Commander of Coast Guard's Great Lakes forces uses fictional sidekick to deliver real-life safety messages

News Release

Feb. 7, 2021 U.S. Coast Guard 9th District Great Lakes Contact: 9th District Public Affairs Office: (216) 902-6020 After Hours: (216) 310-2608 9th District online newsroom

 

Commander of Coast Guard's Great Lakes forces uses fictional sidekick to deliver
real-life safety messages
 

Editor's Note: Click on image to view and download video

CLEVELAND —With the Great Lakes’ ever-changing conditions changing even faster than usual this week — resulting in the mass rescue of 66 anglers from an ice floe that detached from shore in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin — perhaps now would be a good time to meet the bemused alter ego of Rear Adm. Donna Cottrell, commander of Coast Guard forces in the Great Lakes region. 

The alter ego, known somewhat mysteriously as New Boater, shows up unexpectedly in Cottrell’s Cleveland office in a pair of social media videos Cottrell produced this year. New Boater delivers a barrage of ghastly puns and general cluelessness, but in the process helps illuminate serious, real-life safety issues that affect residents of the Great Lakes region all year long.

Cottrell’s most recent installment finds New Boater learning the basics of ice safety before heading out on an ice fishing expedition with a friend. Click the image above to see how it all shakes out. Or download the video at http://bit.ly/2LrdS8n. 

 

-USCG-