OT - Before It Was a Song...

Fred19Flintstone

It was a terrible shipping accident.  41 years ago today, November 10, 1975, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior taking all 29 hands with her.  I was a newspaper delivery boy in the Detroit area then.  Many people in Michigan enjoy the Great Lakes for boating and fishing.  Its not unusual to see one of these tankers in the distance while you're catching a mess of walleye.  The look of disbelief on people's faces when the Fitz sank was memorable.  Gordon Lightfoot captures people's feelings about the wreck perfectly.

https://youtu.be/hgI8bta-7aw   

Little Steven

It was the pride of the American side

MeTed

Great post! Thank you.

Little Steven

I was in college in '75. Working for my dad's company that sold boats. We were shuttling  boats from Rochester to Toronto in October and April. No joke. Most folks don't understand that in many ways the Great Lakes are some of the deadliest waters in the world.

Fred19Flintstone

I've been caught out on Lake Erie in a small 24 foot boat when a storm blew in.  We tried to get back to the ramp before things got nasty, but it happened so quickly.  It was a scary rough ride.

GrateEggspectations

Neat post. Thanks for sharing this bit of history.

Little Steven

Erie is horrible cause it's shallow. You can hit bottom in high winds real easy. Huron and Superior are rocky as hell, with underwater mountains close to the surface, Ontario is deep and cold as hell when the wind is up.

SemolinaPilchard

A few months ago I watched a documentary on the Fitzgerald. It was very interesting.

Skiddymarker

So true, Lightfoot made it known to those outside of the Great Lake Basin. A terrible loss of life. 
Thanks for the memories. 

Dobie

Need a new song about the El Faro...

Fred19Flintstone

Dobie said:

Need a new song about the El Faro...

The Fitz captures the imagination of people including me and obviously Gordon Lightfoot because of the mystery of the sinking.  How did it sink?  Not really known, but there's plenty of theories.  Why was there no distress call?  The freighter Arthur Anderson was 10 miles away from the Fitz on that fateful night travelling together trying to help it through the storm.  The Fitz lost her radar and had other storm damage including a list.  It disappeared right under the nose of the Anderson without a word.  The last radio message from the Fitz was received by the Anderson a few minutes before the Fitz disappeared saying they were "holding their own."

lwrehm

I have only seen Lake Superior in person a couple of times but have always been in awe of how calm it can be on a good night, and then how terrifying it can be when then winds pick up.

29 Bells for 29 souls.

Eggdicted_Dawgfan

Thanks for posting Fred. Sad story. Hard to believe a lake can be so powerful. 

Fred19Flintstone

I was a newspaper boy in 1975 in the Detroit area.  It's good business to read the paper so you have something to talk about with your customers.  Two epic mysteries unfolded in my backyard and captured my interest.  What happened to the Fitz?  And what happened to/where is Jimmy Hoffa?