What sank the Edmund Fitzgerald? : r/UnresolvedMysteries - Reddit Kids & Family, Search Events 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. By this point, McSorley knew his ship was in serious trouble and opted to head full steam towards the natural protection of Whitefish Bay to ride out the storm and protect his ship and crew from further damage.By 6:00 PM, the storm had worsened and its likely theFitzgeraldwas riding even lower in the water, due to much larger 35 foot high waves, heavier damage caused by the waves and an even larger amount of water in her hull the pumps seemed unable to cope with. 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. He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. From everything we know and remembering that they were not required at the time, neither survival suits nor EPIRB would have helped the crew of the Fitzgerald because the ship sank so suddenly, Stonehouse points out. 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. 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. Corrections on previous comments I feel compelled to add. A dynamic population. Would like to offer any help I can. Six-Fathom Shoal Updates During a taped conversation with his office, which was made a part of the record, the ANDERSON's master stated that the FITZGERALD "passed right over that 6-fathom spot." The. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The retrofit was planned for November 12, 1975 upon completion of the1975 season. And then a song. Aware of a building November storm entering the Great Lakes from the great plains, Captain McSorley and Captain Cooper agreed to take the northerly course across Lake Superior, where they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore. The ships were nearing Whitefish Bay. Since then, there have been about a half dozen dives to the wreck using deep-diving equipment. The Gales of November: remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald - Parks Blog 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. Broke in two and sank in minutes. She was under command of Canadian born and highly experienced ship master Captain Ernest M. McSorely. 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. 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. 5. This contact or a near miss would damage the hull and allow water to begin accumulating inside the affected ballast tanks. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRB) are now standard equipment on lakes vessels, allowing instantaneous identification of the area where a vessel founders. Captain Cooper maintained that he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. May god rest the souls of the 29 men who perished that fateful night, The iron ore freighter is only about 9 nautical miles from Pancake Bay off highway #17 Ontario Canada, it sits in Canadain waters. LAKE SUPERIOR -- Nobody really knows what caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink, but that sure hasnt stopped people from trying to solve the mystery. Instead they consist of bedrock ridges and interfluves that lie between northerly trending bedrock valleys, which are known as tunnel valleys. Cooper later reported that he had seen the Fitzgerald get closer than she should have to Six Fathom Shoal, which is north of Caribou Island. Below is a breakdown of the main theories: Faulty hatch covers caused massive internal flooding. Whatever prompted that command just a little over an hour before the sinking, Paquette analyzes that it would have been catastrophic and visible from the pilothouse in the darkness of an early November evening. 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. A half hour later I heard the news. One man lived to tell about what happened unlike the Fitz. In 2003, the herd was estimated to have 490,000 individuals, 6 and in 2016, the herd count decreased to 201,000. I have never been able to get that shot out of my head to this day 35 years later. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. EDMUND FITZGERALD WRECK 10 Newly Gleaned Details and its Disappearance Until 1959,Edmund Fitzgeraldheld the record for the longest ship on the Great Lakes. 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. The Anderson was just approaching Michipicoten, about three miles off the West End Light. 11 Things to Know About Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Awesome Mitten Their only hope was the safety of White Fish Bay, where maybe they could be rescued off or near the ship. The wreck is in two main sections, the bow and the stern. 3:20 PM Anderson reports winds coming from the Northwest at 43 knots. Perhaps the most romantic theory about the wreck of the Fitzgerald is that the ship succumbed to the forces of the Three Sisters, a Lake Superior phenomenon described as a combination of two large waves inundating the decks of a boat and a third, slightly later monster wave that boards the vessel as it struggles to shrug off the effects of the first two. Cooper asked McSorley how they were doing. 