Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Film, Art & Exhibitions Significantly, within a few minutes of passing the shoal, the Fitzs Captain Ernest McSorley reported a starboard list, missing vents and a fence rail down. What if the ship is rebuilt, with more safety features? He is particularly intrigued by the command that Woodard overheard. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Paradise, MI 49768 Known for the best burgers in Fullerton, Islands also offers delicious tropical cocktails and fries that are fresh cut daily with the skins left on. Inspired in large part by reading Gaines and Lowells Newsweek story, Gordon Lightfoot recorded The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald the following month in December 1975 at Eastern Sound, a recording studio made out of two Victorian houses at 48 Yorkville Ave. in downtown Toronto. The Western Arctic Herd is one of the largest caribou herds in Alaska and the world. 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. Without direct witnesses or survivors, every explanation about the cause of the wreck is purely theoretical and, from the very beginning, a rash of theories concerning it were postulated. The insurance underwriters should have placed a hold on this trip. At some point it all becomes moot, except for the 29 families who remain, and do without bread from their missing bread-winners. What caused Edmund Fitzgerald to sink? * The ship had run aground on a reef during the worst of the storm (likely the reef in question was Six Fathom Shoal near Caribou Island). Crafts In that sense, the Fitzgerald met her fate on the path she took to avoid it. There had to have been something happening on the deck that a mate thought they had to get control of - even if it meant putting lives in danger.. Cooper asked "How are you doing?" Why the Edmund Fitzgerald remains a cultural touchstone, Follow the final journey of the Edmund Fitzgerald, 17 miles to safety: Edmund Fitzgerald by the numbers, A NOAA model showing the storm that sunk the Edmund FItzgerald, Garret Ellison covers business, environment & the Great Lakes for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. The light at Whitefish Point was out temporarily on the night the Fitz went down. The weather had cleared dramatically. Images of the Fitz's 1958 construction and launch. None, of course, were found and only floating debris gave clues that the Fitzgerald and its crew were lost. By this time, snow and rising spray had obscured the Fitzgerald from sight, visible 17 miles ahead on radar.. 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. Had she sailed two days later, empty, for repairs (very good timing, actually) none of this would have happened. 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. There are no more Iron Boats. Sault Ste Marie, MI 49783 Your comment will appear after being approved. No reply from the Coast Guard. The CURV III unit took 43,000 feet of video tape and 900 photographs of the wreck. to which McSorely replied the infamous last words "We are holding our own." MLive meteorologist Mark Torregrossa postulates rogue waves as possible based on the 2006 NOAA storm simulation. Perhaps the most widely accepted of the several theories about the loss of the Fitzgerald is that the ship crossed Caribou Island's Six-Fathom Shoal, with water as shallow as 26 feet.. Reporting to the Anderson, the Fitzs Captain Ernest McSorley revealed the list and had activated two large ballast tank pumps to control it. Since then, there have been about a half dozen dives to the wreck using deep-diving equipment. They passed several miles offshore from Split Rock Lighthouse, on Minnesotas North Shore. The Naugatuck arrived at 12:45 pm on November 11, and the Woodrush arrived on November 14, having journeyed all the way from Duluth, Minnesota. The modification never took place and the patch plates could be seen at the shipyard a couple of years after theFitzgerald'sdemise.TheEdmund Fitzgeralddeparted on what would be her last voyage the afternoon of November 9, 1975 leaving the iron ore docks of Superior, Wisconsin bound for aZug Island steel foundry near Detroit,Michigan. These tunnel valleys were excavated by subglacial meltwater at the base of the Laurentide Ice Sheet along pre-existing fractures and joints that exist within the bedrock floor of Lake Superior. Caribou Island is an uninhabited island in the eastern end of Lake Superior, 40 kilometres (25mi) south of Michipicoten Island. The Fitzgerald being the faster took the lead, with the distance between the vessels ranging from 10 to 15 miles. released a very fine and very different tempo cover of Lightfoots The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald last March 15. That finding was quickly challenged by the Lake Carriers Association (LCA) and by many seasoned sailors. Recovered, means retrieved from the depths. Since one theory is that the ship was damaged by grounding, within two years of the wreck all commercial vessels of 1,600 or more gross tons were required to have equipment that would warn the officers of shallow water beneath the hull. 