On this day, November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a storm.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Last edited Sun Nov 10, 2024, 08:23 AM - Edit history (1)

SS Edmund Fitzgerald

Coordinates: 46°59'54"N 85°6'36"W


SS Edmund Fitzgerald in 1971

Ordered: February 1, 1957
Yard number: 301
Laid down: August 7, 1957
Launched: June 7, 1958
Maiden voyage: September 24, 1958
In service: June 8, 1958
Out of service: November 10, 1975
Identification Registry number: US 277437
Nickname(s): Fitz, Mighty Fitz, Big Fitz, Pride of the American Side, Toledo Express, Titanic of the Great Lakes
Fate: Lost with all hands (29 crew) in a storm, November 10, 1975
Status: Wreck
Notes: Location of wreck: 46°59'54"N 85°6'36"W

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes and remains the largest to have sunk there. She was located in deep water on November 14, 1975, by a U.S. Navy aircraft detecting magnetic anomalies, and found soon afterwards to be in two large pieces.

For 17 years, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite (a variety of iron ore) from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; and other Great Lakes ports. As a workhorse, she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own record. Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit rivers (between Lake Huron and Lake Erie), and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship. Her size, record-breaking performance, and "DJ captain" endeared Edmund Fitzgerald to boat watchers.

Carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command, she embarked on her ill-fated voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, near Duluth, on the afternoon of November 9, 1975. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, Edmund Fitzgerald joined a second taconite freighter, SS Arthur M. Anderson. By the next day, the two ships were caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior, with near-hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 m) high. Shortly after 7:10 p.m., Edmund Fitzgerald suddenly sank in Canadian (Ontario) waters 530 feet (88 fathoms; 160 m) deep, about 17 miles (15 nautical miles; 27 kilometers) from Whitefish Bay near the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario—a distance Edmund Fitzgerald could have covered in just over an hour at her top speed.

Edmund Fitzgerald previously reported being in significant difficulty to the Swedish vessel Avafors: "I have a bad list, lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. One of the worst seas I've ever been in." However, no distress signals were sent before she sank; Captain McSorley's last (7:10 p.m.) message to Arthur M. Anderson was, "We are holding our own". Her crew of 29 perished, and no bodies were recovered. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, though many books, studies, and expeditions have examined it. Edmund Fitzgerald may have been swamped, suffered structural failure or topside damage, grounded on a shoal, or suffered from a combination of these.

The disaster is one of the best known in the history of Great Lakes shipping, in part because Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot made it the subject of his 1976 popular ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". Lightfoot wrote the hit song after reading an article, "The Cruelest Month", in the November 24, 1975, issue of Newsweek. The sinking led to changes in Great Lakes shipping regulations and practices that included mandatory survival suits, depth finders, positioning systems, increased freeboard, and more frequent inspection of vessels.

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Timeline of Events for the Edmund Fitzgerald

Sat Nov 9, 2024L On this day, November 9, 1913, the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 hit its peak, "when the Gales of November came early."

From ederbac, in 2023:

Fri Nov 10, 2023: On this day, November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down

Fri Nov 10, 2023: Thanks. I was watching the Duluth ship canal YouTube channel

a few months back, when what should come sailing into view but SS Arthur M. Anderson, the vessel that was accompanying SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

Arthur M Anderson Master Salute to the Edmund Fitzgerald 11/10/2020

Duluth Harbor Cam
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The Arthur M Anderson gave a Master Salute in memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald last night as it arrived in Duluth during a snowstorm.
The Anderson was following the Edmund Fitzgerald 45 years ago during a blinding snowstorm and was the last boat to make contact with the Fitz before it sank with all 29 crew. (may the rest in peace)

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Soo Locks, Sault Ste Marie, Michigan USA | Streamtime LIVE

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You are watching a live stream of the Soo Locks in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, for people who enjoy watching ships. You are welcome to join our chat, but please look over our rules below.

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[WestMichRad]

1. May they forever rest in peace

I was in Houghton MI, a student at Michigan Tech University, on that fateful day. I remember the daylong howling winds. What a hellacious day! Walking from the dorm to another building for a class, into the wind, took more than twice as long as usual. The university had posted persons at some doors to hold them when opened, as a few doors had been damaged by wind ripping them open.

I did see a couple people get blown off their feet when trying to walk in that wind.

We were not terribly surprised to hear the news that a ship had sunk. There is no safe harbor between Marquette and Sault Ste. Marie, a distance of perhaps 150 miles.