From Great Lakes Wiki
The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was christened on June 8th, 1958, making it the largest freighter to sail the Great Lakes. It was seven hundred and twenty-nine feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and commonly transported iron ore. It quickly became known as “The Pride of the American Flagâ€.
The Edmund Fitzgerald departed on November 9th, 1975 from Superior, Wisconsin with approximately twenty-six thousand tons of iron ore bound for Detroit, Michigan. As most around the region know, November is known as the “The Month of Storms†on the Great Lakes and the storm headed for the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10th, 1975 was recorded having winds of sixty MPH and waves at least fifteen feet high.
The Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin on November 9th with twenty-nine crew members from all over the Eastern United States. Due to the massive storm headed towards the Fitz, the captain decided to change the route and head northward, towards Canada. Changing routes with the Edmund Fitzgerald was the ship, the Arthur M. Anderson. The Fitzgerald proceeded ahead of the Anderson and kept in contact through the radio. The Anderson later reported that by 2:45 PM, on November 10th, the waves were already up to twelve to sixteen feet high. Around this same time, the Fitzgerald contacted the Anderson and reported that they had had “a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged and a list†– when a ship leans heavily to one side. The Fitzgerald’s radar system and backup both failed, as well, while the storm took out the power to the nearest radio beacon.
The last message the Arthur M. Anderson ever received from the Fitzgerald was at 7:10 PM saying, “We’re holding our ownâ€. Shortly after, around 7:25 PM, the Anderson lost the Fitzgerald on its’ radar screen forever. It is estimated that on November 10th, 1975, between 7:10 PM and 7:30 PM the Edmund Fitzgerald and its’ crew sank to the bottom of Lake Superior.
The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was not identified at the bottom of Lake Superior until May of 1976. After the tragic loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the twenty-nine crew mates, a severely damaged life boat was found and only part of the second life boat onboard. The conditions the lifeboats were in suggested that there were no attempts made to leave the ship which ultimately lead to the conclusion that no one onboard was aware that the ship was going down.
Though no one can determine exactly what went wrong on the decks of the Edmund Fitzgerald, there are many theories as to why she sank. The first theory was that the boat had snapped in half on the surface of Lake Superior, due to the storm. If this was the case, the bow and stern sections would have to be miles apart on the lake bottom. Underwater surveys later revealed that these broken sections were just a few yards from each other. This concluded that the Fitzgerald had instead broken when it hit the lake bottom, meaning the horrific storm had nothing to do with the ship breaking in half. A second theory contends that because of the inoperative radar system, the captain and crew were forced to rely on inaccurate charts, causing the Fitzgerald to run aground unknowingly. From this, the Fitzgerald had severe bottom damage and she slowly but surely took on water until she sank. The ship then snapped in half when it hit the lake bottom, pile-driving full force. However, because the Edmund Fitzgerald is settled on the lake floor in mud, it makes it impossible to inspect the bottom of the ship for damage. The third theory originated from a documentary that the Discovery Channel created. They concluded that the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald was due to a freak wave. Reports showed there were three large waves throughout the storm, two of which were detected by the Fitzgerald itself. These three waves are known on the Great Lakes as the 'Three Sisters'. It became theorized that the first two waves battered the Fitzgerald so badly that by the third it was completely consumed into Lake Superior. There is absolutely no way to prove this theory correct or incorrect. The final theory and the U.S. Coast Guard’s official report of what took place that night on November 10th, 1975 is that the sinking of the Fitzgerald was caused by taking on water through at least one damaged hatch cover, if not more. The Coast Guard concluded that the flooding of the ship probably occurred gradually all throughout the final day. It resulted in a fatal loss of stability and caused the boat to plummet to the bottom of Lake Superior without warning. The theories are still debated upon today.
In 1995, the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald was raised from the bottom of Lake Superior, upon a request from the families of the men who went down with the ship to provide a form of closure. The bell was completely restored and is currently located in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Paradise, Michigan. While bringing the bell up, another bell was left in its’ place with the names of all 29 men that went down with the Edmund Fitzgerald. Even still today the original bell is used. It is rung annually on November 10th, 1975, thirty times. The bell is rung twenty-nine times for each man who perished with the ship and then once for every soul that’s ever been lost at sea.
