So do the results of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) when a few years ago they recreated the Fitzgerald storm using 21st-century tools. Constitution Avenue, NW But none are more enduring. 6 theories on what caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink Edmund Fitzgerald, in full Steamship (SS) Edmund Fitzgerald, American freighter that sank during a storm on November 10, 1975, in Lake Superior, killing all 29 aboard. How deep is the Edmund Fitzgerald? He's a pastor at the 179-year-old church and joins us now. . All Rights Reserved, What Caused the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Quick Lane Bowl Draws Record Crowd and Entertains Fans, LSU & Clemson to Vie for National Championship, MSU Wins Pinstripe Bowl, Born in Detroit and M Den Launch U of M Apparel Line, Kate Brody, Local Teen, Gets Exemption to Professional Golf Tournament, Great Weather In-Store for Fenton and Lots of Things to Do. NOAA concluded the storms worst marine conditions occurred briefly in a small specific area of Lake Superiorand that location was coincident with the time and location at which the ship Edmund Fitzgerald was lost.. All Rights Reserved. Jeffrey Hubbard describes the event's significance and its roots in a 1975 shipwreck. Answer: False. The Arthur M. Anderson, captained by Jesse Cooper, sought shelter in Whitefish Point where Captain Cooper contacted the Coast Guard about the Edmund Fitzgerald, whose captain, Ernest McSorely, had radioed that the ship was taking on water. In the Duluth News-Tribune, another former crew member, Jim Woodard, claims the Fitzgerald was a "wet" ship. On November 10, 1975, SS Edmund Fitzgerald and its crew of 29 men sank in Lake Superior. Theories continue to abound surrounding the cause of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. According to the Detroit Historical Society, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes until 1971; it was 729 feet long and weighed 13,632 tons when empty. The day after the wreck, the Mariners' Church in Detroit tolled its bell 29 times in honor of all of the lives lost. The lyrics of the popular Gordon Lightfoot ballad The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald offers a few of the possible causes for the sinking of the great ship. In January 1974, the ship lost its bow anchor near Belle Isle in Detroit. His last known words were "We are holding our own," which were picked up by another freighter, the Arthur M. Anderson, which is still in-use today. Read on PHOTO CREDIT: awesomemitten.com The tour will discuss the history and events of Nov. 10, 1975, theories of the vessel's sinking and stories about the crew. Edmund Fitzgerald was later discovered to be broken into two large pieces. If the ship had "hogged" upon striking the shoal, it could have caused the topside damage reported by Fitzgerald captain Ernest McSorley in the hours before the sinking. Theorists have sized upon the permanent lay-up of the Fitzgerald sister ship, the Arthur Homer, in 1980 as indicative of structural deficiency both vessels. Between 12th and 14th Streets Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for members. But the storm she would experience in the coming hours would be so intense, so ferocious, that even Capt. While commonly associated with its final resting place in Lake Superior after an early November storm, the Fitzgerald has several ties to northwest Ohio and Toledo. Fire Weather The Coast Guard conducted a thorough search in the next several days. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. Tags Historical Collections of the Great Lakes Maybe someday we will learn the exact cause. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. It was then they saw a huge wave pouring green water over their entire vessel. on the Great Lakes, and remained so until 1971. Submit Storm Report The bell remains at the Shipwreck Museum today. A song was written in 1976 by Gordon Lightfoot called The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The True Story behind Gordon Lightfoots The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Tupac Shakur, His Mother, and His Song Dear Mama, The Drama That Fueled Fleetwood Macs Rumours, How Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson Made Crazy, 8 Facts About Son of a Sinner Singer Jelly Roll, Your Privacy Choices: Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads. Over." Fitzgerald: "I have a bad list, lost both radars. The Lake Superior twitter account sent out a series of tweets with the names and job positions of each of the lost crew members. In the more than 40 years since the ship went down, a cottage industry of shipwreck theorists have tried in vain to solve the sinking of the Fitzgerald, which rests in two pieces in 530 feet of . 47 years later, people and communities in the Great Lakes region and beyond remember their loss. How does a ship like that come apart and fall to the bottom of the lake? What sank the Edmund Fitzgerald? 6 theories on what caused the - mlive This would cause the ship to fill slowly with water, causing it to eventually sink. LAKE SUPERIOR -- Nobody really knows what caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink, but that sure hasnt stopped people from trying to solve the mystery. The fact that he would come up to the museum, the fact that he would stay so connected with those family members, I think that says it all right there.. RT @6Voodoo: We all just pretend like a U-boat didn't sink the Edmund Fitzgerald and Gordon Lightfoot isn't just a liar. In 2015, Lightfoot made an appearance at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the accident. Lightfoot felt compelled to write the song after reading about the November 10, 1975, disaster in a Newsweek magazine article. One popular theory about what could have caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink was that the ship experienced a structural failure. On the 46th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking, many have taken to social media to honor the memory of the ship and its crew. At about 3:30 in the afternoon, Captain McSorley radioed that the Edmund Fitzgerald had sustained damage to its fence rail and vents. No distress calls were ever received. To register for a tour, click here. Superior, they said, never gives up her dead A Navy underwater recovery vehicle photographed the wreckage on May 20, 1976. All