Okla-homey
11/10/2008, 07:58 AM
November 10, 1975: Edmund Fitzgerald sinks in Lake Superior
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1672/edmundfitzgeraldpicxp5.jpg
Thirty-three years ago today, SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior, taking all 29 crew members with her. Gordon Lightfoot recorded and released a song about it that a lot of folks thought was cool too.
At the time of its launch in 1958, the 729-foot-long freighter was the largest and fastest ship on the Great Lakes. Edmund Fitzgerald began her last voyage on November 9, 1975, carrying 26,116 tons of iron-ore pellets. The next day, the ship and her crew met a storm with 60 mph winds and waves in excess of 15 feet. Captain Ernest McSorley steered the ship north, heading for the safety of Whitefish Bay, but the ship's radar failed, and the storm took out the power to Whitefish Point's radio beacon, leaving Fitzgerald steaming blind.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8433/edmundfitzpaintingcopyrzl8.jpg
In the heavy seas, the vessel was also taking on a dangerous amount of water. Another ship, Arthur Anderson, kept up radio contact with Fitzgerald and tried to lead her to safety but to no avail.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1383/edmundroutefz5.gif
Just after 7 p.m. on November 10, Fitzgerald made her last radio transmission. Presumably, the ship, which was taking on water, was forced lower and lower into the water until its bow pitched down into the lake and the vessel was unable to recover. None of the 29 men aboard survived.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8530/edmundfitzgeraldtrackligu1.jpg
Edmund Fitzgerald now lies under 530 feet of water, broken in two sections.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7893/edmund02bfitzwreck7zp1.jpg
On July 4, 1995, the ship's bell was recovered from the wreck, and a replica, engraved with the names of the crew members who perished in this tragedy, was left in its place. The original bell is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Michigan.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9852/edmundgwinnipegnr0.jpg
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr., (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music. As a singer-songwriter, he came to prominence in the 1960s, and broke through on the international music charts in the 1970s with songs such as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974) and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976). His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most successful recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.
The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind
When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.
The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.
© 1976 Moose Music, Inc.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/19/insane7zont9.jpg
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1672/edmundfitzgeraldpicxp5.jpg
Thirty-three years ago today, SS Edmund Fitzgerald sinks 17 miles from the entrance to Whitefish Bay on Lake Superior, taking all 29 crew members with her. Gordon Lightfoot recorded and released a song about it that a lot of folks thought was cool too.
At the time of its launch in 1958, the 729-foot-long freighter was the largest and fastest ship on the Great Lakes. Edmund Fitzgerald began her last voyage on November 9, 1975, carrying 26,116 tons of iron-ore pellets. The next day, the ship and her crew met a storm with 60 mph winds and waves in excess of 15 feet. Captain Ernest McSorley steered the ship north, heading for the safety of Whitefish Bay, but the ship's radar failed, and the storm took out the power to Whitefish Point's radio beacon, leaving Fitzgerald steaming blind.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8433/edmundfitzpaintingcopyrzl8.jpg
In the heavy seas, the vessel was also taking on a dangerous amount of water. Another ship, Arthur Anderson, kept up radio contact with Fitzgerald and tried to lead her to safety but to no avail.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1383/edmundroutefz5.gif
Just after 7 p.m. on November 10, Fitzgerald made her last radio transmission. Presumably, the ship, which was taking on water, was forced lower and lower into the water until its bow pitched down into the lake and the vessel was unable to recover. None of the 29 men aboard survived.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/8530/edmundfitzgeraldtrackligu1.jpg
Edmund Fitzgerald now lies under 530 feet of water, broken in two sections.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7893/edmund02bfitzwreck7zp1.jpg
On July 4, 1995, the ship's bell was recovered from the wreck, and a replica, engraved with the names of the crew members who perished in this tragedy, was left in its place. The original bell is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point in Michigan.
http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/9852/edmundgwinnipegnr0.jpg
Gordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr., (born November 17, 1938) is a Canadian singer and songwriter who achieved international success in folk, country, and popular music. As a singer-songwriter, he came to prominence in the 1960s, and broke through on the international music charts in the 1970s with songs such as "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974) and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976). His songs have been recorded by some of the world's most successful recording artists, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early
The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.
The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind
When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.
The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.
Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.
In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.
© 1976 Moose Music, Inc.
http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/19/insane7zont9.jpg