[4] The Jacobsville Sandstone is the uppermost and youngest layer comprising about 8 kilometers (5.0mi) of sandstone and conglomerate that underlies Lake Superior and fills the upper part of the Lake Superior segment of the Midcontinent Rift. Cooper asked "How are you doing?" He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. The Coast Guard were at this time trying to locate a 16-foot boat that was overdue.. He could clearly see the ship and the beacon on Caribou on his radar set and could measure the distance between them. In the steel towns to Gary's east, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburg, Bethlehem and others, urban decay also set in and still remains today (2021). I wouldnt be surprised if a hatch cover came off, because I loaded right beside him in Superior on November 9 and the deck crew was still putting on hatch covers when they left the Superior Entry into Lake Superior, Captain Paquette says. George Stegner recalled last year how he was on duty that night: I was on duty this night. The Anderson changes course to avoid Six Fathom Shoal area north of Caribou Island. But the ship's owners were insurance men, not mariners, who reconfigured her for even more iron ore. By 1979, a new Loran broadcast station began operating at Baudette, Minnesota, giving sailors easy access to their location, speed, course being steered and other information. That's what underwriters do. The official Coast Guard board of inquiry came to the conclusion that the Edmund Fitzgerald sank as a result of massive flooding of the cargo hold, saying that this likely resulted from ineffective hatch closure. Noting that many of the hatch clamps photographed on the sunken freighter show little or no damage or distortion, the report states that this could result from improper maintenance of the adjustment bolts that put tension on the hatch covers and secured them to the top of the coamings around the hatches. Because all 29 men aboard the Fitzgerald went down with the ship -- which was there one minute and gone the next -- the best accounts that investigators could rely on were those of sailors in the vicinity of the ship during the storm, or who had contact with the Fitzgerald somehow in the weeks prior to her final voyage. TheAndersonwasn't in much better shape, its engine room leaking consistently and its superstructure often being submerged entirely under water every time a wave hit. Cooper later said he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far too close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. Twenty-nine men were lost when the Fitzgerald went down. Captain Cooper of the Anderson mentioned the possibility of a stress fracture in his testimony before the marine board and also included it in his personal story of the wreck in James R. Marshalls Shipwrecks of Lake Superior. It is rumored that the light house keepers poached caribou and beaver. The weather had cleared dramatically. All were lost to the depths of Lake Superior. Ed Peewee Charles Ringwald and the late Terry Clements, a Detroit native who had played guitar for Lightfoot since the early 1970s, came up with the haunting guitar and steel riffs. A dynamic population. Gaines, who began is career at the Saturday Review, the storied American weekly magazine that had started out as The Saturday Review of Literature in 1924, is now a Paris-based writer, would go onto become the first editor in chief of People magazine, as well as the editor of Time magazine, and also to serve as regional editor for the Americas, and then global editor-at-large for Reuters. As with all of the other theories, it may well be that we will never know the total story of this wreck - leaving each theory, for now, as good as any other. By this point,McSorely was heard over the radio hollering at his crew to stay off the deck and remain inside the vessel. Broke in two and sank in minutes. Affirmative. But the questions surrounding the cause of the wreck kept mounting and continue to do so. Fitz40th.com - Six-Fathom Shoal Updates During a taped | Facebook Part of that fascination, despite the longspan since the foundering of the big ore freighter, results from Gordon Lightfoots monster best-selling recording about the wreck and part likely springs from the inconclusive nature of any facts surrounding the sinking. The closest communities are Belden to the southwest, Twain to the southeast, Canyondam to the north, and Greenville to the east. US WEATHER BUREAU BUILDING "It was designed to haul a certain amount and they kept getting the Coast Guard to increase the load line." On this voyage,Fitzgeraldwas fully loaded with iron ore. Of course, the Lake Carriers Association (LCA) blamed grounding on the not-well-marked Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island. It was not long after thatFitzgeraldvanished from theAnderson'sradar. There was no answer. But we were talking to him about seven and he said that everything was going fine. I have read recently that the shoal near the island doesn't exist but it was from a guy who favors the loose hold cover theory. The two ships were in radio contact. Clark called the Fitzgerald again at about 7:22 pm. Since one theory is that the ship was damaged by grounding, within two years of the wreck all commercial vessels of 1,600 or more gross tons were required to have equipment that would warn the officers of shallow water beneath the hull. Sault Ste Marie, MI 49783 The Coast Guard launched a fixed-wing HU-16 