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. 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. Marie, Michigan, and Sault Ste. On November 14, a U.S. Navy plane equipped with a magnetic anomaly detector located a strong contact 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point. After 10:00 PM, Cooper and his crew noticed large and small pieces of floating wreckage from theFitzgeraldwhich didn't make the situation any better.By the morning of November 11, the Coast Guard had managed to arrive at the scene to assist in the search and rescue operation. Already have an account? US WEATHER BUREAU BUILDING The "Big Fitz"as she was affectionately known by her crew, also boasted several private staterooms for corporate guests of Oglebay Norton and Northwestern Mutual. They . I have never been able to get that shot out of my head to this day 35 years later. Its usual route was from Superior, Wisconsin, to Toledo, Ohio, although the destination varied. The cause of the sinking is still a matter of much historic debate, both Ley and Sproule note. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list. 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. Cooper radioed theFitzgerald at 7:10 PMuknown to him that it would be the final communication with McSorley. In 1977, the U.S Coast Guard pinned the sinking on massive flooding of the cargo hold caused by faulty or poorly fastened hatch covers. Gordon Lightfoot liked this theory, posited by the National Transportation Safety Board a year after the Coast Guard issued its report. 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. Bernie Cooper. They have persisted where all others have perished. The Coast Guard launched a fixed-wing HU-16 aircraft at 10 pm and dispatched two cutters, the Naugatuck and the Woodrush. Another wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again. [1] This theory is the thought that the Fitzgerald hit the bottom near Caribou Island, ripping a hole in the ship. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. In addition to taking on water after *potentially* hitting bottom near Six fathom Shoals earlier this afternoon, the. In addition, Coast Guard cited reports of damage to the Fitzgerald's hatches that were planned for winter repair. NARA microfilm publication M1931, Index to Selected City Streets and Enumeration Districts, 1930 Census (7 rolls) reproduces a 57-volume typescript index to selected city streets and enumeration districts of the Fifteenth Census of the United States taken in 1930. It was considered a private hunting preserve through the early 1900s. Again, though, I have to leave that decision up to you as to whether it would be hazarding your vessel or not. The Lake Carriers Association was inclined to accept that Fitzgerald passed over the Six Fathom Shoal Area as reported by Captain Cooper. No sailors in life vests were found. The Fateful Journey - Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Fullerton - Islands Restaurants TheEdmund Fitzgeraldwas a "Laker" type iron ore bulk freighter launched on June 7, 1958 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rogue, Michigan for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company one year after its near sister shipArthur B. Homer. By late afternoon, the Anderson's captain was noting wind gusts up to 70 knots and waves up to 8 metres. The mainland caribou are extremely important for their genetics. From what your reports are I can appreciate the conditions. "We always had to go down and pump them out.". It lies entirely within the territorial waters of Canada although only about five kilometres from the international border between Canada and the United States. 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. I am from Sault Ste Marie Michigan and a former student of the founder of the great lakes shipwreck historical society Tom Farnquist. Another sonar survey was conducted November 22-25. Superior Shoal - Wikipedia "She took on water all the time and her tunnels flooded out on her," Woodward said. Technology aims to prevent Fitzgerald-scale disasters - The Detroit News Result: She then sat about nine feet lower in the water than her sisters -- from my observation of their arrivals while fishing for Perch just east of Indiana Harbor, at the southern tip of Lake Michigan. George Stegner recalled last year how he was on duty that night: I was on duty this night. Cooper later said he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. However, it resonates. 