At the time it was launched in
1958, the 729-foot long, 75-foot wide freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald
was the largest ship to ply the Great Lakes. On November 10, 1975 the
Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin carrying 26,000 tons of iron ore
pellets, bound for Detroit. Though the day was bright, in her path lay
a terrible storm with 60 MPH winds and waves in excess of 15 feet. As
the storm built, her experienced Captain Ernest McSorley bore north
across Lake Superior, seeking the relative shelter of the Canadian
shore and Whitefish Bay.
Luck was not with the ship or the crew. The radar system and its backup
failed. The storm took out the power to Whitefish Point's light and
radio beacon. Though the light was brought back on line, the radio
beacon was not. The Arthur M. Anderson, another ship within 10 miles of
the Fitzgerald, received reports that the ship was listing to the
starboard and of other structural damages to the vessel. At 7:10 PM,
Captain McSorley delivered what was to be his final message:
"We're holding our own."
The Arthur M. Anderson lost the Fitzgerald's image on its radar screens
at 7:25 PM. The ship and crew of 29 men, sank to the bottom of Lake
Superior. The tragic story of the Edmund Fitzgerald is remembered
through Gordon Lightfoot's ballad "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".
-------------------------------------------------------------- Kibehrs Place
