[24] More than 15,000 people attended Edmund Fitzgerald's christening and launch ceremony on June 7, 1958. [35], Captain Cooper of Arthur M. Anderson reported that his ship was "hit by two 30 to 35 foot seas about 6:30p.m., one burying the aft cabins and damaging a lifeboat by pushing it right down onto the saddle. "[62], Lacking appropriate search-and-rescue vessels to respond to Edmund Fitzgerald's disaster,[62] at approximately 9:00p.m., the USCG asked Arthur M. Anderson to turn around and look for survivors. [135] The two vessels were built in the same shipyard using welded joints instead of the riveted joints used in older ore freighters. The May 4, 1978, NTSB findings differed from the USCG. 9 was not detailed enough to indicate Six Fathom Shoal as a hazard to navigation.[146]. 40 years after Edmund Fitzgerald wreck, crew member's brother shares memories. What happened on that fateful night to the ship and the entire 29-man crew? [4] While navigating the Soo Locks he would often come out of the pilothouse and use a bullhorn to entertain tourists with a commentary on details about Edmund Fitzgerald. In addition, the angle, repose and mounding of clay and mud at the site indicate the stern rolled over on the surface, spilling taconite ore pellets from its severed cargo hold, and then landed on portions of the cargo itself. "Bernie" Cooper, Arthur M. Anderson, destined for Gary, Indiana, out of Two Harbors, Minnesota. the family didn't tell Brabon's sister, who . [48] In a broadcast shortly afterward, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) warned all shipping that the Soo Locks had been closed and they should seek safe anchorage. When Bethlehem Steel Corporation permanently laid up Edmund Fitzgerald's sister ship, SS Arthur B. Homer, just five years after going to considerable expense to lengthen her, questions were raised as to whether both ships had the same structural problems. [3] The hold depth (the inside height of the cargo hold) was 33ft 4in (10.16m). "[21], Northwestern Mutual wanted to name the ship after its president and chairman of the board, Edmund Fitzgerald. [91] That same year, Terrence Tysall and Mike Zee set multiple records when they used trimix gas to scuba dive to Edmund Fitzgerald. In 1978, without explanation, Bethlehem Steel Corporation denied permission for the chairman of the NTSB to travel on Arthur B. Homer. Without warning or a distress signal, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank some 17 miles from Whitefish Bay near Sault Ste. "[85], Shannon's group discovered the remains of a crew member partly dressed in coveralls and wearing a life jacket alongside the bow of the ship, indicating that at least one of the crew was aware of the possibility of sinking. Most of the crew were from Ohio and Wisconsin;[67] their ages ranged from 20 (watchman Karl A. Peckol) to 63 (Captain McSorley). Marie, Ontario, in November 2005 as another 30th-anniversary commemoration. [104], A group of three rogue waves, often called "three sisters,"[107] was reported in the vicinity of Edmund Fitzgerald at the time she sank. [34], Because of her size, appearance, string of records, and "DJ captain,"[4] Edmund Fitzgerald became a favorite of boat watchers throughout her career. [127], Another published hypothesis contends that an already weakened structure, and modification of Edmund Fitzgerald's winter load line (which allows heavier loading and travel lower in the water), made it possible for large waves to cause a stress fracture in the hull. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, Edmund Fitzgerald joined a second taconite freighter, SSArthur M. Anderson. [120], The LCA believed that instead of hatch cover leakage, the more probable cause of Edmund Fitzgerald's loss was shoaling or grounding in the Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island when the vessel "unknowingly raked a reef" during the time the Whitefish Point light and radio beacon were not available as navigation aids. [191][192], The ship's bell was recovered from the wreck on July 4, 1995. His hypothesis held that Edmund Fitzgerald grounded at 9:30a.m. on November 10 on Superior Shoal. Edmund Fitzgerald: The Legendary Great Lakes Shipwreck [Andra-Warner, Elle] on Amazon.com. rushes over the hull, empty of sailors, fills the ship with water. [194], An uproar occurred in 1995 when a maintenance worker in St. Ignace, Michigan, refurbished the bell by stripping the protective coating applied by Michigan State University experts. The Birth Of The Largest Ship Plying The Great Lakes. One had speeds in excess of 43 knots (80km/h; 49mph) and the other winds in excess of 40 knots (74km/h; 46mph). Sinking: November 10, 1975 with no survivors. Other questions were raised as to why the USCG did not discover and take corrective action in its pre-November 1975 inspection of Edmund Fitzgerald, given that her hatch coamings, gaskets, and clamps were poorly maintained. