Edmund Fitzgerald
 

Today makes 35 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald went down.

Informative piece here.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/11/09/edm...ex.html?hpt=C2

R.I.P.

Ring the bell 29 time for each man who died that day.

R.I.P.

I was 11 when the EF went down. I'm not into folk music or folk musicians at all, but Gordon Lightfoot sure captured the haunting mood of that shipwreck in his song. One of my favorite songs. R.I.P.

It still amazes me that it sunk. Here in MI and whitefish point there is a shipwreck museum with the bell of this ship.

What's totally forgotten is the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley in northern Lake Michigan November 18, 1958. Similar boat and conditions but two men survived.
Sadly it's forgotten, probably because no song was written about it.
http://www.carldbradley.org/
ed

There are so many that have sank on the Great Lakes.....The Edmund was the most recent is all.

The museum is not huge, but it is staggering to learn what men went through years ago.

Local news said the ship was in 80 to 100 mph winds. Ive never heard that before and not sure abou the accuracy. But WOW

[youtube]hgI8bta-7aw[/youtube]

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 ev'ry man knew, as the captain did too
'twas 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 t'feed ya."
At seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in; he said,
"Fellas, it's bin good t'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 'is 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 'er.
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 call "Gitche Gumee."
"Superior," they said, "never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early!"

:( :( :(

I have watched Lake Michigan from the shore in Grand Haven when they were claiming 16-18 footers within 5 miles of shore. Definitely puts in perspective the sheer power of the Great Lakes and what they are capable of. I believe those were "only" 50-60 mph winds if I remember correctly.

Thank You

You're very welcome.
It'll soften even the toughest amongst us.

There's a hotel at the base of the Sarnia Bridge that was race headquarters at one time for the Port Huron race on Lake Huron. In the lobby is a huge framed picture (photo) of the Edmund Fitzgerald emerging from a fog bank. That picture is among the most haunting images I have ever seen.

In Memoriam
Captain Ernest M. McSorely, 63
First Mate John McCarthy, 62
Second Mate James Pratt, 44
Third Mate Michael Armagost, 37
Wheelsman John Simmons, 60
Wheelsman Eugene O'Brien, 50
Wheelsman John Poviach, 59
Watchman Ransom Cundy, 53
Watchman William Spengler, 59
Watchman Karl Peckol, 55
Chief Engineer George Holl, 60
First Assistant Edward Bindon, 47
Second Assistant Thomas Edwards, 50
Second Assistant Russell Haskell, 40
Third Assistant Oliver Champeau, 41
Oiler Blaine Wilhelm, 52
Oiler Ralph Walton, 58
Oiler Thomas Bentsen, 23
Wiper Gordon MacLellan, 30
Special Maintenance Man Joseph Mazes, 59
AB Maintenance Thomas Borgeson, 41
Deck Maintenance Mark Thomas, 21
Deck Maintenance Paul Riipa, 22
Deck Maintenance Bruce Hudson, 22
Steward Robert Rafferty, 62
Second Cook Allen Kalmon, 43
Porter Frederick Beetcher, 56
Porter Nolan Church, 55
Cadet David Weiss

Entirely possible. I have been hit by 85 mph winds off south bass and the pucker phenom. was insane, that olny last 15-20 minutes at most. sustained 80~100 would be monsterous.

Rest in peace to all.

A good chunk of an old early steamer washed ashore in the Sleeping Bear Dune near Empire last week during the high winds.
That lake got so roiled it was able to bring up part of a boat that has sat on the bottom for probably 100 years and wash it ashore.
ed

May they all rest in peace.

The great lakes offer some of the world's best boating but they absolutely demand respect.

Perhaps the most memorable lyric from Gordon Lightfoot's tribute,

"Does anyone know where the love of God goes/When the waves turn the minutes to hours?"

The Great Lakes define fierce water.

It's always surprised me more, that the wreck surprises so many others?

What is so difficult to grasp about the fact that those lakes are HUGE, therefore are naturally capable of having deadly conditions? The Great Lakes have taken down TONS of ships, and will likely take down more in the future, due to the fact that some still don't respect their potential to get ROUGH.

The storm came out of the NW(as I understand it) with sustained winds over 70mph. Winds like that will pile up tremendously high seas 60 feet and higher. The Fitz was carrying a heavy load of iron ore in her holds.

Capt. Bernie Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson, the ship that was sailing with Fitz, reported that radar contact with her was "suddenly lost" and that he had received no SOS transmission. It is well within the realm of possibility that a rogue wave came up on the Fitz's stern, slammed down on her and broke her hull. There would have been no time for an SOS.

RIP Fitz :(

Something crazy to think about. If the EF would have rested directly on its stern the bow would have been over 300 ft out of water!

Close. The Fitz was 730 feet long and sank in 530 feet depth. I remember this boat sailing out of Port of Toledo when I was a kid. I know people who have been on it, the captain and many of the crew were out of the Toledo area.

My grandfather was a commercial fisherman on the western end of Lake Erie through the depression and years following. I imagine he saw some pretty wild storms/conditions out there over the years.

It's rumored that the commercial fishermen would sometimes run over to Canada on their fishing "breaks" to make their contibution to prohibition. :drink:

My cousin died under Ella Fitzgerald.

The EF was a BIG boat. Just imagine how the early sailors of the great lakes felt when storms came upon them and they were in 20 to 100 foot narrow beam steamers.

I have had the opportunity to dive on a few of the wrecks in Georgian Bay ( the other great lake) and to see the skeletal remains of those old wooden ships, some with their engines still recognizable is a very erie feeling.

At our cottage on Lake Couchiching ( lake of many winds ), about 150 feet off the shore from our island lies the wreck of a 65 foot steamer. Apparently she was used to transport people from where the rail lines ended at the time at the bottom of Lake Simcoe 40 odd miles to the north end of our lake. She went down one night in a storm in the early 1900's. Turtled and sunk mid lake. The west winds and very rough water our lake can have moved the hulk to where it lies today and has for some 40 yrs. The engine and part of the side wheels are still visible and several oak ribs and her keel timbers.

Makes a great spot for catching fish but also makes you think what was going thru the heads of all onboard when they knew they were going down in a wicked storm at night.


RIP to all that the waters have taken.

BROWNIE you're mean. :lolhit:

Many people who run on the ocean fail to realize just how rough the great lakes can get. It's a whole different type of beating. Worse yet, these lakes can go from dead calm to downright nasty in the space of an hour.

Back in the mid-1980's a group here in Rochester decided to run a national level offshore powerboat race. Most of the "big guys" laughed at the "little lake." Unfortunatley, Lake Ontario decided to throw a snit fit the day of the race with 8'-12' waves. Several boats sunk, people died and the race was red flagged / cancelled minutes after the start. So much for the little lake.

They had a memorial locally here in River Rouge, MI.

http://www.ssedmundfitzgerald.com/

Great Lake are very scary when its kicks up.

I had the cig right over where the EF sank and it was flat as a plate of pee. Hard to imagine that day how rough it must have been when she sank.

Below is info from a buoy on the NE end of Superior from a few weeks ago when thing were really blowing.

Station 45136
Slate Island
Lat: 48.53N, Lon: 86.95W Station List Large Map World Map
Latest Observation
Updated: 8:00AM EST WED OCT 27 2010
Temp (Air): 43.9°F
Temp (Water): 49.1°F
Winds: 33 knots SW (210 deg true)
Gusts: 45 knots
Pressure: 28.85 in (+0.05 in)
Wave Height: 26.2 ft
Dominant Wave Period: 10 sec