One of the worst seas I've ever been in." However, no distress signals were sent before she sank Captain McSorley's last (7:10 p.m.) message to Arthur M. Anderson: "I have a bad list, lost both radars. Marie, Ontario-a distance Edmund Fitzgerald could have covered in just over an hour at her top speed.Įdmund Fitzgerald previously reported being in significant difficulty to Arthur M. Shortly after 7:10 p.m., Edmund Fitzgerald suddenly sank in Canadian (Ontario) waters 530 feet (88 fathoms 160 m) deep, about 17 miles (15 nautical miles 27 kilometers) from Whitefish Bay near the twin cities of Sault Ste. By the next day, the two ships were caught in a severe storm on Lake Superior, with near hurricane-force winds and waves up to 35 feet (11 m) high. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, Edmund Fitzgerald joined a second taconite freighter, SS Arthur M. McSorley in command, she embarked on her ill-fated voyage from Superior, Wisconsin, near Duluth, on the afternoon of November 9, 1975. Ĭarrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. Her size, record-breaking performance, and " DJ captain" endeared Edmund Fitzgerald to boat watchers. Clair and Detroit rivers (between lakes Huron and Erie), and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship. Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom while passing through the St. As a workhorse, she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own record. Navy aircraft detecting magnetic anomalies, and found soon afterwards to be in two large pieces.įor 17 years, Edmund Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other Great Lakes ports. She was located in deep water on November 14, 1975, by a U.S. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and she remains the largest to have sunk there. SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. Single fixed pitch 19.5 ft (5.9 m) propeller Conversion to oil fuel and the fitting of automated boiler controls over the winter of 1971–72.Coal fired Westinghouse Electric Corporation steam turbine at 7,500 shp (5,600 kW).711 ft (217 m) between perpendiculars.Lost with all hands (29 crew) in a storm, November 10, 1975 Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance CompanyĬolumbia Transportation Division, Oglebay Norton Company of Cleveland, Ohioįitz, Mighty Fitz, Big Fitz, Pride of the American Side, Toledo Express, Titanic of the Great Lakes This storm would strengthen as it moved northward over the course of three days, eventually crossing over Lake Superior and precipitating one of the worst shipping disasters in modern history.Edmund Fitzgerald, president of Northwestern Mutual In early November 1975, a weather disturbance began taking shape over the plains of the central United States. A variety of risk factors have been cited as contributing to the Fitzgerald's loss, including greedy economic policies and captain's pride. Of the 29 crew members aboard, none was ever found, motivating Gordon Lightfoot to memorialize the tragedy in a famous song. This chapter discusses the disaster on November 10, 1975, when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during a freak early-winter storm. They are notable in terms of human failure in response to the event and the types of corrective actions that were taken in the aftermath of the tragedy. They come in many different forms, including avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, landslides, tornadoes, tsunamis, wildfires, and volcanic eruptions. Some were localized in terms of their impact while others inflicted massive and widespread damage. This chapter presents various types of natural disasters occurring in different geographical locations.
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