Jim Turton, from Colchester, Ontario, turned 45 years old today.  Because of the efforts of the officers and crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay, a 140 foot Bay class icebreaker, he just may have a shot at celebrating his next birthday, (provided he stays off snowmobiles on thin ice in the upcoming year.)   Turton was one of four snowmobilers who fell through the ice near Colchester.  His three companions made it to shore, but Turton crawled onto an floating ice flow drifting out into Lake Erie.

Coast Guard Cutter rescues man adrift on Lake Erie ice floe on his birthday

Poor weather conditions prevented the Coast Guard Air Station in Detroit from launching a helicopter. The Morro Bay was about 30 minutes away from the search area when the Coast Guard was notified, and under direction of Coast Guard Sector Detroit, got underway at midnight to head for the man’s last known location.

Once the cutter crew located him, the Morro Bay pulled up alongside and lowered Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeremy Lake down to the ice. From there, Lake helped the snowmobiler climp up the rope ladder and onto the cutter.

“I joined the Coast Guard to make a difference,” said Lake, who is originally from Berkeley Springs, W.Va., and has been stationed on the Morro Bay since April 2010. “It feels good to save a life.”