The Edmund Fitzgerald Sank, November 10, 1975: On November 10, 1975, SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier sailing out of Superior, Wisconsin, headed for a steel mill near Detroit...

pendennis

On November 10, 1975, SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier sailing out of Superior, Wisconsin, headed for a steel mill near Detroit, encountered gale force winds, and was just out of sight of her traveling companion, SS Arthur M. Anderson, when she sent a final message, "We are holding our own". She then broke in two, and disappeared from radar. "Fitz" sank in 88 fathoms of water taking her entire crew of 29 men to the bottom of Lake Superior. At the time, "Fitz" was one of the largest ore carriers operating on the Great Lakes.

Later on folk singer Gordon Lightfoot, wrote and sang, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The attached photo was taken at the shore of Lake Superior, and the pilings are lined, pointing northward.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

GreyOwl40 Loc: Quebec City

Nice shot. I remember the tragedy and have the song on one of Lightfoot's albums.

fourlocks Loc: Londonderry, NH

There was a Smithsonian Channel special about it, a week ago. To no great surprise, it turned out the main hatches were rusted thin as egg shells and had been improperly patched with a cheap marine caulk. The show revealed the industry largely ignored safety and maintenance requirements across the entire fleet of older ships like the Fitzgerald once again demonstrating industry can't be trusted to "self regulate."

IDguy Loc: Idaho

On the lake they call Gitchee Gummie...

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

pendennis wrote:

On November 10, 1975, SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore... (show quote)

She sank close to White Fish Bay and in Marquette Michigan museum they have a few salvaged items from the Fitz.

pendennis

Brucej67 wrote:

She sank close to White Fish Bay and in Marquette Michigan museum they have a few salvaged items from the Fitz.

The picture was taken on the shore of White Fish Bay, and the pilings point out north from there. Her bell was salvaged in 1995, and taken to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Paradise. A replacement bell was lowered to the wreck, engraved with the names of the lost crewmen.

pendennis

fourlocks wrote:

There was a Smithsonian Channel special about it, a week ago. To no great surprise, it turned out the main hatches were rusted thin as egg shells and had been improperly patched with a cheap marine caulk. The show revealed the industry largely ignored safety and maintenance requirements across the entire fleet of older ships like the Fitzgerald once again demonstrating industry can't be trusted to "self regulate."

The Smithsonian doesn't have a corner on the causes of the sinking (I saw the same program). Even today, there are a number of theories offered as to why Fitz sank; everything from the weather, to a grounding (she had no sonar, nor a fathometer), and storm damage to the fences and vents. One of the theories is that she had welded structure, and that kept her from flexing the same as a lakes carrier with riveted structure. She also had no method for measuring water accumulation in the holds. Her captain, Ernest McSorley, also had a reputation for being a "storm captain", not often putting in when bad weather arose.

The wreck is treated as a burial ground, and there have been strict limits on the amount of diving which can be done, so its likely the cause(s) will be unknown.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

pendennis wrote:

The Smithsonian doesn't have a corner on the cause... (show quote)

Grounding in 88 fathoms?

fantom Loc: Colorado

IDguy wrote:

On the lake they call Gitchee Gummie...

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Better late than never:

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
T'was the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the maritime sailors' cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

Brucej67 Loc: Cary, NC

LWW wrote:

Better late than never:

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
T'was the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
"Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya"
At seven PM, a main hatchway caved in, he said
"Fellas, it's been good to know ya"
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams
The islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the maritime sailors' cathedral
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

Better late than never: br br b The legend lives... (show quote)

Or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A

pendennis

clint f. wrote:

Grounding in 88 fathoms?

The bottom of Lake Superior is not a uniform 88 fathoms, and there are shoals which the Fitz could have struck which did damage to the hull. There's an area known as the "Six Fathom Shoal" which the ship passed over and east of there is are even more shallow water through which the Fitz ran, and could easily have grounded.

The oceanographic surveys of Lake Superior were quite incomplete at the time, and charts were inaccurate in many areas.

clint f. Loc: Priest Lake Idaho, Spokane Wa

pendennis wrote:

The bottom of Lake Superior is not a uniform 88 fathoms, and there are shoals which the Fitz could have struck which did damage to the hull. There's an area known as the "Six Fathom Shoal" which the ship passed over and east of there is are even more shallow water through which the Fitz ran, and could easily have grounded.

Ok, now that makes more sense.
The oceanographic surveys of Lake Superior were quite incomplete at the time, and charts were inaccurate in many areas.