The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

History 9 Minutes
Edmund Fitzgerald, St. Mary’s River, 1975. Photo by Bob Campbell

The legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald remains the most mysterious and controversial of all shipwreck tales heard around the Great Lakes. Her story is surpassed in books, film and media only by that of the Titanic. Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot inspired popular interest in this vessel with his 1976 ballad, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”The Edmund Fitzgerald was lost with her entire crew of 29 men on Lake Superior November 10, 1975, 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan. Whitefish Point is the site of the Whitefish Point Light Station and Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) has conducted three underwater expeditions to the wreck, 1989, 1994, and 1995.At the request of family members surviving her crew, Fitzgerald’s 200 lb. bronze bell was recovered by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society on July 4, 1995. This expedition was conducted jointly with the National Geographic Society, Canadian Navy, Sony Corporation, and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The bell is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew.The Fateful Journeyby Sean Ley, Development OfficerThe final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began November 9, 1975 at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1, Superior, Wisconsin. Captain Ernest M. McSorley had loaded her with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets, made of processed iron ore, heated and rolled into marble-size balls. Departing Superior about 2:30 pm, she was soon joined by the Arthur M. Anderson, which had departed Two Harbors, Minnesota under Captain Bernie Cooper. The two ships were in radio contact. The Fitzgerald being the faster took the lead, with the distance between the vessels ranging from 10 to 15 miles.Aware of a building November storm entering the Great Lakes from the great plains, Captain McSorley and Captain Cooper agreed to take the northerly course across Lake Superior, where they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore. This took them between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. They would later make a turn to the southeast to eventually reach the shelter of Whitefish Point.Weather conditions continued to deteriorate. Gale warnings had been issued at 7 pm on November 9, upgraded to storm warnings early in the morning of November 10. While conditions were bad, with winds gusting to 50 knots and seas 12 to 16 feet, both Captains had often piloted their vessels in similar conditions. In the early afternoon of November 10, the Fitzgerald had passed Michipicoten Island and was approaching Caribou Island. The Anderson was just approaching Michipicoten, about three miles off the West End Light.Captain Cooper maintained that he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. By this time, snow and rising spray had obscured the Fitzgerald from sight, visible 17 miles ahead on radar.At 3:30 pm that afternoon, Captain McSorley radioed Captain Cooper and said: “Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. I’m checking down. Will you stay by me till I get to Whitefish?” McSorley was checking down his speed to allow the Anderson to close the distance for safety. Captain Cooper asked McSorley if he had his pumps going, and McSorley said, “Yes, both of them.”

“The Wreck Site II” by David Conklin

As the afternoon wore on, radio communications with the Fitzgerald concerned navigational information but no extraordinarily alarming reports were offered by Captain McSorley. At about 5:20 pm the crest of a wave smashed the Anderson’s starboard lifeboat, making it unusable. Captain Cooper reported winds from the NW x W at a steady 58 knots with gusts to 70 knots, and seas of 18 to 25 feet.

According to Captain Cooper, about 6:55 pm, he and the men in the Anderson’s pilothouse felt a “bump”, felt the ship lurch, and then turned to see a monstrous wave engulfing their entire vessel from astern. The wave worked its way along the deck, crashing on the back of the pilothouse, driving the bow of the Anderson down into the sea.

“Then the Anderson just raised up and shook herself off of all that water – barrooff – just like a big dog. Another wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again. I watched those two waves head down the lake towards the Fitzgerald, and I think those were the two that sent him under.”

Keeping Watch

Morgan Clark, first mate of the Anderson, kept watching the Fitzgerald on the radar set to calculate her distance from some other vessels near Whitefish Point. He kept losing sight of the Fitzgerald on the radar from sea return, meaning that seas were so high they interfered with the radar reflection. First mate Clark spoke to the Fitzgerald one last time, about 7:10 pm:

“Fitzgerald, this is the Anderson. Have you checked down?”

“Yes, we have.”

“Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you.”

