The laker, the pride of the American side, was still bigger than most, and had been the largest freighter to sail the Great Lakes when it was launched in 1958. If you think you can safely go back up to the area, I would request that you do so. There are no more Iron Boats. The slow flooding supposedly went unnoticed by the captain and crew until it caused an imperceptible but fatal buoyancy loss and eventually sent the Fitzgerald plunging to the bottom. Caribou: Did You Know? - National Park Service A body that was seen but not retrieved is not a recovered body. 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. Twenty-nine men were lost when the Fitzgerald went down. Numerous authors have written books on the tragedy. Capt. With regards to iron ore shipping on the Great Lakes, it most certainly is still taking place. U.S. Coast Guard rescue vessel Woodrush took 21 hours to arrive on scene from the Duluth port. However, the Lake Carriers Association vigorously disagreed with the Coast Guards suggestion that the lack of attention to properly closing the hatch covers by the crew was responsible for the disaster. Had she sailed two days later, empty, for repairs (very good timing, actually) none of this would have happened. TheFitzgeraldoften held records for excellent safety and broke records for most tonnage hauled during a single shipping season. Cities by ZIP Code. The "Big Fitz"as she was affectionately known by her crew, also boasted several private staterooms for corporate guests of Oglebay Norton and Northwestern Mutual. There have been about half a dozen dives to the site since the shipwreck in 1975. Meantime, northwest winds built massive seas from the starboard quarter (right rear), washing powerful waves completely over the deck as the ship left the eastern lee of Caribou Island. No sailors in life vests were found. 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." Caribou Island and Southwest Bank Protection Area means the area enclosed by rhumb lines connecting the following coordinates, beginning on the northernmost point and proceeding clockwise: 4730.0 N, 08550.0 W 4724.2 N, 08538.5 W 4704.0 N, 08549.0 W 4705.7 N, 08559.0 W 4718.1 N, 08605.0 W. She was under command of Canadian born and highly experienced ship master Captain Ernest M. McSorely. 906-635-1742 | 800-635-1742, GREAT LAKES SHIPWRECK MUSEUM Broke in two and sank in minutes. The ships were nearing Whitefish Bay. An explanation that has been espoused several times by mariners is that the Fitzgerald suffered a stress fracture and broke apart on the surface from the effects of heavy seas twisting and flexing the hull. USS Indianapolis (CL/CA-35) was a Portland-class heavy cruiser of the United States Navy, named for the Grindstone Island Cars You can also follow me on Twitter at:https://twitter.com/jwbarker22, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: According to a legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche Gumee never gives up her dead, Great American Dreams: A Portrait of the Way We Are, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8LBkYjniTU, https://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/the-fateful-journey/?fbclid=IwAR33M-6_G0X15ab73z4KkAIM3owr3GaVpRsHdaE5n_OIbSP3PzX7_FTMIGo, http://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/edmund-fitzgerald-40-years-later/. sometimes we forget to pray that at times we could have been saved, at this time of events, it was meant to have happened, at it is not us who make the storm or to calm the storm..but, Sad to have lost what was a great ship and the people on board History is what I like.. TheFitzgeraldwould have extra steel plates installed between the hull bottom and her keel which would ensure the keel would no loner move freely from the hull and would stay fastened in place. The bad welds were confirmed by the Coast Guard, which approved repairs. The protective visor over the wheelhouse windows has been completely flattened down and there is a lot of similar damage throughout the superstructure of the bow, indicating theEdmund Fitzgeraldmet a very violent and catastrophic end. Marie in 1967. Has anyone ever calculated how much shorter the normal route across Superior would have been had the Fitzgerald not changed course? Tom was also the hunting boating and orv safety instructor. At about 5:20 pm the crest of a wave smashed the Andersons starboard lifeboat, making it unusable. "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. Caribou definition, any of several large, North American deer of the genus Rangifer, related to the reindeer of the Old World. Departing Superior about 2:30 p.m., she was soon joined by the Arthur M. Anderson, which had sailed from Two Harbors, Minnesota under Capt. Too soon to be coincidence. A more serious issue was determined by poor construction and design. Ed Peewee Charles Ringwald and the late Terry Clements, a Detroit native who had played guitar for Lightfoot since the early 1970s, came up with the haunting guitar and steel riffs. It is approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) long and 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, and 1,600 acres (647 ha . The theories include structural failure, rouge waves and the possibility the ship bottomed out while passing over Six Fathom Shoal thereby causing the hull to fracture. He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. The two ships were in radio contact. ADMINISTRATIVE: 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. * The ship had run aground on a reef during the worst of the storm (likely the reef in question was Six Fathom Shoal near Caribou Island). Even before her demise, the Fitzgeraldwas a well known icon of the Great Lakes to those that lived along it.). Edmund Fitzgerald: Decades of Speculation, Fascination and Grieving Only one man has undertaken a scuba dive, using special air mixtures in his tanks. It lies entirely within the territorial waters of Canada although only about five kilometres from the international border between Canada and the United States. Add to Cart. 