The Coast Guard icebreaker Healy has become the second U.S. surface ship to reach the North Pole and return safely.
The 420-foot-long, 82-foot-wide Healy returned to Seattle after completing a 30,080-mile, 192-day journey to the Arctic.
Healy Capt. David Visneski didn’t say whether his crew saw Santa Claus’ headquarters at the North Pole.But he did say his vessel is the nation’s newest, largest and most sophisticated icebreaker as it returned home to Elliott Bay on Thursday.
And while Santa’s red and white sleigh takes eight tiny reindeer driven by one jolly fellow to make the trek from the North Pole, the red and white Healy is almost as easy to maneuver.
“It only takes three or four people to drive the ship,” said public affairs officer Ensign Dan Everette. “It does everything for you — sort of takes the fun out of driving.”
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