“Well,” answered Captain McSorley, “Am I going to clear?”

“Yes, he is going to pass to the west of you.”

“Well, fine.”

“By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problems?” asked Clark.

“We are holding our own.”

“Okay, fine, I’ll be talking to you later.” Clark signed off.

The radar signal, or “pip” of the Fitzgerald kept getting obscured by sea return. And around 7:15 pm, the pip was lost again, but this time, did not reappear. Clark called the Fitzgerald again at about 7:22 pm. There was no answer.

Captain Cooper contacted the other ships in the area by radio asking if anyone had seen or heard from the Fitzgerald. The weather had cleared dramatically. His written report states:

“At this time I became very concerned about the Fitzgerald – couldn’t see his lights when we should have. I then called the William Clay Ford to ask him if my phone was putting out a good signal and also if perhaps the Fitzgerald had rounded the point and was in shelter, after a negative report I called the Soo Coast Guard because I was sure something had happened to the Fitzgerald. The Coast Guard were at this time trying to locate a 16-foot boat that was overdue.”

With mounting apprehension, Captain Cooper called the Coast Guard once again, about 8:00 pm, and firmly expressed his concern for the welfare of the Fitzgerald. The Coast Guard then initiated its search for the missing ship. By that time the Anderson had reached the safety of Whitefish Bay to the relief of all aboard. But the Coast Guard called Captain Cooper back at 9:00 pm:

“Anderson, this is Group Soo. What is your present position?”

“We’re down here, about two miles off Parisienne Island right now…the wind is northwest forty to forty-five miles here in the bay.”

“Is it calming down at all, do you think?”

“In the bay it is, but I heard a couple of the salties talking up there, and they wish they hadn’t gone out.”

“Do you think there is any possibility and you could…ah…come about and go back there and do any searching?”

“Ah…God, I don’t know…ah…that…that sea out there is tremendously large. Ah…if you want me to, I can, but I’m not going to be making any time; I’ll be lucky to make two or three miles an hour going back out that way.”

“Well, you’ll have to make a decision as to whether you will be hazarding your vessel or not, but you’re probably one of the only vessels right now that can get to the scene. We’re going to try to contact those saltwater vessels and see if they can’t possibly come about and possibly come back also…things look pretty bad right now; it looks like she may have split apart at the seams like the Morrell did a few years back.”

“Well, that’s what I been thinking. But we were talking to him about seven and he said that everything was going fine. He said that he was going along like an old shoe; no problems at all.”

“Well, again, do you think you could come about and go back and have a look in the area?”

“Well, I’ll go back and take a look, but God, I’m afraid I’m going to take a hell of a beating out there… I’ll turn around and give ‘er a whirl, but God, I don’t know. I’ll give it a try.”

“That would be good.”

“Do you realize what the conditions are out there?”

No reply from the Coast Guard. Captain Cooper tries again.

“Affirmative. From what your reports are I can appreciate the conditions. Again, though, I have to leave that decision up to you as to whether it would be hazarding your vessel or not. If you think you can safely go back up to the area, I would request that you do so. But I have to leave the decision up to you.”

“I’ll give it a try, but that’s all I can do.”

The Anderson turned out to be the primary vessel in the search, taking the lead. With the ship pounding and rolling badly, the crew of the Anderson discovered the Fitzgerald’s two lifeboats and other debris but no sign of survivors. Only one other vessel, the William Clay Ford, was able to leave the safety of Whitefish Bay to join in the search at the time. The Coast Guard launched a fixed-wing HU-16 aircraft at 10 pm and dispatched two cutters, the Naugatuck and the Woodrush. The Naugatuck arrived at 12:45 pm on November 11, and the Woodrush arrived on November 14, having journeyed all the way from Duluth, Minnesota.

The Coast Guard conducted an extensive and thorough search. On November 14, a U.S. Navy plane equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector located a strong contact 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point. During the following three days, the Coast Guard cutter Woodrush, using a sidescan sonar, located two large pieces of wreckage in the same area. Another sonar survey was conducted November 22-25.

