, "Island Ingenuity."Describes Bud Martin, James Kenwabikise, and helpers installing a starter, moving the steel-hulled fish tug Ruby Ann over land and ice, cutting through 18-inch ice, and freeing a route so the Emerald Isle could depart. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.data1 · beaver-island-archive · beaver_beacon · 2008-04_Beaver-Beacon
- The held April issue scan confirms the illustrated Ruby Ann account.data1 · beaver-island-archive · scans · beaver_beacon · issues · 2008-04_Beaver-Beacon
Added 5 August 2026. Recent changes
Cite this article
Beaver Island Archive, “Ruby Ann crew cuts a channel to free the stranded ferry, 2008”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/events/beaver-island-ruby-ann-ice-launch-2008/, accessed [date], citing Beaver Beacon, April 2008, "Island Ingenuity." (and 1 further source listed on the page).
Last revised 2026-08-05. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.
BibTeX for “Ruby Ann crew cuts a channel to free the stranded ferry, 2008”RIS for “Ruby Ann crew cuts a channel to free the stranded ferry, 2008”