rights reserved (About Us). Their findings revealed that wind had increased to around 50mph on the day of the wreck, and waves had reached heights of over 20 feet. On the morning of November 10th, the National Weather Service issued a Storm Warning for Lake Superior as the now deepening low was moving northeastward reaching a position near Marquette, Michigan. The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald (sometimes called the Mighty Fitz or Big Fitz) was a Great Lakes bulk cargo vessel that was christened into service on June 8, 1958. So compelling was their case on the TV documentary series Dive Detectives that singer/songwriter Gordon Lightfoot revised some of the lyrics of his ballad, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. PDF RE-CREATING THE SINKING OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD - Texas A&M University The Fateful Journey by Sean Ley, Development Officer The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began November 9, 1975 at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1, Superior, Wisconsin. The name referred to owner Edmund Fitzgerald, the president and chairman of the board of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff in 2023, and before that had worked almost eight years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor. 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. Another theory suggests the cargo hold became flooded due to ineffective hatch closures. Climate Science Lyrics The song recounts the final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald, as it experienced troubles then sank in rough seas on Lake Superior, late in the shipping season. (SOUNDBITE OF GORDON LIGHTFOOT SONG, "THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD"). The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times What caused "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?" - NavWeaps Vodoo 6 von Inyanga on Twitter: "We all just pretend like a U-boat Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: When did it sink? These storm systems frequently produced heavy windstorms over the Great Lakes often referred to as The Gales of November. By early afternoon, the low pressure system had crossed Lake Superior and moved northeast toward the James bay. Copyright 2021 NPR. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and thousands of other ships - NPR @2020 - northernwilds.com. It was 730 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 39 feet high. Marquette, MI 112 Airpark Drive SouthNegaunee, MI 49866906-475-5212Comments? Because of a long fetch on Superior that night, the Fitzgerald and the Anderson were in an area of the lake where huge waves were indeed occurring. Our Office NWS In a seafaring tragedy that killed 29 crewmen, legendary Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot found the inspiration for his most iconic song. The pictures clearly showed the words "Edmund Fitzgerald" on the stern piece of the sunken ship. Please select one of the following: The Coast Guard conducted a thorough search in the next several days. Please Contact Us. Here's everything you need to know about the largest ship to have sunk in the Great Lakes. On November 10, 1975, SS Edmund Fitzgerald sent out a May Day call at 7.10pm. Climate Prediction HUBBARD: Sure. Capt. Two internationally known Canadian divers think they may have the answer. What Caused The Edmund Fitzgerald To Sink? On November 14, 1975, a U.S. Navy plane with a special magnetic anomaly detector located a strong contact about 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. In other words, Lake Superiors perfect storm window was short, but was big enough to swallow the Fitzgeraldan ailing ship in the wrong place at the wrong time. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Canadian waters around 7.10pm, on a trip that should have only taken about an hour. Edmund Fitzgerald | Great Lakes Shipwreck, History & Legacy A recently published graphic on reddit by MyketheTryke shows a number of ways that ships navigating the Great Lakes have been known to flounder. The storm might not have been the ultimate cause of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking, but it must be considered a major player at a minimum. The theory is that modifications to the cargo ships winter load line, which allowed the Edmund Fitzgerald to carry heavier loads and sail lower in the water, may have caused a stress fracture to form in the ships hull. What caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink is a mystery. And since it would take anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes to deploy a lifeboat, there was no chance that anybody could survive the . The mystery is compounded by mud covering key parts of the wreck and a legal prohibition on further dives imposed by the Canadian government. What caused Edmund Fitzgerald to sink? - Rebellion Research In a similar vein, Paul Hainault, a retired Michigan Tech University professor, postulated a seiche caused the ship to scrape the bottom of Superior Shoal early that morning and the weakened hull eventually gave out. HUBBARD: They're treacherous waters, and they can turn very quickly. And they give us great natural beauty, but they're also a source of tremendous peril in many instances. A 2010 television episode of Dive Detectives simulated the effect of a 56-foot wave on a scale model of the Fitzgerald. Watches/Warnings Its mysterious demise inspired Gordon Lightfoot 's hit song " The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), which helped make it the most famous shipwreck in the Great Lakes. Federal investigators looking into Bitwise, according to California media report, Lucas County Health Department hosting summer farmers markets to promote healthy eating, Air quality warning issued for northwest Ohio, southeast Michigan due to wildfire smoke, Dry Wednesday with sunshine peaking through haze; heat rises to 90 on Thursday | WTOL 11 Weather, Lake sturgeon stockings show promise for return of prehistoric fish to Lake Erie, Shipwreck discovered in Lake Superior, 131 years later. The Fitzgerald suffered from structural problems, Ex-Fitzgerald crew member George Burgner claimed in a deposition that unrepaired cracks and weakened metal on the ship caused the loss, according to the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Fred Stonehouse. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration On July 4, 1995, divers recovered the Fitzgeralds bell from the bottom of Lake Superior, replacing it with a replica engraved with the names of the crew. On Nov. 10, 1975, the gales of November came early to Lake Superior and took with them the SS Edmund Fitzgerald and the lives of 29 crew. It's still not completely agreed upon whether the Fitzgerald broke in half on the surface or underwater. 6. In fact, the Fitzgerald -- known as a workhorse ship that set numerous cargo hauling records -- was allowed by 1975 to sit a touch over 3 feet deeper in the water when laden with cargo than originally intended when the ship was launched in 1958. Ever since then, we've had a service here at the church every year. 6 Theories on What Happened to Edmund Fitzgerald Nov. 29, 1966: Daniel J. Morrell sank in Lake Huron killing the 28 crew members. Dangerous heat will persist in Texas, while expanding to include the Lower Mississippi Valley and Mid-South. What caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink? Why was the Edmund - ABTC The Edmund Fitzgerald was a Great Lakes freighter that sank in a storm on November 14, 1975, and few understand what happened to cause the freighter to sink. Another theory regarding the Edmund Fitzgerald is that the cargo ship, laden with heavy iron ore and modified to ride lower in the water, ran aground on the Six Fathom Shoal, located northwest of Caribou Island. So Mariners' Church was founded by a woman named Julia Anderson, and she wanted Mariners' Church to be a safe harbor for the souls of the sailors who sailed the Great Lakes. The United States Coast Guard Marine Casualty Report, released in 1977, proposed that the Edmund Fitzgerald may have sank because its cargo hatches were not sufficiently sealed, allowing the cargo hold to fill with water. "Pouring one out for the 29 souls lost as the gales of November came slashin' against the Edmund Fitzgerald 46 years ago today.". From 1972 until it sank, Captain Ernest M. McSorley led the Fitzgerald's voyages. All 29 people onboard were lost. As it happened: How local news covered the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald A recent graphic presentation provides the most likely causes of her demise. The NTSB hewed to the Coast Guard line somewhat, agreeing that that non-weathertight hatch covers probably caused flooding during the trip, but the board ultimately concluded the probable sinking cause was "sudden massive flooding of the cargo hold due to the collapse of one or more hatch covers." Because the ship had no depth sounding technology, the crew had no way of knowing that incoming water was pushing the ship lower in the water until the flooding exceeded the height of the iron ore in the holds. Local Their findings support what Capt. 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. MLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa postulates rogue waves as possible based on the 2006 NOAA storm simulation. The company in charge of the ship, Oglebay Norton, reportedly paid compensation to the surviving family members of the crew. The freighter rests 530 feet below the surface of Lake Superior. McSorley told the Arthur M. Andersonwhich was sailing about 10 miles behind herreplied, We are holding our own. It was the last time anyone heard from the Fitzgerald. Enhanced Hazards Outlook, CURRENT CONDITIONS Severe Weather Over the years, he also developed personal relationships with the families of the deceased sailors. Then, over the course of the next year, it collided with another ship and a lock wall in separate incidents. This low pressure system was driven by strong contrasts in temperatures often found in the stormy month of November. At 7:10 p.m., the captain radioed the message We are holding our own. Five minutes later, the ship disappeared from radar and was never heard from again. With a length of 729 feet, she was barely able to pass through the Saint Lawrence Seaway. [Lightfoot] wanted to make it more about the Fitzgerald and, particularly, the surviving Fitzgerald family members and not about Gordon Lightfoot, said Bruce Lynn, the museums executive director. Today, there is a safety perimeter around the wreck site, which victims families consider a grave site. 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. Shipbuilding company Great Lakes Engineering Works built the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald in 1957 and early 1958, after which the ship was christened on June 7, 1958, at River Rouge, Michigan. 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. Opponents of this theory point to the close proximity of the two pieces of the ship on the lake bottom as an indication that the ship sank in one piece and broke apart beneath the waves. SIMON: Tell us about this observance and how it's evolved over the years. Computer simulation models that were created by NOAA in 2005 showed that wind speeds on Lake Superior on the day of the shipwreck could have reached hurricane strength as the winds picked up speed across the expanse of water. Lightfoot, .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}who died on Monday at age 84, had top-10 hits in the United States with songs like If You Could Read My Mind, Sundown, and Carefree Highway. But his career-defining tune was The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a seven-verse epic released in August 1976 about the sinking of a freighter in Lake Superior. So the story actually begins not in downtown Detroit, where Mariner's Church is located, but on the waters of Lake Superior. These large, unexpected waves are dangerously unpredictable. AMERICAN freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald and its crew sank 46 years ago. One theory holds that the damage was caused by a heavy floating log, or perhaps, something that came loose from the ships deck. Why the Edmund Fitzgerald Sank - amazon.com All rights reserved. Ernest McSorley in command, she had already logged a total of 748 voyages and sailed over one million miles. A Navy underwater recovery vehicle photographed the wreckage. Also, Steve Bannon finds ONE actual coincidence (at your expense), Biden hears a boom, Gordon Lightfoot sank the Edmund Fitzgerald (cui bono? Image: Restored Fitzgerald bell at Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Whitefish Point, MI - credit is flickr.com, CURRENT HAZARDS Observations
