U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters decided that "Southwind" would take "Edisto"s place on the Great Lakes for that season. They were under pressure to get a second icebreaker there before the Welland Canal closed on December 15, 1972. To lessen the impact on the crews, headquarters also determined that the ships would simply exchange their entire crews. "Southwind"s crew would take over during the repairs on "Edisto" while "Edisto"s crew would join "Southwind" once she made her new home port of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in preparation for the 1972-1973 winter season.