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. Winter 2023 NMU School of Art & Design Senior Exhibition Reception, Edmund Fitzgerald: Decades of Speculation, Fascination and Grieving. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. 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. All rights reserved. However an interior lake, Deer Lake on the center East side of the island, was used as an Amphibian base with a dock and ramp built by the last private owners of the island because of the unpredictable water/wave condition of Lake Superior. The LCA thinks the Fitzgerald grounded on the poorly-marked Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island, causing fatal damage to the hull. Then the Anderson just raised up and shook herself off of all that water barrooff just like a big dog. 888-492-3747, Copyright 2023 | All Rights Reserved | Produced by Pro Web Marketing. Also, the Fitzgeralds officers had started two pumps to evacuate water, but those pumps would only remove water from the ballast tanks, not the cargo hold. The bow lies mostly buried in the mud upright pointing towards Whitefish Bay. Cooper tried desperately to raise McSorley on the radio to no avail. For books, videos, and memorabilia about the Fitzgerald, her loss, and her legacy, visit theShipwreck Coast Museum Store . Located about a third forward of the stern, this working area is approximately the same as the area where the intact stern of the Fitz separated from the rest of the wreckage. Less than 20 minutes later when the Anderson cleared a snow squall, its radars lost contact and the Big Fitz, as seamen called the ship, passed from the land of the living into legend. The Anderson was struck by large waves which then travelled in the direction of the Edmond Fitzgerald. This island was considered an emergency landing airport (YCI) during World War II. Although she had a good safety record, theFitzgerald'shull was, according to the anecdotes of mariners who set foot aboard her and sailed on her, a vessel with a loose keel. Quantity. The suits are also equipped with flashing lights and radio position beacons. The ships were nearing Whitefish Bay. From everything we know and remembering that they were not required at the time, neither survival suits nor EPIRB would have helped the crew of the Fitzgerald because the ship sank so suddenly, Stonehouse points out. There is a very good chance that this is what helped lead to her demise. "It was designed to haul a certain amount and they kept getting the Coast Guard to increase the load line." The bell of the ship is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew. In the steel towns to Gary's east, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburg, Bethlehem and others, urban decay also set in and still remains today (2021). The light at Whitefish Point was out temporarily on the night the Fitz went down. Below is a breakdown of the main theories: Faulty hatch covers caused massive internal flooding. This week, Minnesota tugboat captain Bob Hom, who sailed with McSorley before the man became captain of the Fitzgerald, claims McSorley once told him five years before the sinking he'd hate to be on the Fitzgerald in a big storm because 'They got it all worn out from years of overloading,'" Hom told the Duluth News-Tribune. Marie, Michigan, during ferocious northwest winds and seas that washed as high as eight to 12 feet over the ships main deck. The industry they served collapsed in the mid-1970s. But it also added time and nautical miles to her course in the middle of shifting, increasing winds and waves -- FROM THE WEST -- behind her. Having been a consultant and active member of the original Jacques Cousteau expedition in 1980 along with the raising of the bell 1994 expedition. And around 7:15 pm, the pip was lost again, but this time, did not reappear. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald lies at the bottom of the southeastern portion of Lake Superior in 530 feet of water. Submit Yours. Don McIsaac observed last July that Gordon Lightfoot, who wrote The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is from my hometown, Orillia. McIsaac, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Cirrus Aircraft, based at headquarters in Duluth, Minnesota, added, From where I sit now, I can see the port the ship last left.. TheEdmund Fitzgeraldwas a "Laker" type iron ore bulk freighter launched on June 7, 1958 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rogue, Michigan for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company one year after its near sister shipArthur B. Homer. TheAndersonwasn't in much better shape, its engine room leaking consistently and its superstructure often being submerged entirely under water every time a wave hit. The Anderson's captain also made statements in 1986 seemingly supportive of the rogue wave theory. Many theorize the ship unknowingly struck the poorly marked 6 Fathom Shoal on the island's north side, but that has never been conclusively proven. Marie, Michigan. The LCA stated that the patented steel hatch covers had been in continuous use for more than 30 years and had proven to be effective hatch closures in all weather conditions throughout that period. Ftizgerald, like all Great Lakes vessels often had to pass through violent storms that rivaled those of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, with waves sometimes reaching upwards of 100 feet.Fitzgeraldhowever was also noted for her numerous problems. