Levi Read News

The Great Lakes saw some of their worst ice cover in nearly four decades because of a frigid winter with months of below-freezing temperatures in large sections of the northern United States, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration said. As of Thursday, 92.2 percent of the five lakes were under ice, breaking a record set in 1973 but still short of the 94.7 percent set in 1979, the federal agency said. The area under ice this winter covered about 86,000 square miles, which is a little bit larger than the state of Minnesota. With a spring thaw approaching and temperatures warming, the 1979 record appears poised to stand for at least another year.

The Coast Guard Cutter Active, a 210-ft medium endurance cutter homeported in Port Angeles, Wash., sails past the San Francisco skyline during the parade of ships as part of Fleet Week 2010 festivities, Oct. 9, 2010. Fleet Week is a celebration of the sea services where more than 500 sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen visiting ships make the city a port of call. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Levi Read.

More than two dozen Sea Scouts were rescued by the Coast Guard this week after their boat began taking on water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta near Concord, authorities said. According to Petty Officer Levi Read, the crew of the 85-ft. SSS Farallon reported that there were eight inches of water in the bilge shortly before noon and sent out a distress call. The Coast Guard sent out a helicopter and boats and rescued 33 people, 27 of whom were Sea Scouts. They were put on a ferry and taken to Vallejo. The flooding on the Farallon was controlled, and the boat maneuvered under its own power to Alameda for repairs, Read said.