Today in the past: Lake Superior sees Edmund Fitzgerald submerge. 48 years prior

Today in the past: Lake Superior sees Edmund Fitzgerald submerge. 48 years prior
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The S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

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Historical Context of the Edmund Fitzgerald

According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee entered into a contract with the Great Lakes Engineering Works of Ecorse to build the largest Great Lakes bulk carrier.

It was christened after Northwestern Mutual’s president and chairman of the board when it was first introduced on June 8, 1958.

Taconite was transported by this ship to the Detroit and Toledo regions from Silver Bay, Minnesota.

Up until 1971, the 729-foot vessel, weighing 13,632 gross tons, was the biggest ship on the Great Lakes.

The day of the Lake Superior sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald

On Thursday, Nov. 9, at approximately 2:30 p.m., the ship, loaded with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets, departed Superior, Wisconsin.

As per the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Captain McSorley of the Fitzgerald was in radio communication with Captain Cooper of the Arthur M. Anderson, which had departed from Two Harbors, Minnesota, to join the journey.

The Fitzgerald was about 15 feet ahead of the Anderson because it was moving more quickly.

A storm was moving into the Great Lakes, so the captains decided to cross Lake Superior to get to the destination, which meant traveling between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula.

On Nov. 10, the weather was awful, with winds of up to 50 knots and waves between 12 and 16 feet, but the ship’s two captains had experienced similar conditions before.

Around 3:30 p.m., Captain McSorley called Captain Cooper to report that he had two damaged vents, a downed fence rail, and other issues. He also requested that the Anderson stay close to the Fitzgerald until they arrived at Whitefish Point.

The ship’s bow plunged into the ocean at approximately 6:55 p.m. as a wave swept over the back of the vessel and followed it along the deck.

At 7:10 p.m., the Anderson had her last conversation with the Fitzgerald before losing her on radar tracking five minutes later.

The Anderson found the Fitzgerald’s two lifeboats and wreckage, according to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, but no survivors.

The Fitzgerald carried twenty-nine men when it sank.

The song “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” by Gordon Lightfoot

Canadian folk legend Gordon Lightfoot narrated Edmund Fitzgerald’s downfall in his 1975 song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

Lightfoot passed away on Monday, May 1st, this year, at the age of 84.

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