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. The rear kept going forward with the engine still running, rolled to port and landed bottom up. [76] The GLSHS used part of the five hours of video footage produced during the dives in a documentary and the National Geographic Society used a segment in a broadcast. The collision tore a hole in the ship's bow large enough to drive a truck through, but the Maumee was able to travel halfway around the world to a repair yard, without difficulty, because she was fitted with watertight bulkheads. For data concerning Canadian areas, Canadian authorities have been consulted. "[147], After reviewing testimony that Edmund Fitzgerald had passed near shoals north of Caribou Island, the USCG Marine Board examined the relevant navigational charts. The SS Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from the mines near Duluth, Minnesota to the ironworks in Detroit, . She was found with cracks after the Big Fitz sank and then they scrapped her in 1986, so . Up until a few weeks before her loss, passengers had traveled on board as company guests. This tragic accident points out the need for all persons involved in Great Lakes shipping to foster increased awareness of the hazards which exist. Mark Thompson, a merchant seaman and author of numerous books on Great Lakes shipping, stated that if her cargo holds had watertight subdivisions, "the Edmund Fitzgerald could have made it into Whitefish Bay. [84] Shannon determined that based on GPS coordinates from the 1994 Deepquest expedition, "at least one-third of the two acres of immediate wreckage containing the two major portions of the vessel is in U.S. waters because of an error in the position of the U.S.Canada boundary line shown on official lake charts. Compiled from over 50 years of exhaustive research by Gerald Metzler, the database is in the process of being digitized from a collection of over 30,000 handwritten vessel records. [16], At approximately 7:10p.m., when Arthur M. Anderson notified Edmund Fitzgerald of an upbound ship and asked how she was doing, McSorley reported, "We are holding our own." [100], Extreme weather and sea conditions play a role in all of the published hypotheses regarding Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking, but they differ on the other causal factors. It puts into perspective the sheer power of . [108] This hypothesis postulates that the "three sisters" compounded the twin problems of Edmund Fitzgerald's known list and her lower speed in heavy seas that already allowed water to remain on her deck for longer than usual. Theoretically, a one-inch puncture in the cargo hold will sink it.[151]. Both the Homer and Fitzgerald were the largest iron ore carriers built on the Great Lakes. The event was plagued by misfortunes. In 1957 the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance . [177] In addition to the crew, 26,116 long tons (29,250 short tons; 26,535t) of taconite sank along with the vessel. This was the day she made her inaugural trip on the Great Lakes. A delay of 36 minutes followed while the shipyard crew struggled to release the keel blocks. Around 10:30p.m., the USCG asked all commercial vessels anchored in or near Whitefish Bay to assist in the search. It wasn't until the following May that its . Loaded with iron ore like so many other runs this vessel makes. Measuring 729 feet (222 meters) in length and weighing over 13,632 gross tons, the Edmund Fitzgerald was . [9][14] Ramsay concluded that increasing the hull length to 729 feet (222m) resulted in an L/D slenderness ratio (the ratio of the length of the ship to the depth of her structure)[142] that caused excessive multi-axial bending and springing of the hull, and that the hull should have been structurally reinforced to cope with her increased length.[143]. . '"[132] Orgel was quoted as saying that the loss of Edmund Fitzgerald was caused by hull failure, "pure and simple. The first wave introduces an abnormally large amount of water onto the deck. It bore markings different from those of rings found at the wreck site, and was thought to be a hoax. Gordon Lightfoot's song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976, Moose Music, Ltd.) is a tribute to this ship wreck and the men who lost their lives.Some of the lyrics of the song are given below along with descriptions of related events. . [50] Edmund Fitzgerald, effectively blind, slowed to let Arthur M. Anderson come within a 10-mile (16km) range so she could receive radar guidance from the other ship. She was en route to the steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit, Michigan,[38] with a cargo of 26,116 long tons (29,250 short tons; 26,535t) of taconite ore pellets and soon reached her full speed of 16.3 miles per hour (14.2kn; 26.2km/h). The Edmund Fitzgerald had a 7, 000 horsepower steam turbine engine that could push the ship at around 16 miles an hour (Stonehouse 13). [110] The NTSB came to the same conclusion as USCG because: The proximity of the bow and stern sections on the bottom of Lake Superior indicated that the vessel sank in one piece and broke apart either when it hit bottom or as it descended. Air conditioning extended to the crew quarters, which featured more amenities than usual. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The U.S. Navy also contracted Seaward, Inc., to conduct a second survey between November 22 and 25. The primary objective was to record 3-D videotape for use in museum educational programs and the production of documentaries. "Hull 301" of Great Lakes Engineering Works, River Rouge yard, was christened the Edmund Fitzgerald, and launched and delivered for service later this season. Edmund Fitzgerald's Three Sisters Essay. The Edmund Fitzgerald had a sister ship called the Arthur B. Homer, which was the second biggest ship on the great lakes (Stonehouse 13). This shoal, charted in 1929, is an underwater mountain in the middle of Lake Superior about 50 miles (80km) north of Copper Harbor, Michigan. Officers from Arthur M. Anderson observed that Edmund Fitzgerald sailed through this exact area. [170] One concern was that shipping companies pressured the captains to deliver cargo as quickly and cheaply as possible regardless of bad weather. The NTSB Edmund Fitzgerald investigation concluded that Great Lakes freighters should be constructed with watertight bulkheads in their cargo holds. That ship, The Edmund Fitzgerald now lye in the depths of the Superior. A series of 16consecutive hatch cover clamps were observed on the No. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, though many books, studies, and expeditions have examined it. During 1974, she lost her original bow anchor in the Detroit River. [211] Memorabilia on sale include Christmas ornaments, T-shirts, coffee mugs, Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, videos, and other items commemorating the vessel and its loss. Edmund Fitzgerald may have been swamped, suffered structural failure or topside damage, grounded on a shoal, or suffered from a combination of these. The main feature of this issue is the 40th Anniversary of the launch of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. On NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday on February 14, 2015, Gordon Lightfoot said he was inspired to write the song when he saw the name misspelled "Edmond" in Newsweek magazine two weeks after the sinking; Lightfoot said he felt that it dishonored the memory of the 29 who died. 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. [119] Conjecture by proponents of the Six Fathom Shoal hypothesis concluded that Edmund Fitzgerald's downed fence rail reported by McSorley could occur only if the ship "hogged" during shoaling, with the bow and stern bent downward and the midsection raised by the shoal, pulling the railing tight until the cables dislodged or tore under the strain. [64] Canadian Coast Guard aircraft joined the three-day search and the Ontario Provincial Police established and maintained a beach patrol all along the eastern shore of Lake Superior. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship on the Great Lakes upon completion in 1958 and remained so until the early 1970s. Frederick Stonehouse wrote: Stewards treated the guests to the entire VIP routine. As a result, ineffective hatch closure caused Edmund Fitzgerald to flood and founder.[111]. The vessel had also developed a list. Since the ship was heading east-southeastward, it is likely that the waves caused Edmund Fitzgerald to roll heavily. It is nearly 64 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior. The full name was SS Edmund Fitzgerald. 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.. The final position of the wreckage indicated that if the Edmund Fitzgerald had capsized, it must have suffered a structural failure before hitting the lake bottom. 5 was missing. [4] For 17 years, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite from Minnesota's Iron Range mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other ports. A small but well-stocked kitchenette provided the drinks. 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. No story attests to the power of the lake better than the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald that stormy night out there. [165] The loss of Edmund Fitzgerald also exposed the USCG's lack of rescue capability on Lake Superior. Ex-Fitzgerald crew member George Burgner claimed in a deposition that unrepaired cracks and weakened metal on the ship caused the loss, according . But it's nothing but a motorized barge! He further noted that USCG rescue vessels were unlikely to reach the scene of an incident on Lake Superior or Lake Huron within 6to 12hours of its occurrence. Some attribute the fame to Gordon Lightfoot popular song about the tragedy. He stated, "After that, trust me, when a gale came up we dropped the hook [anchor]. [59] At about 8:25p.m., Cooper again called the USCG to express his concern about Edmund Fitzgerald[60] and at 9:03p.m. reported her missing. On 7th June 1958, it was launched. Steel Great Lakes bulk freighter. 7 and 8 and both coamings were fractured and severely distorted. Within five minutes, the ship disappeared from radar, beginning its descent to the floor of Lake Superior. [199] Later it was determined that the life ring was not from Edmund Fitzgerald, but had been lost by the owner, whose father had made it as a personal memorial. [89] The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians backed the expedition by co-signing a loan in the amount of $250,000. "[55], By late in the afternoon of November 10, sustained winds of over 50 knots (93km/h; 58mph) were recorded by ships and observation points across eastern Lake Superior. Hudson Company-designed furnishings[20] included deep pile carpeting, tiled bathrooms, drapes over the portholes, and leather swivel chairs in the guest lounge. [140] Ramsay noted that Edmund Fitzgerald's hull was built with an all-welded (instead of riveted) modular fabrication method,[141] which was used for the first time in the GLEW shipyard. "[148] Thereafter, at the request of the Marine Board and the Commander of the USCG Ninth District, the Canadian Hydrographic Service conducted a survey of the area surrounding Michipicoten Island and Caribou Island in 1976. Every November 10, the Split Rock Lighthouse near Silver Bay, Minnesota, emits a light in honor of Edmund Fitzgerald. Navy estimates put the length of the bow section at 276 feet (84m) and that of the stern section at 253 feet (77m). Link as the support vessel, and their manned submersible, Celia. [134] After August B. Herbel Jr., president of the American Society for Testing and Materials, examined photographs of the welds on Edmund Fitzgerald, he stated, "the hull was just being held together with patching plates." The vessel's namesake, Arthur Marvin Anderson, was director of U.S. Steel, a member of its finance . The search me, when a gale came up we dropped the hook [ anchor ] 33ft 4in ( ). 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