The Edmund Fitzgerald

[Colliemom]

It has been 47 years since this ship sank in Lake Superior. Some of you who live or have lived around the Great Lakes probably remember this. But But for those who are not familiar with Lake Superior, it is actually an inland sea. It is roughly the same size as the state of Maine. It’s depth is around 489 feet, but it’s average is 1333 feet and the largest body of fresh water in the world. There are a lot of shipwrecks in this lake and the Whitefish Bay Area, referenced in this song is on the edge of what is called Whitefish Point, the graveyard of the Great Lakes. The water temperatures are so cold that when a ship does go down the bodies will never come up. They go down with the ships forever. And if they are lucky enough to survive the sinking many times they will die from hypothermia before they can be rescued. This ship was 726 feet long, one of the largest Great Lakes fighters at the time. It sank in No pvember 10th 1975 Duri g what was one of the worst storm ever to hit the great lakes. Winds were at hurricane force and waves high as 25 feet. Every year since, on November 10 the Great Lakes Shipwreck museum at Whitefish Point holds a Memorial service for the men who served on the Fitzgerald. Nothing was ever found after the ship went down except debris and a badly battered life boat. November is one of the worst months of the year for these ships to sail the lakes. I thought I would share this song with you. It has become a marginalized.



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[BarbaraRose]

I am very familiar with that sinking and the song about it. I have heard the song several times this past week. It always gives me goose bumps. There were actually 2 other ships that sank on the same date on different years prior to that one.
I have seen Lake Superior when it had 14 ft waves and it was amazing to see! Can't even imagine 25 ft waves!

[Bethers]

It's a fascinating tale for those who aren't (or are) familiar with it. The Great Lakes aren't for the faint of heart. A friend of mine along with a friend of his died because of the weather turning too quickly while out on their sailboat on Lake Michigan and not being able to make it back to shore. Capsized and died of hypothermia in minutes.

[snowball]

I've heard the song many times... knew it was based on a true account but really didn't realize that it was so recent only 47 years.... not long at all
But I don't remember hearing about it
sheila

[JudyJB]

The ship broke in half near Whitefish Bay which is near the eastern end of the lake.

Each year on this date, the famous Mariners Church in downtown Detroit has a special service and it’s bell is rung 29 times—once for each of the souls lost on the ship. No bodies were ever found.

[Colliemom]

I might add that once the wreck of the Fitzgerald was found, the ships bell was removed from the ship and a duplicate bell was put in place. The original bell is in place at the Great Lakes shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. At the memorial service that is held every November 10, that bell is rung 29 times for each man on the crew. Family and friends of the crew are at this service each year. As the names of each crew member are read, family members come up and ring the bell one time in their loved ones memory. Where there may not be living family members there, then a members of the United states Coast Guard will do a it.p, u til all 29 names are read.

[IrishIroamed]

I know the story well and remember the song. Saw lots of info on the wreck at the museum when I stayed at the state park.

The most comments I ever got, in multiple states, where when i wore the sweatshirt I bought there. It's a well known wreck and a sad tale. Similar to the Eastland Christmas tree ship disaster in Chicago.

Info about the Eastland (from Wikipedia):
SS Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago and used for tours. On 24 July 1915, the ship rolled over onto its side while tied to a dock in the Chicago River.[1] In total, 844 passengers and crew were killed in what was the largest loss of life from a single shipwreck on the Great Lakes.

[JudyJB]

Only reason to wear a life jacket in Lake Superior is to make it easier for the Coast Guard to retrieve your body.

My parents used to have a cottage at the tip of the thumb in Michigan. Lake Michigan has had almost 100 shipwrecks. Lake Huron is smaller than Lake Superior, but it can be very nasty, even now. There is a state park just a few hundred feet into the Thumb "bay" from our cottage. My strongest memories are of sitting up late at night as an adult watching the Coast Guard helicopters go back and forth looking for missing and possible drowned tourists who went out in small boats without realizing that just around the nearby point of land, the lake was a lot rougher. They used these huge spotlights to try to find people. And when you are in the middle, you cannot see either shore.

I remember one summer day in about 1982 when my ex and i took my dad's boat around the point into town for gas. On the way back, a storm came up with 7' waves. I was terrified. This heavy, 1951 19' wooden boat with a lot of freeboard would go up one wave and down into the trough of another, burying the front end briefly. We made it back, but 5 people drowned that weekend in our area. Amazingly, it was very calm at our cottage because it was a little protected. My uncle, three miles west of us, found a dead body in front of his cottage.

One of the neatest campgrounds in Michigan is owned by the city of Sault St. Marie. It is a mile east of the big locks between Lake Superior and Lake Huron, and you have a terrific view of the big old lake freighters going by. They are so close, you can wave to the sailors on deck.

[snowball]

my dad and sister were killed in a car accident in Nov of 73 the following summer I think it was we Larry and our 1st born went up to Isle Royale National Park one of the rangers wife and I were good friends in high school and one of the perks was having friends come up to see them via a ship so we journeyed up for a few days... it was such a neat time we got to hike some of the trails canoe in Lake Superior can remember seeing shipwreck remains it was such clear water... but we didn't venture far from the shore line...I can imagine that the lakes can go from calm to destructive in not many moments... given the right conditions
sheilal