Forty Years Ago
At 2:15PM on 9 November 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald – carrying a cargo of 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets – departed Superior, WI. She was bound for a steel mill at Zug Island, MI (near Detroit).
The following day, the ship encountered an early November gale on Lake Superior. She did not complete her voyage.
The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was lost shortly after 7:10PM on 10 November 2015 1975, going down roughly 15 miles NNE of Whitefish Point, MI. All 29 on board perished.
Rest in peace, men.
Category: Blue Skies, Historical
I heard that song on the radio a few weeks back, and thought about the crew that was recently lost on the El Faro. I’ll take my chances on land.
This gives you some idea of what it looks like. Warning: Just this video will give you nightmares.
One day, I had to deliver something to the bridge, as I approached the hatch into the bridge, the overspray of a huge wave hit me in the face…..oh….I didn’t mention, I WAS ON AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER!
One of the great ballads of the 20th century.
The Great Lakes are as close to an inland sea as you can get on this continent. They are nothing to mess with. When I first moved to Chicago, I was amazed at the height the waves on Lake Michigan could reach on a stormy day.
I’ve seen lake trout mounted as game fishing trophies by a printing company owner I worked for. They were 5++ feet long from nose to end of tail, had fins the size of turkey platters and a mouth wide enough to swallow an adult human.
All the Lakes are deep enough to demand respect for them. If you don’t respect the Lakes, you’ll pay for it.
October and November are famous for 10-20 foot waves. Standing at Muskegon or Grand Haven or South Haven and watching waves breaking over a light house is awe-inspiring.
In fact, they are calling for 20 foot waves around Muskegon today.
Decades later they raised the bell of the great ship from the bottom. The daughter was present when the bell broke the surface of the water.
The bell swung straight to her, rang once, and went back over the water. If I remember right she said, “I miss you too dad.”
Thanks for the post Hondo. I’ve been intrigued by the story and song since I was a kid in upstate NY. I had the pleasure of seeing Gordon Lightfoot at a small venue in Las Vegas a few years back.
“THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD” GORDON LIGHTFOOT The legend lives on From the Chippewa on down Of the big lake They call Gitche Gumee The lake, it is said, Never gives up her dead When the skies Of November turn gloomy With a load of iron ore Twenty-six thousand tons more Than the Edmund Fitzgerald Weighed empty That good ship and true Was a bone to be chewed When the gales Of November came early The ship was the pride Of the American side Coming back from Some mill in Wisconsin As the big freighters go, It was bigger than most With a crew and good captain Well seasoned Concluding some terms With a couple of steel firms When they left Fully loaded for Cleveland Then later that night When the ship’s bell rang Could it be the north wind They’d been feelin’? The wind in the wires Made a tattle-tale sound When the wave Broke over the railing And every man knew, As the captain did too ‘Twas the witch Of November come stealin’ The dawn came late And the breakfast Had to wait When the gales Of November came slashin’ When afternoon came It was freezing rain In the face of A hurricane west wind When suppertime came, The old cook came on deck Sayin’ “Fellas, It’s too rough to feed ya” At seven PM A main hatchway caved in He said, “Fellas, It’s been good to know ya” The captain wired in He had water comin’ in And the good ship And crew was in peril And later that night When his lights Went out of sight Came the wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald Does anyone know Where the love of God goes When the waves Turn the minutes to hours? The searchers all say They’d have made Whitefish Bay If they’d put fifteen More miles behind her They might have split up Or they might have capsized They may have broke deep And took water And all that remains Is the faces and the names Of the wives and the sons And the daughters Lake… Read more »
Gordo (as our neighbours to the north call him)—-One of the great balladeers of the English language. All of his music is touching, listenable,—-wonderful.
I grew up in sight of Lake Erie, and was 11 years old when this happened. This song still gives me goose bumps. Good job Mr. Lightfoot!
I was thinking about this over the Summer when the wife and I took a long vacation pulling our little trailer. Our route took us past all 5 of the Great Lakes.
One thing that occurs to me is the power and influence of popular culture and popular music. There have been hundreds – maybe thousands? – of ships that sank in the Great Lakes, and yet, I, and most of the people of my generation, can only name one of them and it’s all because of that song.
There really isn’t much “popular music” anymore. The music industry has fractured and “specialized” and so has radio to the point where the “pop music” from one genre is likely to be completely unknown to those who listen to a different one. But back in the 60’s and 70’s, when radio stations played a fairly wide variety of music, one song could reach an entire generation of listeners.
I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing or just a thing but it’s something I’ve noticed.
Used to do a lot of sailing, the worst windstorm I ever experienced was on Lake Michigan. Took all the sails down and still almost capsized. I can only imagine what Lake Michigan is like in a November storm.
That’s why I don’t do ocean, lakes. Flying to Europe it took anxiety and sleeping pills to get me there. Coming back, same thing.
Rolling to Europe this summer I’ll need a bottle of both and nothing will keep me from going. Papa’s kleine MUIS….