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 popular misconception is that non of the crewmembers bodies were never discovered. Five years later in 1980, Jacques Cousteaus famous Calypso arrived for the first manned dive inside an underwater vessel to the site. Caribou definition, any of several large, North American deer of the genus Rangifer, related to the reindeer of the Old World. 4:10 PM - Nov. 10th, 1975 - Eastern Lake Superior, southeast of Caribou Island. Another sonar survey was conducted November 22-25. It was originally discovered by sonar shortly after the sinking in 1975 and first documented by several expeditions in 1976 including one by Jean Michel Cousteau, son of famous oceanographer Jaques Cousteau. For books, videos, and memorabilia about the Fitzgerald, her loss, and her legacy, visit theShipwreck Coast Museum Store . On April 15, 1977 the U.S. Coast Guard released its official report on 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. This theory is the thought that the Fitzgerald hit the bottom near Caribou Island, ripping a hole in the ship. Cooper later said he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. Cooper tried desperately to raise McSorley on the radio to no avail. in 1980, Jacques Cousteau's famous Calypso arrived for the first manned dive inside an underwater vessel to the site. Keep up with the magazine, news and happenings around the Big Lake. The spring after the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost, the U.S. Coast Guard sent remote cameras more than 500 feet down to it. Captain Cooper tries again. The shoal in fact may have been mis-mapped as it appeared to jut out a mile further than official maps showed, and the Fitzgerald may have hit it in this one-mile stretch. 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. I have read recently that the shoal near the island doesn't exist but it was from a guy who favors the loose hold cover theory. There is a very good chance that this is what helped lead to her demise. Heavy snow begins to fall and the Fitzgerald is lost from. Weather conditions continued to deteriorate. The first one flooded our boat deck. At the time of her launch in 1958, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest freighter on the Great Lakes. Officially, the report of the U.S. Coast Guard marine board of inquiry states that the most probable cause of the sinking was loss of buoyancy due to massive flooding of the cargo hold through ineffective hatch closures. Couseau had theorized a surface break up, which sounds similar to the Merril several years later. "She took on water all the time and her tunnels flooded out on her," Woodward said. On this voyage,Fitzgeraldwas fully loaded with iron ore. (Edmund Fitzgeraldin her early years as a coal firedsteel hulled steamship. The flooding of the cargo hold took place through ineffective hatch closures as boarding seas rolled along the spar deck.. There is absolutely no conclusive evidence to determine the cause of the sinking. This island was considered an emergency landing airport (YCI) during World War II. As originally built,Edmund Fitzgeraldwas a coal burning steamship with a Westinghouse steam turbine driving a single four bladed propeller at her rear. I read a report about a phenomena called the Three Sisters-rogue waves. During that conversation, he stated that McSorley inadvertently left the microphone on when he said to someone in his pilothouse, Dont allow nobody on deck, also saying something about a vent that Woodard couldnt understand. 18335 N. Whitefish Point Road In Canadian ships alone there are at least one hundred ships that haul iron ore to this day. He again voiced grave concern that the Fitzgerald was missing at 8:32 p.m. Search and rescue efforts started immediately after Coopers second call, but the nearest Coast Guard vessel that could sail in the huge seas was the Woodrush, stationed 300 miles away in Duluth, Minnesota. Antlers of males weigh an average of 17 pounds and can reach 29 pounds! Fitz40th.com - Six-Fathom Shoal Updates During a taped | Facebook On May 20, 1976, the words Edmund Fitzgerald were clearly seen on the stern, upside down, 535 feet below the surface of the lake. Whatever the cause, the Fitzgerald took a starboard list as it passed Caribou. 400 W. Portage Avenue Yes, she almost certainly hit the shoals. After reviewing testimony that Fitzgerald had passed near shoals north of Caribou Island, the USCG Marine Board examined the relevant navigational charts. 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. Let's not forget about the structural failure of the Carl D. Bradley on Lake Michigan in 1958. 