On October 30, 1996, amid hurricane-force winds and four-metre waves on Lake Superior, the tugboat Glenada carried out a daring nighttime rescue of two men stranded aboard the disabled cruise ship Grampa Woo. With the Canadian Coast Guard Cutter Westfort standing by, Captain Gerry Dawson guided the 24-metre tug alongside the violently rolling vessel in near-zero visibility after the ship broke free during a storm near Thunder Bay, Ontario.
As freezing spray coated the decks and the ships slammed together in the darkness, deckhand James Harding positioned himself at the bow of the Glenada to catch the stranded crewmen as they leapt between vessels. After an initial failed attempt damaged the railing, the crew persevered, successfully bringing both men safely aboard on the second try.
This video tells the story of one of Lake Superior’s most dramatic small-vessel rescues — a testament to courage, seamanship, and determination in some of the worst conditions imaginable.
