The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

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 26,000 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. 

Gordon Lightfoot 

On November 9th, 1975, unbeknownst to the captain and crew, the Edmund Fitzgerald set sail one last time for a trip with infamy becoming the most famous shipwreck tragedy on the great lakes. Unlike other famous shipwrecks like Titanic and the Andrea Dorea, no one is 100% sure what happened to the Fitzgerald that night that caused her to go down and take the lives of all 29 men with her. 

On June 8th, 1958 the Fitzgerald was officially christened having been named after the new board chairman of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Milwaukee, whose grandfather and five great uncles had been ship captains. Mrs. Edmund Fitzgerald cracked the champagne bottle across the ship’s bow. 

The Fitzgerald was 729 feet long making her the largest freighter on the great lakes up to that time. She had a load capacity of 30,000 tons and weighed 13, 632 tons and cost $8.4 million to build. 

In the spring of 1974 she passed a coast guard out of water inspection that is required every five years. In the spring of 1975 she passed a thorough two-month inspection that is a yearly requirement. Despite showing an average amount of wear for a great lakes ship that old she was certified as sea worthy. On Halloween, 1975, a routine inspection uncovered some common seasonal damage to the cargo hatches but she was allowed to operate on the promise that the damage was repaired in time for the 1976 season. 

In 1969 the Coast Guard allowed owners of cargo ships to load them to greater depth due to high water in the lakes. The Fitzgerald was loaded three feet deeper then what was considered safe which made her deck three feet closer to the water line. 

On the morning of November 9th the Fitzgerald was loaded with over 26,000 tons of taconite pellets in Superior, Wisconsin. Dock personnel did not report any problems while loading the cargo and the crew reported no damage. Shore side personnel reported seeing the hatch covers replaced after loading. 

At 2:15 p.m, e.s.t., in the afternoon the Fitzgerald departed, captained by Ernest McSorley, from Superior headed for Detroit amid gale warnings over Lake Superior. Twenty miles behind them was another vessel, the Arthur M. Anderson captained by Jesse B. Cooper, heading for Gary, Indiana with similar cargo. 

The two captains kept in constant radio contact as the storm increased in intensity. At 2am on the morning of the 10th the captains agreed to change course and take a more northerly route along Lake Superior’s north shore putting them along the Canadian shoreline, which they hoped would protect them from the gale force winds. By mid afternoon of the 10th waves were eight to ten feet high and increasing. 

Snow began to fall so heavily that visibility was zero and waves were reaching as high as 16 feet with winds gusting near 90 miles per hour. The Fitzgerald’s radar went out so captain McSorley slowed the Fitzgerald to allow the Anderson to catch up and guide them. At 5:30 p.m. the Fitzgerald called the Anderson and reported, “I have a fence rail down, have lost a couple of vents, and have a list.” The Fitzgerald then confirmed that both of their pumps were operational. 

At 7:10 p.m. the Anderson called the Fitzgerald to warn of another vessel nine miles ahead of the Fitzgerald. When signing off the first mate of the Anderson asked, “How are you making out with your problem?” The Fitzgerald responded, “We are holding our own.” 

This was the last contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald. 

At 7:20 the Anderson’s radar was checked and the Fitzgerald was nowhere to be seen. The storm had lightened up and visibility was now about 20 miles. The lights of another vessel were sign about 19 miles off but the Fitzgerald would have been no more then 10 miles away at that point. For the next hour the Anderson tried to reach the Fitzgerald with no response. At 8:30 p.m. the Anderson notified the coast guard that the Edmund Fitzgerald might be lost. 

A search was immediately launched with patrol boats, aircraft and two other cargo ships. Despite the dangerous seas captain Cooper agreed to turn the Anderson around and aid in the search. The only evidence of the Fitzgerald found in the water was two lifeboats, a raft, a stepladder and life preserver. There was no trace of the huge ship or any of its crewmen. 

On November 14th a Navy plane located the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It was resting in two pieces, medal torn and twisted from the force of an impact, 530 feet below the surface at the bottom of Lake Superior. The bodies of its crew have never been found. 

What happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald? All theories are pure conjecture since there were no survivors are witnesses but one thing that is certain is that whatever happened – it happened quickly based on the fact that it was no more then ten minutes after the Anderson’s last contact with the Fitzgerald that she disappeared from radar. Speculation includes that the hatches were not closed properly and took on water over an extended period of time. This theory is listed as the most probable cause of the Fitzgerald’s demise. Another theory is that the Fitzgerald passed to close to a shoal and the hull scraped bottom due to the extra three feet of depth load causing the ship to break apart. Others believe the waves were simply so high and so strong it caused the hull to plunge under the surface and the weight ripped the giant ship apart. 

In the late 1990’s divers went down to the Fitzgerald and retrieved its bell while leaving a plaque behind to commemorate the site. This was done based on the condition, agreed to by families of those lost on the Fitzgerald, that no one would ever return to the site again. The Fitzgerald will forever lie in the spot it was lost that November night. 

It will forever be a monument not only to the men of the Edmund Fitzgerald but also to all the other men who gave their lives to the sea.