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. [7], These reefs are not coral reefs. As the afternoon dragged on, the storm worsened. Upon reaching Whitefish Bay, theCoast Guard requested that any freighter waiting out the storm in Whitefish Bay go out to search for theFitzgeraldand her 29 man crew as the Coast Guard itself was unable to reach the scene immediately. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald lies at the bottom of the southeastern portion of Lake Superior in 530 feet of water. McSorley and Cooper agreed to take the northerly course across Lake Superior to avoid a storm that was developing to the southwest, so they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore, taking them between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. A more serious issue was determined by poor construction and design. ZIP Code by Address. In the fewest words possible, I say She never should have embarked on this cruise, but She had to. With the ship pounding and rolling badly, the crew of the Anderson discovered the Fitzgeralds two lifeboats and other debris but no sign of survivors. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest boat on the Great Lakes. Furthermore, any chance of using the wreck itself as a means of understanding what happened is next to impossible as the Canadian government has banned all diving operations period to the wreck since the recovery of theFitzgerald'sbell in 1993. it is likely that the world may never know the true ending of theEdmund Fitzgerald. What was eventually found only included destroyed remains of the ships two lifeboats, life preservers and items from the ship's galleys. He kept losing sight of the Fitzgerald on the radar from sea return, meaning that seas were so high they interfered with the radar reflection. Jesse B. Cooper told an audience in Wisconsin the Anderson was struck from astern that evening by a pair of huge waves, which rolled over his ship and continued on toward the Fitzgerald. They have persisted where all others have perished. It was not long after thatFitzgeraldvanished from theAnderson'sradar. It's still not completely agreed upon whether the Fitzgerald broke in half on the surface or underwater. Gaines, who began is career at the Saturday Review, the storied American weekly magazine that had started out as The Saturday Review of Literature in 1924, is now a Paris-based writer, would go onto become the first editor in chief of People magazine, as well as the editor of Time magazine, and also to serve as regional editor for the Americas, and then global editor-at-large for Reuters. Her track along the north shore was standard in inclement weather -- to shelter a bit from north winds. Less than 20 minutes later when the Anderson cleared a snow squall, its radars lost contact and the Big Fitz, as seamen called the ship, passed from the land of the living into legend. In the early afternoon of November 10, the Fitzgerald had passed Michipicoten Island and was approaching Caribou Island. There is a lot of by Anonymous - There are no more Iron Boats. The B-side on the single was The House You Live In.. Status of the Lake Superior Caribou - Northern Wilds Magazine I watched those two waves head down the lake towards the Fitzgerald, and I think those were the two that sent her under.. The flooding of the cargo hold took place through ineffective hatch closures as boarding seas rolled along the spar deck.. The Fitzgerald is about 16 miles ahead. What if the ship is rebuilt, with more safety features? Sawyer AFB in the UP of Michigan, crew member on a rescue helo. Cooper later said he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. They said, however, they were inclined to accept that the Fitzgerald passed over the Six Fathom Shoal Area as reported by Cooper. Have you checked down?, Fitzgerald, we are about 10 miles behind you, and gaining about 1 1/2 miles per hour. The bell of the ship is now on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum as a memorial to her lost crew. 888-492-3747, Copyright 2023 | All Rights Reserved | Produced by Pro Web Marketing. 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. Beyond that, Captain Bernie Cooper of the Anderson commented in testimony that his radar showed the Fitz to be closer to the shoal than he wanted his ship to be. In the Duluth News-Tribune, another former crew member, Jim Woodard, claims the Fitzgerald was a "wet" ship. Cooper started to fear the worst and contacted the Coast Guard alerting them to theFtizgerald'sdisappearance. However, it resonates. I wouldnt be surprised if a hatch cover came off, because I loaded right beside him in Superior on November 9 and the deck crew was still putting on hatch covers when they left the Superior Entry into Lake Superior, Captain Paquette says. The battered ship despite the odds continued to soldier on towards Whitefish Bay. With the catastrophic damage to the ship and the way the ship is buried in the mud and the windows blown out and the collision with the bottom is there any possibility of a rogue wave catching the floundering ship and