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. However, divers found no recent damage to the shoal after the wreck and the ship's exact course could only be estimated because the Fitzgerald radars were inoperable and the Anderson kept inexact course records during the journey. The shoal is a hump of Keweenawan basaltic lava flows with ophitic interiors and amygdaloidal tops in an otherwise deep part of the lake, and though fishermen had known of its existence for generations it was only officially charted in 1929 by the United States Lake Survey. This is 35 feet above the waterline.. Have you checked down?, Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. Proven by: Large holes, Anderson's captain's concern for how close the Fitzgerald was to the shoal, inaccurate charts. From what I know, the Fitzgerald sank 45 years ago as of posting this comment, soon to be 46. Understandably the footage was edited out of respect for the dead and the families. 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. Every expedition to the freighter has reported that there is no evidence of scraping, gouging or damage to the rudder or propeller, which should show on the overturned bottom of the stern. So, what happened? Im checking down. 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. Also, a larger, more powerful tug, the Katmai Bay, is now stationed at Sault Ste. As Fred Stonehouse points out, nothing completely removes hazard from life at sea, for nature still enforces its whim and ships are still expected to brave adverse weather to deliver their cargoes. Ten miles ahead, Captain McSorley learned from Captain Cedric Woodard, a U.S. pilot aboard the Swedish-flagged Avafors, that neither the light nor directional radio beacon at Whitefish Point were working. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. The Anderson was just approaching Michipicoten, about three miles off the West End Light. This contact or a near miss would damage the hull and allow water to begin accumulating inside the affected ballast tanks. But what caused the ship to take on water, enough to lose buoyancy and dive to the bottom so quickly, without a single cry for help, cannot be determined. Minor incidents included groundings and collisions between 1969 and 1974. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Not long after the search ended, years of arguments and disagreements over what could have caused theEdmund Fitzgeraldto sink have clouded up any hope of truly understanding what occurred the night of November 10, 1975 as the shipping companies, government agencies and sea fairers of the Great Lakes all have different theories and opinions that do not match. Disproven by: Captain's experience in the area, ballast tank location Rogue waves. Captain Cooper reported winds from the NW x W (305 ) at a steady 58 knots with gusts to 70 knots, and seas of 18 to 25 feet. No. With mounting apprehension, Captain Cooper called the Coast Guard once again, about 8:00 pm, and firmly expressed his concern for the welfare of the Fitzgerald. According to a legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche Gumee never gives up her dead.. The official Coast Guard board of inquiry came to the conclusion that the Edmund Fitzgerald sank as a result of massive flooding of the cargo hold, saying that this likely resulted from ineffective hatch closure. Noting that many of the hatch clamps photographed on the sunken freighter show little or no damage or distortion, the report states that this could result from improper maintenance of the adjustment bolts that put tension on the hatch covers and secured them to the top of the coamings around the hatches. "We always had to go down and pump them out.". It became apparent that theFitzgeraldhad indeed sunk to the bottom taking with her all 29 crewmembers, many of whom were young adults less than 25 years of age. One man lived to tell about what happened unlike the Fitz. Heavy snow begins to fall and the Fitzgerald is lost from. Photo by user "Greenmars" on Wikimedia Commons. Cooper started to fear the worst and contacted the Coast Guard alerting them to theFtizgerald'sdisappearance. By stretching more than 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the island Caribou north point, a dangerous reef is presently known as "Six Fathom Shoal." In that sense, the Fitzgerald met her fate on the path she took to avoid it. The Anderson was struck by large waves which then travelled in the direction of the Edmond Fitzgerald. Marine and other experts who examined Coast Guard photos and videotape of the wreckage for the board of inquiry dismissed fracture as a cause of the wreck, based on the fact that no photo evidence shows brittle fracture separation, which is described as having straight or flat edges. Without direct witnesses or survivors, every explanation about the cause of the wreck is purely theoretical and, from the very beginning, a rash of theories concerning it were postulated. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. Water poured in through a sudden hatch failure. What is your present position?, Were down here, about two miles off Parisienne Island right nowthe wind is northwest forty to forty-five miles here in the bay., Is it calming down at all, do you think?, In the bay it is, but I heard a couple of the salties talking up there, and they wish they hadnt gone out., Do you think there is any possibility and you couldahcome about and go back there and do any searching?, AhGod, I dont knowahthatthat sea out there is tremendously large. In 2018 6 caribou were moved to Caribou Island from Michipicoten Island to the north, due to pressure from Michipicoten First Nation. 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. It had enough force to come down on the starboard lifeboat, pushing it into the saddles with a force strong enough to damage the bottom of the lifeboat. The second large sea put green water (the powerful center of a wave) on our bridge deck! Sault Ste Marie, MI 49783 He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water, Ley wrote. FREE BOXES. Film, Art & Exhibitions The wreck continues to rust and deteriorate over time despite the fresh water nature of Lake Superior. George Stegner recalled last year how he was on duty that night: I was on duty this night. The Great Lakes Ore Carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald, Known to Lake Mariners as "The Mighty Fitz". 