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| The Edmund Fitzgerald in calmer times. (Photo: Bob Campbell) |
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
Gordon Lightfoot
© 1976 Moose Music, Inc.
It was 50 years ago on November 10, 1975 at approximately 7:20 pm that the iron ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald went down in a fierce fall storm on Lake Superior. While weather played a definite role, the exact details of the sinking of the ship remain a mystery today. The ship went down quickly, with very little warning or Mayday, taking 29 lives with her. The sinking was caused in part by a strong November Gale or "November Witch". Oddly enough on this 50th Anniversary, we have a similar but weaker storm heading from the Ohio Valley towards the Great Lakes over the next 48 hours. A gale warning is in effect for parts of the region, with the system expected to produce rough waters, strong winds, lake effect snow and rain.
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| The mangled lifeboat was recovered shortly after the sinking, showing the power of the wind and waves that night. The exact cause of the sinking remains a mystery still today 50 years later. (mghd.org) |
The 1975 storm was as intense as they come with 20 foot
waves on Lake Superior and winds gusting well over 50 knots. The severe
weather was confined to an area along the immediate trajectory of the storm, and especially rough in the waters of eastern Lake Superior, exactly
where the Edmund Fitzgerald was. It was a case of the wrong place at
exactly the wrong time. The storm was known as a November Witch and classified as a weather bomb, with
rapidly dropping pressure from 1000mb over Kansas to 978mb over James Bay in less than
24 hours. The rapid intensification and speed of the storm caught the ship and its crew almost
without warning.
Several memorial services are planned each year including the annual event at Whitefish
Point, Michigan, not far from the final resting place of the majestic
ship and her crew of 29 brave men. The bell from the Edmund Fitzgerald was recovered in 1995 and has been rung 30 times each year at Whitefish Point on the anniversary of her sinking. This represents all 29 men on board as well as the many others who have perished on Lake Superior. The ship sits in 162 metres (about 530 feet) of water
just inside the Canadian boundary, 17 miles north of Whitefish Point, Michigan in Lake Superior.
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| The chilling image of the Edmund Fitzgerald, resting as a memorial to her 29 man crew in 530 feet of water in Lake Superior. (Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Photo) |
The wreck has been investigated on at least 30 dives, but none since 1995. Ocean explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau, the son of the late Jacques Cousteau became the first person to lay eyes on the ship in 1980. "The ship was amazingly beautiful because it's deep and cold and nothing's growing on it or very little," he said. Dives to the ship were suspended in 1995 after the bell was recovered by the Canadian Navy and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. The wreck is now considered a protected gravesite and no further permits have been issued by the Canadian Government in the last 30 years.
The exact cause of the sinking of the great Edmund Fitzgerald remains a hotly debated mystery still today, 50 years later. Some think the ship struck bottom near Caribou Island and began taking on water. Others think a massive roque wave drove her straight to the bottom of Lake Superior where she rests in a matter of minutes. Still others say the ship broke in two from constant wear over the lifespan of the ship, which dated back to June 7, 1958.
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| The launch of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Wisconsin on June 7, 1958. (Fox News Detroit) |
The Edmund Fitzgerald had left Superior, Wisconsin late in the day on November 9th, 1975 with a cargo of 26,116 tons of taconite pellets on her way to Detroit. There are a series of photos, information and very chilling radio chatter from 1975 at www.shipwreckmuseum.com
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