driving it to the bottom. The Fitz hull took a fatal blow on a shoal. Great respect must be accorded to the wreck site, however, which still contains the remains of crew members and is considered a gravesite. Caribou, California - Wikipedia "They were killing the boat," he said. Officers from the Anderson observed that the Fitzgerald sailed through this exact area. Caribou Island is part of a large glacial moraine that accumulated south of Michipicoten Island. All rights reserved (About Us). The now unmanned lighthouse which is owned by the Canadian Coast Guard is located on a tiny adjacent island called Lighthouse Island a few hundred feet across and positioned 1 mile (1.6km) west of the southern tip of the island. Captain Jesse Cooper, (J.C.) of the S.S. Arthur M. Anderson watches the Fitzgerald round Caribou Island and comments that the Fitzgerald is much closer to Six Fathom Shoal than he would want to be. 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. Photo Credit: Greenmars (Wikimedia Commons: Link) However, Northwestern Mutual apparently decided to remedy the problem regardingFitzgerald'sloose keel. [1][3] In addition, exposures of gently dipping, friable Jacobsville Sandstone, have been reported from Caribou Island. All were lost to the depths of Lake Superior. Numerous authors have written books on the tragedy. 1930 Census | National Archives 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. Near-hurricane force winds seemed to pick up strength throughout the day while visibility was greatly reduced. As with all of the other theories, it may well be that we will never know the total story of this wreck - leaving each theory, for now, as good as any other. During the following three days, the Coast Guard cutter Woodrush, using a sidescan sonar, located two large pieces of wreckage in the same area. In testimony before the marine board, Captain Cooper said that 10 miles southeast of Caribou he had waves cresting over the pilothouse - 35 feet above the waterline. As the afternoon wore on, radio communications with the Fitzgerald concerned navigational information but no extraordinarily alarming reports were offered by Captain McSorley. I myself and my classmates are without a doubt able to state that is not only a prime example of media misinformation. Arthur M. Anderson | Duluth Ships and Places Wiki | Fandom This took them between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula. 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. Fullerton Islands Restaurant Fullerton. The Fitzgerald being the faster took the lead, with the distance between the vessels ranging from 10 to 15 miles. 109 W. Superior St. #200 Duluth, MN 55802 218-722-5002 edit@LakeSuperior.com. Okay, fine, Ill be talking to you later. Clark signed off. Captain Cooper of the Anderson mentioned the possibility of a stress fracture in his testimony before the marine board and also included it in his personal story of the wreck in James R. Marshalls Shipwrecks of Lake Superior. Hinze, W.J., Allen, D.J., Fox, A.J., Sunwood, D., Woelk, T. and Green, A.G., 1992. Edmund Fitzgerald's doomed journey began this day in 1975 Only one other vessel, the William Clay Ford, was able to leave the safety of Whitefish Bay to join in the search at the time. Disproven by: Captain's experience in the area, ballast tank location Rogue waves. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. The Anderson turned out to be the primary vessel in the search, taking the lead. 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. Capt. The interior is low scrub and bog with small lakes, Little Italy, Hambone, and Deer Lake among many unnamed ones. That finding was quickly challenged by the Lake Carriers Association (LCA) and by many seasoned sailors. 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. The U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board both issued official investigation reports that many dismiss in favor of a theory favored by the Lake Carriers Association. 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." 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. Cooper believes that from that point on, McSorley knew he was sinking. Again, though, I have to leave that decision up to you as to whether it would be hazarding your vessel or not. Another wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again. However, the Westlake, Ohio-based Lake Carriers Association, representing U.S.-flag vessel operators on the Great Lakes, responded in a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board in September 1977 disagreeing with the Coast Guards suggestion that the lack of attention to properly closing the hatch covers by the crew was responsible for the disaster. The Anderson was struck by large waves which then travelled in the direction of the Edmond Fitzgerald. 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.
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