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. The grisliest discovery was of a giant oil slick floating atop the lake's surface. He is particularly intrigued by the command that Woodard overheard. Its likely that they didnt latch a lot of the hatch cover clamps because the crew was on Sunday overtime pay and they were so late getting covered up - and the weather was very nice at that time., Such speculation fits easily into the puzzle of the Fitzgerald tragedy. Canadian flag on the bow, American flag at stern, the Edmund Fitzgerald was a frequent site on the Great Lakes during its almost two decades of service before it sank with the loss of all 29 crew members. Bernie Cooper. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. The Coast Guard conducted an extensive and thorough search. That would likely mean that it was at the forward end of the weather deck. Of note, the NTSB report included a dissenting opinion that held to this theory. With the load she was carrying as she was driven down would it not shift forward and drive the ship down at a rapid rate causing so much damage? It was also revealed that a fence railing on theFitzgerald's deckhad been broken and a number of vent covers were missing. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you., Well, answered Captain McSorley, Am I going to clear?, Yes, he is going to pass to the west of you.. The mystery is compounded by mud covering key parts of the wreck and a legal prohibition on further dives imposed by the Canadian government. According to Captain Cooper, about 6:55 pm, he and the men in the Andersons pilothouse felt a bump, felt the ship lurch, and then turned to see a monstrous wave engulfing their entire vessel from astern. Its as certain as anything can be that sooner or later there will be another ship lost on Lake Superior, says maritime historian Frederick Stonehouse. Turning to Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking, the above article lets us in on several 'dots', which, when connected, tells why The Pride of the American Side met an avoidable, but preordained death. Sawyer AFB in the UP of Michigan, crew member on a rescue helo. 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. Could these have contributed to the sudden disappearance of the ship? 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. Images of the Fitz's 1958 construction and launch. FAQs. Both ships crews could feel the effects.Around 3:00 in the afternoon, both ships had passed Caribou Island, Ontario, home of the notorious Six Fathom Shoal, a sharpy rocky outcropping more than capable of tearing into the hull of a deep draft vessel in stormy weather. In 1977, the U.S Coast Guard pinned the sinking on massive flooding of the cargo hold caused by faulty or poorly fastened hatch covers. 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. Water intrusion came less than 30 minutes later. Six Fathom Shoal | soundingsjohnbarker [7], These reefs are not coral reefs. It was not long after thatFitzgeraldvanished from theAnderson'sradar. In 2006, a National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration study recreated the storm in a computer and discovered that the Fitzgerald and its floating companion, the Arthur M. Anderson, inadvertently steamed into the heart of the storm by taking the northern route across Lake Superior to avoid what they thought would be treacherous waves along the established, more direct southern route. Although no findings concluded that the Fitz suffered grounding damage, the addition of depth finders on lake boats now gives officers information not previously required on their vessels. 'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+"://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document,"script","twitter-wjs"); A Great Lakes Information Network partner, 2020 Lake Superior Publishing LLC. The Naugatuck arrived at 12:45 pm on November 11, and the Woodrush arrived on November 14, having journeyed all the way from Duluth, Minnesota. Caribou Island, Caribou Island | Ticket Price | Timings | Address: TripHobo Another sonar survey was conducted November 22-25. Its usual route was from Superior, Wisconsin, to Toledo, Ohio, although the destination varied. He said that he was going along like an old shoe; no problems at all., Well, again, do you think you could come about and go back and have a look in the area?, Well, Ill go back and take a look, but God, Im afraid Im going to take a hell of a beating out there Ill turn around and give er a whirl, but God, I dont know. The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began Nov. 9, 1975 at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1 in Superior, Wisconsin, Sean Ley, a development officer at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point Light Station in Whitefish Point on the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, wrote in a blog post for the museum titled The Fateful Journey (https://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/the-fateful-journey/?fbclid=IwAR33M-6_G0X15ab73z4KkAIM3owr3GaVpRsHdaE5n_OIbSP3PzX7_FTMIGo). The mainland caribou are extremely important for their genetics. Marie, Ontario, only about 8090 miles SE. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. Edmund Fitzgerald Timeline S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online In 2009, retired naval architect Raymond Ramsey, who helped design the Fitzgerald hull wrote that the maintenance history, increased cargo loading allowances and construction of the Fitzgerald made her unseaworthy the night she went down. McSorely had also ordered the pumps to be turned on in order to keep the ingress of water out of the cargo hold.By 4:10 PM, the list had not gotten any better and theFitzgeraldwas still taking on water, effectively sinking. ZIP Code by City and State. The Headstones originally hailing from Kingston, Ont. Various cars scatter the bottom of the river covered in grass and zebra muscles. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Art & Exhibitions US WEATHER BUREAU BUILDING Caribou is included in the pages of the myths of Inuit. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest boat on the Great Lakes. The ships were nearing Whitefish Bay. Would like to offer any help I can. released a very fine and very different tempo cover of Lightfoots The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald last March 15. 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. It is not known ifFitzgeraldhad struck bottom on the shoal or another nearby outcropping, but upon passing Caribou Island, the problems started. 1930 Census | National Archives