The Edmund Fitzgerald

On November 9, 1975, the great lakes freighter the Edmund Fitzgerald was loaded with 26,116 tons of taconite (iron ore) pellets in Superior, Wisconsin. She was to deliver her load to Detroit, Michigan. She left the docks at Superior around 2:15 pm.

The Fitzgerald caught up with another freighter, the Arthur M. Anderson near Two Harbors, Minnesota. The two freighters would stay within sight of each other throughout the Fitzgerald's final journey.

Meanwhile, on November 8, a storm had grown in Oklahoma and was rapidly moving northward through Iowa and heading for Wisconsin. Almost five hours after the Fitzgerald had left Superior, Wisconsin, the National Weather Service issued gale warnings for the entirety of Lake Superior. As the evening hours of November 9 crept into the early morning hours of November 10, the gale warnings were increased to storm warnings.

The storm that hit Lake Superior was not done justice by any warnings. Wind speeds of over 90 m.p.h were recorded at the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie. Even south of Lake Superior at the Mackinac Bridge the wind was recorded at 85 m.p.h. And the Mackinac Bridge was shut down.

Being the faster of the two vessels, the Fitzgerald was slightly ahead of the Anderson. Captain Cooper of the Anderson radioed the Fitzgerald's Captain McSorley at 1:40 pm. After discussing some possible changes in the weather, Captain McSorley added that the Fitzgerald was "rolling some."

As the afternoon storm raged on, the conditions worsened. Waves estimated at 12 to 16 feet were washing over the deck of the Fitzgerald. At 3:30 pm. Captain McSorley reported to the Anderson that the Fitzgerald had "a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged and a list."

Shortly after that conversation, the Coast Guard directed all ships on Lake Superior to seek safe anchorage. The Fitzgerald radioed the Anderson at 4:10 pm. To report that she had lost both radars. Navigational help was provided by the Anderson's First Mate.

By 6 pm. The Anderson encountered waves estimated at 25 feet crashing upon her decks. At 7:10 pm. The First Mate from the Anderson radioed the Fitzgerald to let them know of an approaching vessel 9 miles in front of the Fitzgerald. At the end of the conversation the First Mate asked the Fitzgerald, 'how are you making out with your problem?' The Fitzgerald's reply was, 'We are holding our own."

Those would be the last words anyone heard from the Edmund Fitzgerald.

At some point after 7:15 pm, something happened to the Fitzgerald. What that something was, has been left to investigation and speculation since that fateful evening of November 10, 1975.

Ernest M. McSorley, 63, Captain, Toledo Ohio
John H. McCarthy, 62, Mate, Bay Village, Ohio
James A. Pratt, 44, second mate, Lakewood, Ohio
Michael E. Armagost, 37, third mate, Iron River, Wisconsin
Thomas Bentsen, 23, oiler, St. Joseph, Michigan
Thomas D. Borgeson, 4l, maintenance man, Duluth, Minnesota
John D. Simmons, 60, wheelsman, Ashland, Wisconsin
Eugene W. O'Brien, 50, wheelsman, Toledo, Ohio
John J. Poviatch, 59, wheelsman, Bradenton, Florida
Ranson E. Cundy, 53, watchman, Superior, Wisconsin
William J. Spengler, 59, watchman, Toledo, Ohio
Karl A. Peckol, 20, watchman, Ashtabula, Ohio
Mark A. Thomas, 2l, deck hand, Richmond Heights, Ohio
Paul M. Rippa, 22, deck hand, Ashtabula, Ohio
Bruce L. Hudson, 22, deck hand, North Olmsted, Ohio
David E. Weiss, 22, cadet, Agoura, California
Robert C. Rafferty, 62, steward, Toledo, Ohio
Allen G. Kalmon, 43, second cook, Washburn, Wisconsin
Frederick J. Beetcher, 56, porter, Superior, Wisconsin
Nolan F. Church, 55, porter, Silver Bay, Minnesota
George Holl, 60, chief engineer, Cabot, Pennsylvania
Edward F. Bindon, 47, first assistant engineer, Fairport Harbor, Ohio
Thomas E. Edwards, 50, second assistant engineer, Oregon, Ohio
Russell G. Haskell, 40, second assistant engineer, Millbury, Ohio
Oliver J. Champeau, 4l, third assistant engineer, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Blaine H. Wilhelm, 52, oiler, Moguah, Wisconsin
Ralph G. Walton, 58, oiler, Fremont, Ohio
Joseph W. Mazes, 59, special maintenance man, Ashland, Wisconsin
Gordon F. MacLellan, 30, wiper, Clearwater, Florida

The two main theories as to why the Fitzgerald sank are - faulty hatches and striking a reef.

The investigation by the Coast Guard determined that flooding occurred through hatches that were faulty and therefore not properly sealed. The flooding led to "loss of buoyancy and stability. . . and increased in volume as the vessel lost effective freeboard, finally resulting in such a loss of buoyancy and stability that the vessel plunged in the heavy seas." That is a direct quote from the Coast Guard Marine Casualty Report issued on April 15, 1977.

The Lake Carriers Association determined that the cause of the sinking of the Fitzgerald was due to striking Six Fathom Shoal. They refuted the Coast Guard's claim that the Fitzgerald sunk due to flooding from faulty hatches. Instead, their conclusion was that the Fitzgerald had "shoaled" at Six Fathom Shoal . According to the Lake Carriers letter to the NTSB, "It should be emphasized that minutes after passing Six Fathom Shoal Fitzgerald reported a list, two ballast tank vents had carried away and that two ballast pumps were in use."

The Lake Carriers believe that the flooding which led to the sinking of the Fitzgerald was caused by damage to the bottom of the vessel from striking the shoal.

Here are some links of interest I have come across in my search for more information on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online -
This is one of the most informative and most popular sites to learn more about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. A discussion forum allows for sharing of stories/theories about the sinking. The site was newly redesigned and it appears that the original forum posts were deleted.

Over 100 pictures of the building of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Read the NTSB report on the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point

In Sault Ste. Marie the Valley Camp Museum is housed in an old great lakes freighter, Valley Camp. One of the highlights of their exhibit is one of the lifeboats from the Edmund Fitzgerald. I saw the lifeboat as a child and have since been obsessed with books on the subject.

3D renderings of the Edmund Fitzgerald

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!"