The Edmund Fitzerald Controversy: A low-pressure system moved towards the Great Lakes in the early morning hours of November 9th, 1975. By the time this system reached Lake Superior it would be called a Cyclone by the American Meteorological Society. Twenty-nine men stood in the path of this storm, the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, with the greatest collection of Edmund Fitzgerald experts and historians investigating all the possible theories behind the famous modern iron ore carrier’s fate, stunning underwater footage, rare photographs and beautiful artwork.
Hold on and keep your mind and eyes open as you join Captain McSorley and his crew on their ill-fated journey that November morning as they guide the Mighty Fitzgerald out onto Lake Superior . You decide, after she lays broken and in pieces on the bottom what put her there. This one hour program may be the definitive documentary on the cause of one of the great modern mysteries.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: On November 10, 1975, in the most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes history, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a treacherous storm on Lake Superior . The Fitzgerald came to rest in two pieces in deep frigid water, and authorities cannot even agree on whether the ship broke on the surface or whether it slammed into the floor of Lake Superior , not to mention the different and often conflicting theories.
The one-hour documentary features a wealth of rare photographs and paintings, historical footage of the launching of the Fitz, archival news clippings, computer graphics illustrating the sinking, and stunning underwater footage of the Fitzgerald, resting on the bottom of Lake Superior. Also included is a haunting radio transmission between the captain of the Arthur Anderson (a ship following the Fitzgerald and tracking its movements during the Fitz's final hours), and the Coast Guard Station. This captivating program is bound to please both shipwreck novices and longtime maritime enthusiasts.
November 10, 1975 the bulk freighter Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior with all hands. This page is dedicated to the memory of the 29 men lost that night and the families they left behind.
The Fitzgerald cleared Superior, Wisconsin, on her last trip on November 9, 1975, with a cargo of 26,116 tons of taconite pellets consigned to Detroit. Traveling down Lake Superior in company with ARTHUR M. ANDERSON of the United States Steel Corporation's Great Lakes Fleet, she encountered heavy weather and in the early evening of November 10th, suddenly foundered approximately 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay (47؛ North Latitude, 85؛ 7' West Longitude)
Captain McSorley of the "FITZ" had indicated he was having difficulty and was taking on water. She was listing to port and had two of three ballast pumps working. She had lost her radar and damage was noted to ballast tank vent pipes and he was overheard on the radio saying, "don't allow nobody (sic) on deck." McSorley said it was the worst storm he had ever seen. All 29 officers and crew, including a Great Lakes Maritime Academy cadet, went down with the ship, which lies broken in two sections in 530 feet of water.
Click here to hear the captain of the Arthur M. Anderson reporting the suspected loss to the Coast Guard that night.
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Surveyed by the U.S. Coast Guard in 1976 using the U.S. Navy CURV III system, the wreckage consisted of an upright bow section, approximately 275 feet long and an inverted stern section, about 253 feet long, and a debris field comprised of the rest of the hull in between. Both sections lie within 170 feet of each other.
The EDMUND FITZGERALD was removed from documentation January, 1976.
The National Transportation Safety Board unanimously voted on March 23, 1978 to reject the U. S. Coast Guard's official report supporting the theory of faulty hatches. Later the N.T.S.B. revised its verdict and reached a majority vote to agree that the sinking was caused by taking on water through one or more hatch covers damaged by the impact of heavy seas over her deck.
This is contrary to the Lake Carriers Association's contention that her foundering was caused by flooding through bottom and ballast tank damage resulting from bottoming on the Six Fathom Shoal between Caribou and Michipicoten Islands.
The U.S. Coast Guard, report on August 2, 1977 cited faulty hatch covers, lack of water tight cargo hold bulkheads and damage caused from an undetermined source.
Data from: Ahoy & Farewell II by the Marine Historical Society of Detroit
Click here to read the full U.S. Coast Guard report
The brave men who were lost that night:
Captain Ernest M. McSorley Michael E. Armagost Fred J. Beetcher Thomas D. Bentsen
Edward F. Bindon Thomas D. Borgeson Oliver J. Champeau Nolan S. Church
Ransom E. Cundy Thomas E. Edwards Russell G. Haskell George J. Holl
Bruce L. Hudson Allen G. Kalmon Gorden Maclellan Joseph Mazes
John H. McCarthy Eugene O'Brien Karl A. Peckol John J. Poviach
James A. Pratt Robert C. Rafferty Paul M. Rippa John D. Simmons
William J. Spengler Mark A. Thomas Ralph G. Walton David E. Weiss
Blaine H. Wilhelm
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