aircraft at 10 pm and dispatched two cutters, the Naugatuck and the Woodrush. [9][10], This article is about the island in eastern Lake Superior. The Fateful Journey - Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society 3:20 PM Anderson reports winds coming from the Northwest at 43 knots. In a similar vein, Paul Hainault, a retired Michigan Tech University professor, postulated a seiche caused the ship to scrape the bottom of Superior Shoal early that morning and the weakened hull eventually gave out. Much of the information not commonly seen in other articles is courtesy of an interview with a tugboat captain on Lake Superior called "Tugboat Jim" who was close friends with a late crewmember of theArthur M. Andersoncrewmember Ronnie Roman, who was aboard theAndersonthe night Fitzgerald sank. Again, though, I have to leave that decision up to you as to whether it would be hazarding your vessel or not. 109 W. Superior St. #200 Duluth, MN 55802 218-722-5002 edit@LakeSuperior.com. Im checking down. sometimes we forget to pray that at times we could have been saved, at this time of events, it was meant to have happened, at it is not us who make the storm or to calm the storm..but, Sad to have lost what was a great ship and the people on board History is what I like.. The Gales of November: remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald - Parks Blog Discover the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck in Lake Superior Cooper believes that from that point on, McSorley knew he was sinking. It was also revealed that a fence railing on theFitzgerald's deckhad been broken and a number of vent covers were missing. Edmund - Downriver History & Facts He again voiced grave concern that the Fitzgerald was missing at 8:32 p.m. Search and rescue efforts started immediately after Coopers second call, but the nearest Coast Guard vessel that could sail in the huge seas was the Woodrush, stationed 300 miles away in Duluth, Minnesota. Marine and other experts who examined Coast Guard photos and videotape of the wreckage for the board of inquiry dismissed fracture as a cause of the wreck, based on the fact that no photo evidence shows brittle fracture separation, which is described as having straight or flat edges. 18335 N. Whitefish Point Road what is the real truth to this? By late afternoon, the Anderson's captain was noting wind gusts up to 70 knots and waves up to 8 metres. 3:30 PM Radio transmission between the Fitzgerald and the Anderson Known for the best burgers in Fullerton, Islands also offers delicious tropical cocktails and fries that are fresh cut daily with the skins left on. Our Specialties. Join us at Islands Restaurant in Fullerton on Malvern Avenue. Looks like he was right on this one. The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began Nov. 9, 1975 at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No.1 in Superior, Wisconsin, Sean Ley, a development officer at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point Light Station in Whitefish Point on the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan, wrote in a blog post for the museum titled The Fateful Journey (https://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/edmund-fitzgerald/the-fateful-journey/?fbclid=IwAR33M-6_G0X15ab73z4KkAIM3owr3GaVpRsHdaE5n_OIbSP3PzX7_FTMIGo). Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. The Anderson's captain also made statements in 1986 seemingly supportive of the rogue wave theory. The modification never took place and the patch plates could be seen at the shipyard a couple of years after theFitzgerald'sdemise.TheEdmund Fitzgeralddeparted on what would be her last voyage the afternoon of November 9, 1975 leaving the iron ore docks of Superior, Wisconsin bound for aZug Island steel foundry near Detroit,Michigan. Fullerton - Islands Restaurants The bow lies mostly buried in the mud upright pointing towards Whitefish Bay. At the time of the foundering, there was no requirement for depth-finding instruments on commercial vessels. On May 20, 1976, the words Edmund Fitzgerald were clearly seen on the stern, upside down, 535 feet below the surface of the lake. This theory was supported by a 1976 Canadian hydrographic survey, which disclosed that an unknown shoal ran a mile further east of Six Fathom Shoal than shown on the Canadian charts. He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. WHITEFISH POINT With regards to iron ore shipping on the Great Lakes, it most certainly is still taking place. They issued a letter to the National Transportation Safety Board in September, 1977. TheEdmund Fitzgeraldwas a "Laker" type iron ore bulk freighter launched on June 7, 1958 by the Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rogue, Michigan for the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company one year after its near sister shipArthur B. Homer. Were going to try to contact those saltwater vessels and see if they cant possibly come about and possibly come back alsothings look pretty bad right now; it looks like she may have split apart at the seams like the Morrell did a few years back., Well, thats what I been thinking. Caribou Island, Caribou Island | Ticket Price | Timings | Address: TripHobo It's a national disgrace. Because the ship had no depth sounding technology, the crew had no way of knowing that incoming water was pushing the ship lower in the water until the flooding exceeded the height of the iron ore in the holds. Marie at 7:39 