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was released as a 7-inch 45 rpm A-side single in August 1976, taken from Lightfoots album Summertime Dream released that July. Part of that fascination, despite the longspan since the foundering of the big ore freighter, results from Gordon Lightfoots monster best-selling recording about the wreck and part likely springs from the inconclusive nature of any facts surrounding the sinking. Seeing the violence of the wind, sky and water on the night of November 10, 1975 while in northern Michigan, I awoke the next morning, for the only time in my life with the certainty that something ominous had or was about to occur. 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. Theory 2: Six-Fathom Shoal Perhaps the most widely accepted of the several theories about the loss of the Fitzgerald is that the ship crossed Caribou Island's Six-Fathom Shoal, which nestles off the north end of the island with water as shallow as 26 feet. Her owners wanted her to maximize revenue, but "The Lake it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy." Previously suggested possibilities are that a hatch cover washed off or the heavy deck crane or the spare blade for the propeller broke loose and crashed about. The closest communities are Belden to the southwest, Twain to the southeast, Canyondam to the north, and Greenville to the east. it be nice if they stopped talking about White Fish Bay which is 15 (N) miles from where it went down. It was considered a private hunting preserve through the early 1900s. what is the real truth to this? I have read recently that the shoal near the island doesn't exist but it was from a guy who favors the loose hold cover theory. This contact or a near miss would damage the hull and allow water to begin accumulating inside the affected ballast tanks. Upon reaching Whitefish Bay, theCoast Guard requested that any freighter waiting out the storm in Whitefish Bay go out to search for theFitzgeraldand her 29 man crew as the Coast Guard itself was unable to reach the scene immediately. These records are part of the Records of Bureau of the Census, Record Group (RG) 29. By its last voyage, the freighter had made about 748 round trips. Not the same yard, but what if it was rebuilt, same cargo, same shape, same functionality, but a new keel? Let's not forget about the structural failure of the Carl D. Bradley on Lake Michigan in 1958. Whatever prompted that command just a little over an hour before the sinking, Paquette analyzes that it would have been catastrophic and visible from the pilothouse in the darkness of an early November evening. It is approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) long and 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, and 1,600 acres (647 ha . 18335 N. Whitefish Point Road The first one flooded our boat deck. Much of the information not commonly seen in other articles is courtesy of an interview with a tugboat captain on Lake Superior called "Tugboat Jim" who was close friends with a late crewmember of theArthur M. Andersoncrewmember Ronnie Roman, who was aboard theAndersonthe night Fitzgerald sank. McSorley and Cooper agreed to take the northerly course across Lake Superior to avoid a storm that was developing to the southwest, so they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore, taking them between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. Captain Cooper maintained that he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. These tunnel valleys were excavated by subglacial meltwater at the base of the Laurentide Ice Sheet along pre-existing fractures and joints that exist within the bedrock floor of Lake Superior. The captain of the Anderson had noticed on his radar that the Fitzgerald had sailed very close to Six Fathom Shoal as the ship passed Caribou Island, as they steamed for the safety of Whitefish Bay at Superior's east end. Adding to that puzzle is the fact that its captain never uttered a word of serious concern for his ship nor reported his problems to the Coast Guard. Couseau had theorized a surface break up, which sounds similar to the Merril several years later. )As if the aforementioned problems weren't enough, Northwestern Mutual had theFtizgeraldpartially rebuilt in her later years to handle thousands of extra tons of iron ore, which substantially raised the waterline, increasing the maximum draft of the ship, maximum weight of the ship and height of the deck above water. Were going to try to contact those saltwater vessels and see if they cant possibly come about and possibly come back alsothings 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, thats what I been thinking. It was also revealed that a fence railing on theFitzgerald's deckhad been broken and a number of vent covers were missing. By 1979, a new Loran broadcast station began operating at Baudette, Minnesota, giving sailors easy access to their location, speed, course being steered and other information. Weather conditions continued to deteriorate, Ley wrote. Inspired in large part by reading Gaines and Lowells Newsweek story, Gordon Lightfoot recorded The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald the following month in December 1975 at Eastern Sound, a recording studio made out of two Victorian houses at 48 Yorkville Ave. in downtown Toronto. Instead they consist of bedrock ridges and interfluves that lie between northerly trending bedrock valleys, which are known as tunnel valleys. (A video of the once proud ship transiting the Soo Locks at Sault Ste. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. Bernie Cooper. There is absolutely no conclusive evidence to determine the cause of the sinking. [5][6], A dangerous reef known as "Six Fathom Shoal" stretches more than 1 mile (1.6km) north of the north point of the island, and is rumored to be the one the SS Edmund Fitzgerald shoaled on prior to sinking. None. Still later, at about 6 p.m., Woodard called the Fitz to report that the light had just come on at Whitefish Point. What also can be stated with certainty is that sometime between 7:10 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., the Fitzgerald simply disappeared into Lake Superior about 15 miles from the shelter of Whitefish Bay just west of Sault Ste. A small three room cabin was built on the east shore of Lake Superior adjacent to Deer Lake and the Amphibian base. Near-hurricane force winds seemed to pick up strength throughout the day while visibility was greatly reduced. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The Fitz hull took a fatal blow on a shoal. Conditions only grew worse; at 3:15 p.m., the Captain of the Anderson watched the Fitzgerald round Caribou Island, where it seemed to skirt close to Six Fathom Shoal. For 17 years the Fitzgerald hauled taconite iron ore from the mines of Duluth, MN to Detroit and other Great Lakes ports setting . Phantom Fireworks is the leading retailer of consumer fireworks in the U.S. Phantom provides the widest range of consumer fireworks in all categories. They passed several miles offshore from Split Rock Lighthouse, on Minnesotas North Shore. A body that was seen but not retrieved is not a recovered body. Size & Medium. Every year since the sinking, the Episcopal Mariners Church the Maritime Sailors Cathedral on East Jefferson Avenue in downtown Detroit, along the riverfront, has held a memorial service for the Edmund Fitzgerald crew. This years service was held at 11 a.m. this morning, with the bell tolling 29 times for each man on the Fitzgerald. The iron ore freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank to the bottom of Lake Superior during a hurricane-like storm on the night of Nov. 10, 1975. The popular misconception is that non of the crewmembers bodies were never discovered. A 2012 sonar image shows theFitzgeraldto have deteriorated heavily since 1993. 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 26,116 long tons more than the great iron boat weighed empty. The first holds that some kind of large, heavy object crashed into the ship while it was passing by Caribou Island in Lake Superior during the early hours of the terrible storm of 10 November, 1975. (TheEdmund Fitzgeraldseen in her final years riding far lower in the water than she should have ever been allowed to. The LCA thinks the Fitzgerald grounded on the poorly-marked Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island, causing fatal damage to the hull. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). While EPIRB would not have aided the crew of the Fitzgerald, it would have identified the sunken ship and given searchers a location to start their effort to find survivors. Because all 29 men aboard the Fitzgerald went down with the ship -- which was there one minute and gone the next -- the best accounts that investigators could rely on were those of sailors in the vicinity of the ship during the storm, or who had contact with the Fitzgerald somehow in the weeks prior to her final voyage. Also, a larger, more powerful tug, the Katmai Bay, is now stationed at Sault Ste. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) are now standard equipment on lakes vessels, allowing instantaneous identification of the area where a vessel founders. Captains challenge high waves with he bow, not the stern. 7 Caribou populations naturally fluctuate on 40-70 . Within a few years, Loran was rendered obsolete by the pinpoint accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS), which uses satellites to answer virtually any navigational question an officer might have. Marie, Ontario, only about 8090 miles SE. The Coast Guard then initiated its search for the missing ship. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. "I've often wondered whether these two particular seas might have been the ones that finally did the Fitzgerald in, because they were really huge," he said. Other information comes from an interview witn Captain Bernie Cooper shortly before his death in 1993. Various cars scatter the bottom of the river covered in grass and zebra muscles. This depiction shows the Edmund Fitzgerald touching bottom as she passes over the Six Fathom Shoal on the . My understanding of the dives was showed hatches were closed least belied to be so and was the low ship by full cargo in the water and the sea waves and cargo shift caused her go down- no matter what the cause it's all so tragic- I know not the ship nor any of the crew or families but i can certainly feel their loss- it is a very sad story - and the song very accurate to what is known about the ship wreak- many lost at seas' and many more will- it's just sad. The Anderson was just approaching Michipicoten, about three miles off the West End Light. The comment that this industry stopped completely are false.