Finding the Fitzgerald

Restored Fitzgerald bell – Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

The following May, 1976, Woodrush was again on the scene to conduct a third sidescan sonar survey. Contacts were strong enough to bring in the U.S. Navy’s CURV III controlled underwater recovery vehicle, operating from Woodrush.

The CURV III unit took 43,000 feet of video tape and 900 photographs of the wreck. On May 20, 1976, the words “Edmund Fitzgerald” were clearly seen on the stern, upside down, 535 feet below the surface of the lake.

On April 15, 1977 the U.S. Coast Guard released its official report of “Subject: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, official number 277437, sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975 with loss of life.” While the Coast Guard said the cause of the sinking could not be conclusively determined, it maintained that “the most probable cause of the sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was the loss of buoyancy and stability resulting from massive flooding of the cargo hold. The flooding of the cargo hold took place through ineffective hatch closures as boarding seas rolled along the spar deck.”

However, the Lake Carrier’s Association vigorously disagreed with the Coast Guard’s suggestion that the lack of attention to properly closing the hatch covers by the crew was responsible for the disaster. They issued a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board in September, 1977. The Lake Carrier’s Association was inclined to accept that Fitzgerald passed over the Six Fathom Shoal Area as reported by Captain Cooper.

Later, in a videotaped conversation with GLSHS, Captain Cooper said that he always believed McSorley knew something serious had happened to Fitzgerald as the ship passed over Caribou Shoal. Cooper believes that from that point on, McSorley knew he was sinking.

Conflicting theories about the cause of the tragedy remain active today. GLSHS’ three expeditions to the wreck revealed that it is likely she “submarined” bow first into an enormous sea, as damage forward is indicative of a powerful, quick force to the superstructure. But what caused the ship to take on water, enough to lose buoyancy and dive to the bottom so quickly, without a single cry for help, cannot be determined.

Twenty-nine men were lost when the Fitzgerald went down. There is absolutely no conclusive evidence to determine the cause of the sinking. The bell of the ship is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew.

Source: https://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/

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Published by pat frederick

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182 thoughts on “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

  3. we need to get RID OF mail in ballots unless you’re military or in the hospital. you have ONE JOB as a citizen…VOTE…(paying taxes is a request the gov’t makes)…and these people are too frickin lazy to do that!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. fka Serena
      November 10, 2022 12:52 pm

      I was just reading this Epoch Times article about various states’ changes to rules regarding mail-in ballots, and it’s laughable. https://www.theepochtimes.com/infographic-the-states-that-changed-mail-in-voting-rules-for-2022_4842124.html

      South Carolina “constrains ballot harvesting by prohibiting a person from requesting or returning more than five absentee ballots other than his own”. Why allow someone to request or return anything other than their own absentee ballot? If people need assistance then let them call the elections division and get help there.

      Rhode Island “allows absentee ballot processing to start 20 days (instead of 14 days) before an election”. Why even 14? For such a tiny state! The larger the window, the greater the chance of fraud.

      In Nebraska, “Gov. Pete Ricketts signed an election reform bill that imposes some regulations on the use of ballot drop boxes, such as requiring them to be fastened to the ground and surrounded by a 200-foot no-electioneering zone.” Big deal. Like that’s going to have an impact. Dems can still stuff the boxes.

      In California, “Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that relaxes ballot harvesting rules in California. People returning ballots on behalf of others no longer have to write on the envelope their relationship with the voter”. (smh)

      If states want to have insecure state and local elections that’s one thing. But we desperately needs some federal rules now for federal elections with strict time limits, ballot security, and count deadlines.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. some replies to the american thinker article that insists in 2024 it be desanctimonius

    Carol E Lambeth
    3 hours ago
    DeSantis is the number one candidate Paul Ryan said should replace President Trump. That in and of itself should make one pause long enough to question why. When DeSantis was in congress, he voted for the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) that would have fast-tracked the disastrous Trans Pacific Partnership (TPA). Lately, DeSantis has been receiving large donations from globalists. DeSantis is the globalists’ choice to defeat the MAGA agenda at the national level and further their agenda and to stop President Trump from ending the destruction of the country.