p.m., continued to try to raise radio contact with the big ship. It lies entirely within the territorial waters of Canada although only about five kilometres from the international border between Canada and the United States. released a very fine and very different tempo cover of Lightfoots The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald last March 15. At the time of her launch in 1958, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest freighter on the Great Lakes. Perhaps the greatest change that came in the aftermath of the Fitz disaster is in navigational equipment. The LCA stated that the patented steel hatch covers had been in continuous use for more than 30 years and had proven to be effective hatch closures in all weather conditions throughout that period. Burgner said a shipyard worker showed him evidence of old keel weld breaks during the 1972-73 winter lay-up that were brought to McSorley and dismissed. [2], According to the available information, Caribou Island consists of a mixture of glacial sediments and Precambrian sandstone. She was under command of Canadian born and highly experienced ship master Captain Ernest M. McSorely. It became apparent that theFitzgeraldhad indeed sunk to the bottom taking with her all 29 crewmembers, many of whom were young adults less than 25 years of age. LAKE SUPERIOR -- Nobody really knows what caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to sink, but that sure hasnt stopped people from trying to solve the mystery. The search turned up no results for the first hour. Arthur M. Anderson | Duluth Ships and Places Wiki | Fandom As the wise man once said, you can't outlaw stupidity nor legislate morality. Never could have found any survivors in that storm but we sure tried hour after hour. This is 35 feet above the waterline.. [1], The island was privately held by a group of hunters and stocked with caribou in the late 1800s. The flooding of the cargo hold took place through ineffective hatch closures as boarding seas rolled along the spar deck.. I have never been able to get that shot out of my head to this day 35 years later. At about 5:20 pm the crest of a wave smashed the Andersons starboard lifeboat, making it unusable. The Anderson was just approaching Michipicoten, about three miles off the West End Light. Departing Superior about 2:30 p.m., she was soon joined by the Arthur M. Anderson, which had sailed from Two Harbors, Minnesota under Capt. However an interior lake, Deer Lake on the center East side of the island, was used as an Amphibian base with a dock and ramp built by the last private owners of the island because of the unpredictable water/wave condition of Lake Superior. Bernie Cooper. Several of the lakes are maintained by beavers and all are several feet above Lake Superior. It started as a shipwreck, followed by a newsmagazine story in the still-golden age of newsmagazines like Time, U.S. News & World Report and Newsweek. What also can be stated with certainty is that sometime between 7:10 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., the Fitzgerald simply disappeared into Lake Superior about 15 miles from the shelter of Whitefish Bay just west of Sault Ste. Winter 2023 NMU School of Art & Design Senior Exhibition Reception, Edmund Fitzgerald: Decades of Speculation, Fascination and Grieving. The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down By this point, McSorley knew his ship was in serious trouble and opted to head full steam towards the natural protection of Whitefish Bay to ride out the storm and protect his ship and crew from further damage.By 6:00 PM, the storm had worsened and its likely theFitzgeraldwas riding even lower in the water, due to much larger 35 foot high waves, heavier damage caused by the waves and an even larger amount of water in her hull the pumps seemed unable to cope with. A 2012 sonar image shows theFitzgeraldto have deteriorated heavily since 1993. NARA microfilm publication M1931, Index to Selected City Streets and Enumeration Districts, 1930 Census (7 rolls) reproduces a 57-volume typescript index to selected city streets and enumeration districts of the Fifteenth Census of the United States taken in 1930. They therefore have the best genetics for surviving in this area. Less than 20 minutes later when the Anderson cleared a snow squall, its radars lost contact and the Big Fitz, as seamen called the ship, passed from the land of the living into legend. Enter the text you see in the image below. From the time of its first voyage on Sept. 24, 1958, the ship set six records by carrying heavier and heavier loads. Images of the Fitz's 1958 construction and launch. Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald: Why Did S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Sink In Canadian ships alone there are at least one hundred ships that haul iron ore to this day. Both theHomerandFitzgeraldwere the largest iron ore carriers built on the Great Lakes. The captain of the Anderson had noticed on his radar that the Fitzgerald had sailed very close to Six Fathom Shoal as the ship passed Caribou Island, as they steamed for the safety of Whitefish Bay at Superior's east end. It lies entirely within the territorial waters of Canada although only about five kilometres from the international border between Canada and the United States. While conditions were bad, with winds gusting to 50 knots and seas 12 to 16 feet, both captains had often piloted their vessels in similar conditions.