33 years...

[gimpy117]

all Michiganders will know of the Mighty Fitz, or, the Edmund Fitzgerald.

the ship sunk with all 29 hands on this day 33 years ago.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/SSEdmundFitzgerald.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

[Kapt Z]

I've heard of this disaster since I was a kid.

Did they ever figure out what happened???

[difool2]

Video [Gordon Lightfoot's song ]
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99rOzMVtcx4)

[TFatseas]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu9fZmeboSQ

Video of the Memorial Service.*

Sad.

*Note: This is of a couple years ago.

[Syxx_Killer]

I've heard of this disaster since I was a kid.

Did they ever figure out what happened???
Nope. It's unlikely we will ever know. The last time people were permitted to dive on the Fitzgerald was in 1995 when they retrieved the ship's bell for the families. The bell now resides at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. I was there years ago before they raised the bell. Ever since then the Canadian government has entered into an agreement that prohibits diving on the wreck. I feel bad for the families, but I think diving should continue for research purposes. I am intrigued by this great ship. I love all Great Lakes freighters and the Big Fitz is no exception. There are numerous theories about how the ship sank. Each one is as valid as the next since we don't know what happened. I doubt the crew even knew what happened. The popular theories are:

1. A hatchcover wasn't secured properly and that let water in causing the ship to nosedive under the water.

2. The ship struck bottom, took on water and then nosedived to the bottom. The ship's radar was knocked out by the strong waves. They did not have an exact location and they were perilously close to Six Fathom Shoals. The Arthur M. Anderson was in contact with the Fitzgerald. She was some miles behind the Fitzgerald and providing her with radar assistance. The ship was on the Anderson's radar one moment and the next she just disappeared. This is the theory I subscribe to.

3. The ship broke in two at the surface. The continuous pounding of the waves and being she was fully loaded proved too much and broke her back.

So there you have it. Three different theories and no way to know for sure. What we do know is the ship met a very violent end and that end happened quickly. With advances in underwater technology I just wish we could examine the wreck some more.

[Hylander_1314]

Some think she took on water from faulty hatches, or may have been taking on water from scraping the shoals since the radar was knocked out.

Discovery Science Channel had a special on it about 8 to 10 years ago that was interesting. One thing they said was of note was that something 200 ft of amidships is missing and the steel ore pellets were scattered over the bottom in the vacinity of where the missing midsection should be. And from talking to the crew of the Anderson who was behind the Fitz, the Anderson was hit broadside by a rogue wave that rolled the ship so far that the helmsman was standing on the portside entry hatch to the wheelhouse. So with the missing section of midships, and the rogue wave, they had a rough idea of the directiobn the Fitz was traveling, and they theorized she may have been hit by a smaller rogue wave from one direction, and before she recovered, she was hit astern by this monster wave that rolled the Anderson on her side, but being hit astern and not fully recovered from the wave before caused the ship's bow to get driven into the bottom of Superior.

That's one of the areas in the summer up there by Whitefish Point where dad and I would go for Lakers. In the summer when it's calm, it's a great place to have some mariner type fun, but I wouldn't want to be on those lakes in the the gales of autumn. They are even more viloent than the oceans with breakers as high as 35 to 45 ft. And as one of the oreboat captains said, you get hit by waves from 3 sides on those lakes, where the oceans tend to be from one direction. And if anything goes wrong even if you're on a big ship like the oreboats, you're most likely a deadman. Dad's 30ft cruiser out on Huron with 6 to 10 ft rollers could be scary, I wouldn't even think of big seas like that even on a big ship.

[baggygreen]

You know i've never even heard of it.. interesting reading about it

[GoldenRivet]

I have always been fascinated by the Fitz.

My grandfather was the captain of a Heavy Lift Ship. he retired not 5 or 6 years after the Fitz went down.

In fact this was his ship

http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=713434
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=707084
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=707086
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=707088

(in the above photo the ship was being towed out of mothball, it was restored and renamed "Marinelink Explorer"

here she is after restoration

http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/photo.php?lid=732971

[Sailor Steve]

Video [Gordon Lightfoot's song ]
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99rOzMVtcx4)
I have that video. This one has an inferior version of the song, but the video that accompanies it is truly haunting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iquCHSkmUek&feature=related

[Jimbuna]

Video [Gordon Lightfoot's song ]
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99rOzMVtcx4)
I have that video. This one has an inferior version of the song, but the video that accompanies it is truly haunting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iquCHSkmUek&feature=related

Must agree about the 'haunting video'. :yep:

This brings back a long forgotten sad memory. :nope:

[Syxx_Killer]

I have that video. This one has an inferior version of the song, but the video that accompanies it is truly haunting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iquCHSkmUek&feature=related
What an awesome video, Steve. I'm glad you posted it. I can never read enough or watch too many videos about the ship. It is truly one of the great mysteries of the 20th century.

Here's an artist rendering of the wreck. It's really quite haunting to see because the forces on the ship would have been tremendous.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v229/Syxx_Killer/Ships/ef06.jpg