    Although DeSantis has done some positive things as governor for which he should be commended, he is beholden to the money interests of the globalists should he advance beyond governor. One should follow the money and see for oneself who is supporting DeSantis as a presidential candidate and what they aim to achieve by promoting him as a replacement for President Trump.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Janice
      2 hours ago
      Sorry DeSantis is in bed with Paul Ryan and Jeb Bush.
      The MAGA movement is Trump’s
      I am a Floridian and we have all been prepared for this.
      MAGA is Main St vs. Wall St.
      DeSantis is aligned with hedge fund billionaires like Ken Griffen and he does not represent the little guy.
      The little guy bankrolled Trump.

      I will NEVER give the GOP that Trump created with a “big tent” back to the GOP elites. Democrats voted for Trump. They are a part of the Walk Away movement. Gays voted for Trump because of Rick Grenell’s influence. Blacks voted for Trump. They will not vote for DeSantis. Independents vote for Trump.

      But really what will happen is the GOP establishment will employ their “splitter strategy,” divide MAGA and we are left with PENCE. NOPE !

      DeSantis is my governor and he will stay right here in Florida or ruin his career.

      The ball is in his court. You are either be with MAGA or against us. None of his lawyer obfuscation.

      DeSantis OWES Trump who endorsed him. He was 25 points behind the Bush endorsed candidate Adam Putnam in the 2018 Florida GOP primary. The day after Trump endorsed him he skyrocketed to the top.
      TRUMP MADE DeSantis. Trump made Florida red.
      In politics when someone endorses you, you become their client. DeSantis is Trump’s client. PERIOD !
      Loyalty means something to me. If DeSantis has no loyalty to Trump, who gave him a leg up, he has no problem stabbing those who voted for him in the back.

      Trump became poorer for me. He is the only president in my lifetime who left office poorer than when he entered.
      Trump fought like a lion against a corrupt GOP elite who caused the Russia Hoax. Yes, the GOP controlled the House and Senate. There was no reason for the Russia Hoax to occur.
      Trump fought a corrupt media every day including corrupt Fox News who is using DeSantis to be their 2024 version of Little Marco 2016.
      Trump is being Lawfared to death.
      Trump has skin in the game and because he does he is the only one who will clean up the Department of Injustice. DeSantis will not.

      How noble of you for you contemptible disregard of your loyalty and obligation you owe to a man who gave up so much for YOU.

      I knocked down doors to get DeSantis in the House of Representatives where he voted twice to fast track TPP.
      He is a lawyer who knows zip about economics.

      MAGA owes the GOP elites NOTHING. And if Trump is not their nominee they lose.

      But truly no election even matters any more unless Romney’s niece gets up off her lazy backside and addresses the ballot harvesting the Left is employing for a month while the GOP drones only get to vote on 1 day. It is not a level field of play and there will never be another presidential election you win.

      The Left is concerned with BALLOTS. They are not the same as votes.
      show less

      Liked by 2 people

  5. from wolfs

    eilert
    eilertOffline
    November 10, 2022 13:18

    Gregg Phillips / @greggphillips 11/10/2022 13:09:19
    ID: Not Available
    Truth Social: 109320848008871857

    Gregg Phillips / @greggphillips 11/10/2022 12:52:04

    ID:Not Available

    Truth Social: 109320780135877880This may be one of those rare times where the various conservative movements can come together with the establishment GOP to demand the immediate removal of the Chairmen and Executive Directors of the RNC, NRCC, and NRSC.

    The failures of each of these people were epic. If no accountability this time, there never will be.