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. By late autumn, writes Sproule (http://www.ontarioparks.com/parksblog/edmund-fitzgerald-40-years-later/), the Gales of November have usually set in on Superior, creating hazardous conditions for even large modern ships. Also, a larger, more powerful tug, the Katmai Bay, is now stationed at Sault Ste. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. Too soon to be coincidence. EDMUND FITZGERALD WRECK 10 Newly Gleaned Details and its Disappearance Proven by: Large holes, Anderson's captain's concern for how close the Fitzgerald was to the shoal, inaccurate charts. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. The search turned up no results for the first hour. The heavy seas overwhelmed a ship that had already lost freeboard and was listing. McSorely had also ordered the pumps to be turned on in order to keep the ingress of water out of the cargo hold.By 4:10 PM, the list had not gotten any better and theFitzgeraldwas still taking on water, effectively sinking. Although no findings concluded that the Fitz suffered grounding damage, the addition of depth finders on lake boats now gives officers information not previously required on their vessels. The bow lies mostly buried in the mud upright pointing towards Whitefish Bay. The Anderson changes course to avoid Six Fathom Shoal area north of Caribou Island. Im checking down. 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. ZIP Code by Address. Regis, R.S., Patterson, C.J., Wattrus, N., and Rausch, D., 2003. Improvements in personal lifesaving equipment have resulted in suits to protect sailors from hypothermia in Lake Superiors cold waters. The bodies have not been recovered. Ahif you want me to, I can, but Im not going to be making any time; Ill be lucky to make two or three miles an hour going back out that way., Well, youll have to make a decision as to whether you will be hazarding your vessel or not, but youre probably one of the only vessels right now that can get to the scene. McSorley replied, We are holding our own. A few minutes later, the Fitzgerald disappeared from the radar screen for the last time, sinking without giving a distress signal. Captain Cooper asked McSorley if he had his pumps going, and McSorley said, Yes, both of them.. In 2018 6 caribou were moved to Caribou Island from Michipicoten Island to the north, due to pressure from Michipicoten First Nation. A body that was seen but not retrieved is not a recovered body. Turning to Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking, the above article lets us in on several 'dots', which, when connected, tells why The Pride of the American Side met an avoidable, but preordained death. Since no Coast Guard vessel capable of sailing in the conditions prevalent in eastern Lake Superior was available in the vicinity of the wreck, maintenance procedures were amended to ensure that cutters would be in a ready condition during the spring and fall periods of bad weather. Couseau had theorized a surface break up, which sounds similar to the Merril several years later. In only 8 years time, this magnificent American vessel would be at the bottom of Lake Superior.). For the island near Thunder Bay, see, Caribou Island (near Michipicoten Island), Caribou Island near the international border. Conditions only grew worse; at 3:15 p.m., the Captain of the Anderson watched the Fitzgerald round Caribou Island, where it seemed to skirt close to Six Fathom Shoal. It lies entirely within the territorial waters of Canada although only about five kilometres from the international border between Canada and the United States. The bad welds were confirmed by the Coast Guard, which approved repairs. Status of the Lake Superior Caribou - Northern Wilds Magazine The Anderson's captain also made statements in 1986 seemingly supportive of the rogue wave theory. Will you stay by me till I get to Whitefish? McSorley was checking down his speed to allow the Anderson to close the distance for safety. I watched those two waves head down the lake towards the Fitzgerald, and I think those were the two that sent her under.. 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." In the early afternoon of Nov. 10, the Fitzgerald had passed Michipicoten Island and was approaching Caribou Island, steaming toward Whitefish Bay at Superiors east end.. Part of that fascination, despite the longspan since the foundering of the big ore freighter, results from Gordon Lightfoots monster best-selling recording about the wreck and part likely springs from the inconclusive nature of any facts surrounding the sinking. Beyond these improvements on board the ships, the marine weather reports have become more sophisticated and accessible, with detailed charts now printed out electronically in the pilothouse. On May 20, 1976, the words Edmund Fitzgerald were clearly seen on the stern, upside down, 535 feet below the surface of the lake. Numerous authors have written books on the tragedy. Canadian flag on the bow, American flag at stern, the Edmund Fitzgerald