“We are holding our own”

"You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much" (youcantellafinn)
11/10/2014 at 10:14 • Filed to: shiplopnik, edmund fitzgerald

At around 7:10 pm the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! notified the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! that there was an upbound ship and asked how she was doing. Captain Ernest McSorley of the Fitzgerald responded with "we are holding our own". Shortly after that transmission the Fitzgerald disappeared from radar and was unable to be raised on the radio. When visibility increased shortly after this the Anderson could see lights on the shoreline 20 miles away and the lights of an upbound freighter 19 miles away. However she could not see the lights of the Fitzgerald which should have been visible approximately 10 miles away. No distress call was made by the Fitzgerald and she was lost with all hands. The immediate search found a small amount of debris but no survivors or bodies.

The Fitzgerald left Superior Wisconsin on the afternoon of November 9. Around 5:00pm on November 9 she met up with the SS Arthur M. Anderson leaving Two Harbors, MN. The Anderson and Fitzgerald proceeded to travel together across Lake Superior through what ended up being a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . To avoid the worst of the weather they sailed along the north shore of the lake outside of the usual shipping lanes, but a still common route to avoid heavy weather. By the time they reached eastern Lake Superior after noon on November 10 the winds were steady up to 65+ mph with gusts over 80 mph as recorded on the Arthur M. Anderson . Waves were averaging over 20 feet with some waves up to 35 feet.

Around 3:30 pm on the 10 th the Fitzgerald radioed that she was taking on water and had lost two vent covers and a fence railing. She had also developed a list. Shortly after 4:00 pm McSorley radioed the Anderson that they had lost their radar and asked the Anderson to keep track of them. Between 5:00 and 5:30 pm McSorley radioed any ships in the vicinity of Whitefish Bay to ask the status of the navigation beacon and lighthouse. Captain Cedric Woodard of the Avafors radioed that the light was on but the radio beacon was not active. Some time later, McSorley told Woodard that "I have a 'bad list', I have lost both radars, and am taking heavy seas over the deck in one of the worst seas I have ever been in". At 7:10 pm the Anderson radioed to inform the Fitzgerald of the upbound ship and ask for a status update. About 10 minutes later the Anderson could not see the Fitzgerald on radar and was unable to raise her on the radio.

There are several theories regarding the cause of her sinking, but to date nothing has been proven as the definitive reason. The only thing certain is that she sank incredibly quickly. To this day the cause of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking is one of the great mysteries of the Great Lakes. Some say she simply took on too much water through her hatch covers. Some say she grounded and suffered damage to the hull below the waterline. Others say she was done in by a rogue wave. Regardless of the cause of her sinking the fact remains that the Edmund Fitzgerald now rests in 530 feet of water on the eastern end of Lake Superior.

The sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald was immortalized in song by Gordon Lightfoot and is truly one of the legends of the Great Lakes. Anybody who has seen Lake Superior during a storm can attest to the fury it can produce. Anyone who has spent any time on the lake will tell you the fear she can inspire. Lake Superior will make you feel very small indeed whether you stand on her shore or travel her by boat.

The USCG accident report can be read !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . For an official report it is actually some pretty interesting reading.

DISCUSSION (13)

thebigbossyboss > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
11/10/2014 at 10:29

Question: What year was this?

Lake Superior also makes you feel small if you try to drive around it on the Ontario side.

8 hours to drive between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie.

It also is one of the most desolate stretches of highway I've ever traversed.

8 hours, and you only pass through 3 very small towns. From west to east Nipigon, (pop: 1,631) White River (pop: 607), and Wawa (pop 2,975) The town of Marathon (pop: 3,353) is a short distance from the highway at one point, (in between Nipigon and White River) but that's about it.

It's just empty man.

desertdog5051 > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
11/10/2014 at 10:38

Hard to believe it was 39 years ago. Thanks for the memorial.

Coachrotte33 > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
11/10/2014 at 10:43

Beautiful song for as terrible tragedy

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > thebigbossyboss
11/10/2014 at 11:18

The Fitzgerald went down in 1975.

Lake Superior is huge. I went to Michigan Tech in Houghton and there is no getting away from the lake. Michigan's U.P. is good for remote stretches of road. There are a few more towns because of the lumber and mining days, but still a ton of room to get lost in.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > desertdog5051
11/10/2014 at 11:19

Growing up in Michigan this is one of those events that is always close to the surface of the collective memory. Especially in November.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Coachrotte33
11/10/2014 at 11:20

Yes it is. He has some really good songs, but this one brings goosebumps sometimes.

Boxer_4 > thebigbossyboss
11/10/2014 at 11:23

It was 1975, I believe.

I lived in Erie for two years, and never tired of looking at that lake. Lake Erie is one of the small ones, too. I'd love to do a road trip around all of the Great Lakes. It would be a bit of a drive, but I think it would be worth it.

Tohru > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
11/10/2014 at 11:38

The sinking of the Fitz really reminds you that the Great Lakes are just as treacherous as any ocean can be.

As a side note, Gordon Lightfoot has made minor changes to the lyrics he sings live of the song. At the correction of a church parishioner, instead of singing "In a musty old hall...", he now sings "In a rustic old hall..." Also due to more recent findings that there was no crew error responsible for the sinking, instead of singing, "At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in; he said..."; it is now sung as "At 7 p.m. it grew dark, it was then he said...". Neither of these changes affect the copyrighted lyrics, just the live performances.

thebigbossyboss > Boxer_4
11/10/2014 at 12:40

Maybe. Ontario is pretty boring to drive through mate!

desertdog5051 > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
11/10/2014 at 13:37

I grew up there, too. I remember the event. Superior always has been the mean brother of the lakes.

ranwhenparked > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much
11/10/2014 at 20:40

Wasn't there also a pretty strong theory that it might have been structural failure due to a design flaw in the hull? Supposedly that's why the Fitz' sister ship Arthur B. Homer was retired and scrapped a few years later after having just had a lot of expensive rebuilding work done.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > ranwhenparked
11/11/2014 at 09:19

I have seen the possibility of a design flaw mentioned, but I don't think it ever got any serious consideration as a direct cause of the sinking. There was anecdotal evidence that she rode "funny" in big waves according to men who crewed on her.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Tohru
11/11/2014 at 09:30

I've been from Houghton to Isle Royale in a small boat (22') and you definitely study the forecast before you make the trip. From North Entry to Rock Harbor light is 60 miles of open water and takes two hours in good weather. When you're halfway across and can't see land you start to feel pretty small. This time of year it gets interesting to take a look at the wave buoys. I've seen some pretty big numbers on the mid lake buoy .

I don't know if I've ever heard a live version of The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.