    #PatriotGames

    Dream weaver / @Tweeterly2022 11/10/2022 12:56:58

    ID:Not Available

    Truth Social: 109320799413907595The GOP is filled with some spineless Rinos. It’ll never happen

    my intel suggests even the spineless are pissed

    Liked by 1 person

    1. K1tt7-fzn
      K1tt7-fznOnline
      November 10, 2022 13:27

      https://truthsocial.com/@truethevote/posts/109320438679034993
      True the Vote
      @truethevote
      2h
      Gregg Phillips ReTruthed
      Hi everyone. Wanted to ensure you all saw the news out of Los Angeles County.

      We are fully aware of the situation. Despite the focus in the headline, the investigation in LA is continuing – and LA is but one of many. This is far from over. Keep the faith. Will continue to provide updates as we can.

      Ever onward – CE

      Liked by 1 person

      1. K1tt7-fzn
        K1tt7-fznOnline
        November 10, 2022 13:56

        https://truthsocial.com/@The_Authority/posts/109320654273539865
        The Authority
        @The_Authority
        1h
        Konnech is not off the hook.

        Eugene Yu’s charges being dropped is political (think timing). The LADA investigation is ongoing and other counties are active as well.

        These connections to China do exist.

        These connections are factual.

        https://theauthorityq.substack.com/p/konnechs-2dmeeting-domains-exposed

        Like

  10. WTF???????

    Troublemaker10
    November 10, 2022 4:26 pm

    The Calvin Coolidge Project
    @TheCalvinCooli1

    🚨Breaking News: Virginia Republican Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears announces she will not be supporting President Trump in 2024.

    2:27 PM · Nov 10, 2022
    ·

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Troublemaker10
      November 10, 2022 4:30 pm
      Reply to Troublemaker10

      Speaking of VA….here is list of Youngkin endorsed candidates that lost (why isn’t he considered a drag in the party)?…

      pic.twitter.com/Q5JfOlM13P

      — Yitzy (@YitzyBergman) November 10, 2022

      Like

  11. conversation about “whip”

    Troublemaker10
    November 10, 2022 3:48 pm

    Just say “no” to Emmers as whip.

    *******

    NRCC Chair Tom Emmer brushes off ‘naysayers’: ‘We delivered’

    https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3727845-nrcc-chair-tom-emmer-brushes-off-naysayers-we-delivered/
    3
    Reply
    Troublemaker10
    Troublemaker10
    November 10, 2022 3:50 pm
    Reply to Troublemaker10

    Jim Banks is running for House Whip position and said in an interview this morning that the American people want an AF agenda.

    ******

    New super PAC forms as Jim Banks eyes House GOP leadership role

    Excerpt:

    Surabian told Axios that Banks “truly gets how President Trump remade the Republican Party for the better,” and that the super PAC will help elect Republicans who share Banks’ vision of the GOP as “working-class” conservatives defending values against an “authoritarian left.”

    https://www.axios.com/2022/10/17/jim-banks-super-pac-house-gop-leadership
    6
    Reply
    Troublemaker10
    Troublemaker10
    November 10, 2022 3:53 pm
    Reply to Troublemaker10

    Leading Family Org Endorses Jim Banks for House Whip

    Excerpt:

    “Outside groups have mostly stayed out of GOP leadership races in the past, but we can’t afford to this time,” Schilling added. “Tom Emmer is far more socially liberal than Barack Obama was in 2008. Emmer has consistently sided with the far left and voted against mainstream House Republicans on religious liberty, transgender, and marriage legislation.”

    https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/11/09/leading-family-org-endorses-jim-banks-for-house-whip/amp/

    Liked by 1 person

  14. sync
    November 10, 2022 5:22 pm

    Something not right here…

    A good comparison between 2018 and 2022 exit polls.

    GOP ate into every constituency including young people, suburbanites, women, and minorities. At least 6 million more Republicans voted than Democrats.

    Something not right here…https://t.co/vfiirOxRle

    — Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) November 10, 2022

    Liked by 1 person

  15. I am adding a short daily prayer to the board. I would invite each of you, if you wish, to also add one or maybe two of your own liking. I do not want to stifle anyone but please limit yourself to one or two religious postings. here’s one I found that I liked.

    Like

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