was a frequent site on the Great Lakes during its almost two decades of service before it sank with the loss of all 29 crew members. The theories include structural failure, rouge waves and the possibility the ship bottomed out while passing over Six Fathom Shoal thereby causing the hull to fracture. The 1976 hit single "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by musician Gordon Lightfoot is the reason why theEdmund Fitzgeraldis currently the most famous shipwreck on the Great Lakes. [7], These reefs are not coral reefs. (Edmund Fitzgeraldin her early years as a coal firedsteel hulled steamship. A shallow reef 2.5 miles (4.0km) to the southwest of Caribou Island Lighthouse lies only 11 feet (3.4m) below the lake's surface. Instead, the LCA theorized that the lost freighter had stumbled over the Six-Fathom Shoal at the north end of Caribou Island, sustaining damage that would prove to be fatal to the ship. I myself and my classmates are without a doubt able to state that is not only a prime example of media misinformation. Capt. (TheEdmund Fitzgeraldseen in her final years riding far lower in the water than she should have ever been allowed to. Having been a consultant and active member of the original Jacques Cousteau expedition in 1980 along with the raising of the bell 1994 expedition. If the ship had "hogged" upon striking the. The retrofit was planned for November 12, 1975 upon completion of the1975 season. 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. The slow flooding supposedly went unnoticed by the captain and crew until it caused an imperceptible but fatal buoyancy loss and eventually sent the Fitzgerald plunging to the bottom. Caribou Island (near Michipicoten Island) - Wikipedia [9][10], This article is about the island in eastern Lake Superior. The Anderson turned out to be the primary vessel in the search, taking the lead. Many theorize the ship unknowingly struck the poorly marked 6 Fathom Shoal on the island's north side, but that has never been conclusively proven. Minor incidents included groundings and collisions between 1969 and 1974. In 2003, the herd was estimated to have 490,000 individuals, 6 and in 2016, the herd count decreased to 201,000. There's even a work of Fiction, SCP-1174, titled, and I quote, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". But the ship's owners were insurance men, not mariners, who reconfigured her for even more iron ore. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 301 did sink that fateful night, all hands, but should it have? Various cars scatter the bottom of the river covered in grass and zebra muscles. For books, videos, and memorabilia about the Fitzgerald, her loss, and her legacy, visit theShipwreck Coast Museum Store . 1. Captain Woodard, who was acquainted with McSorley and had talked with him many times previously, said in testimony that he didnt recognize the voice when first they spoke and that McSorley sounded strange. Next, EF was slated for serious repair two days later, for two known structural weaknesses. Seeing the violence of the wind, sky and water on the night of November 10, 1975 while in northern Michigan, I awoke the next morning, for the only time in my life with the certainty that something ominous had or was about to occur. Conflicting theories about the cause of the tragedy remain active today. 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. 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. The Arthur M. Anderson, an ore carrier in the U.S. Steel fleet, had been trailing and providing navigational information to the Fitzgerald because the Fitzs radars had malfunctioned about four hours earlier. A 2010 television episode of Dive Detectives simulated the effect of a 56-foot wave on a scale model of the Fitzgerald. Captain McSorley told Woodard that the ship has a bad list, implying that it had gotten worse since his earlier report to Captain Cooper. Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. This years service was held at 11 a.m. this morning, with the bell tolling 29 times for each man on the Fitzgerald. While conditions were bad, with winds gusting to 50 knots and seas 12 to 16 feet, both Captains had often piloted their vessels in similar conditions. Soon after, McSorely on the Fitzgerald reported taking topside damage and a list. Discover the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck in Lake Superior 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. Cooper later said he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. At 3:30 pm that afternoon, Captain McSorley radioed Captain Cooper and said: Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. The popular misconception is that non of the crewmembers bodies were never discovered. Arthur B. Homerwas assigned to the Bethlehem Steel Corporation whileEdmund Fitzgeraldwas assigned to the Columbia Transportation Division of the