Ships parade down channel at Coast Guard Festival

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — It’s a fan favorite at the Grand Haven Coast Guard Festival: Vessels decked out in flags cruised down the Grand Haven channel Monday for the annual Parade of Ships.

It featured U.S. Coast Guard Cutters Spar, Mobile Bay, Morro Bay and Buckthorn, as well as Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Samuel Risley, all escorted by smaller U.S. Coast Guard and Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office boats.

People lined up along the channel to welcome the ships, waving and cheering as the vessels blew their horns and an orange Coast Guard helicopter circled above. The Morro Bay sprayed water on some bystanders.

An often overlooked branch of the military because of its size, the 43,000 active-duty men and women in the Coast Guard serve an instrumental purpose . Most Coast Guard members are stationed in cities along the Atlantic, Pacific, Great Lakes and Gulf coasts. Assignments normally last between two and four years, while deployment can last for days or months.

Shirley Hawks attended with her husband Richard Hawks to show their appreciation.

“I love the Coast Guard and what they do, how they serve their country, their willingness to put their lives on the line for others. It’s amazing,” Shirley Hawks said. “They do not get the support that they deserve. They’re not noted. People don’t realize how much they give up.”

“Especially now they aren’t getting much gratitude, the armed forces so I appreciate them and I want them to know that,” Richard Hawks said.

The Coast Guard Festival, which began Friday, is celebrating 100 years. The first event in 1924 was just a picnic for Coast Guard members and their families. Now, it’s a huge party that draws some 350,000 people from around the country. It’s a boon for the Grand Haven economy, with shop owners ready for a busy stretch.

Caitlin Williams, husband Andy, son Camden and daughter Parker, from Ohio, have made the festival a summer tradition.

“We do schedule our vacation specifically for this week because there’s so much more to do with the Coast Guard Festival,” Caitlin Williams said. “It’s great experience for the kids. They get to see these ships that are just huge in size and they do free tours and a lot of stuff’s free, so it’s a great family event because you don’t have to have a big budget to do it.”

The festival runs through Sunday. You can see a full schedule of events on its website .

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