Oglebay Norton Company and immediately became flagship. Later, in a videotaped conversation with GLSHS, Captain Cooper said that he always believed McSorley knew something serious had happened to Fitzgerald as the ship passed over Caribou Shoal. Winter 2023 NMU School of Art & Design Senior Exhibition Reception, Edmund Fitzgerald: Decades of Speculation, Fascination and Grieving. Caribou is located on the North Fork Feather River, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) south of Almanor. This week, Minnesota tugboat captain Bob Hom, who sailed with McSorley before the man became captain of the Fitzgerald, claims McSorley once told him five years before the sinking he'd hate to be on the Fitzgerald in a big storm because 'They got it all worn out from years of overloading,'" Hom told the Duluth News-Tribune. [5][6], A dangerous reef known as "Six Fathom Shoal" stretches more than 1 mile (1.6km) north of the north point of the island, and is rumored to be the one the SS Edmund Fitzgerald shoaled on prior to sinking. The radar signal, or pip of the Fitzgerald kept getting obscured by sea return. Theorists have sized upon the permanent lay-up of the Fitzgerald sister ship, the Arthur Homer, in 1980 as indicative of structural deficiency both vessels. Kids & Family, Search Events The Fitzgerald is about 16 miles ahead. The shoaling hypothesis suggests that the most probable cause of the Edmund Fitzgerald's wreckage was her shoaling or grounding in the Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island when the crew was unable to use the Whitefish Point Light as a navigational aid. SS Edmund Fitzgerald - Wreck Location Map & GPS Coordinates - Shipwreck 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. TheAndersonwasn't in much better shape, its engine room leaking consistently and its superstructure often being submerged entirely under water every time a wave hit. 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. Conjecture by proponents of the Six Fathom Shoal theory concluded that Fitzgerald ' s downed fence rail reported by McSorley could occur only if the ship "hogged" during shoaling, . They believe that caribou is the most significant creature to hunt. Caribou is included in the pages of the myths of Inuit. An explanation that has been espoused several times by mariners is that the Fitzgerald suffered a stress fracture and broke apart on the surface from the effects of heavy seas twisting and flexing the hull. Between 1959 and 1975, the life of theEdmund Fitzgeraldwas routineand mostly uneventful, clocking nearly 750 succesful round trips, though was occasionally greeted by positive and negative events. 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. Wold, R.J., Hutchinson, D.R. Edmund Fitzgerald - "Touching Bottom At Six Fathom Shoal". Marie, Ontario, only about 8090 miles SE. Bernie Cooper of the Anderson reported his concern for the Fitzgerald to the Coast Guard station in Sault Ste. This timeline chronicles the last voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Boreal Heavy snow begins to fall and the Fitzgerald is lost from. This is futher indicated by the stern which lies completely upside down beside the bow; all superstructure buried deep into the mud. His written report states: At this time I became very concerned about the Fitzgerald couldnt see his lights when we should have. The Anderson was struck by large waves which then travelled in the direction of the Edmond Fitzgerald. In a similar vein, Paul Hainault, a retired Michigan Tech University professor, postulated a seiche caused the ship to scrape the bottom of Superior Shoal early that morning and the weakened hull eventually gave out. 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. Hull no. In Lake Superior Port Cities Inc.s newly released book, The Night the Fitz Went Down, Captain Dudley Paquette vividly describes his voyage through the massive seas of the November 9-10, 1975, storm as master of the downbound Inland Steel Companys SS Wilfred Sykes. Because of a long fetch on Superior that night, the Fitzgerald and the Anderson were in an area of the lake where huge waves were indeed occurring. WHITEFISH POINT The protective visor over the wheelhouse windows has been completely flattened down and there is a lot of similar damage throughout the superstructure of the bow, indicating theEdmund Fitzgeraldmet a very violent and catastrophic end. 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. There is a look out in Pancake Bay named after the Fitz. This is 35 feet above the waterline.. I, respectfully, can't and won't feel the magnitude of this tragedy by those directly affected. 4:10 PM - Nov. 10th, 1975 - Eastern Lake Superior, southeast of Caribou Island. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. She was already moving slow and was listing as well.

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