S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald

[flackbait]

Today's the anniversary of the wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald. It was a big freighter that went down in the 70's in Lake Superior with all 29 of the crew. I'm just posting this to mark the anniversary and honor their memory. Good luck guys whereever you are now.

[Rev. Powell]

When suppertime came the old cook came on deck
Saying "fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
At 7PM the main hatchway caved in
He said "fellas, it's been good to know ya."

[BoyScoutKevin]

The "Edmund Fitzgerald" disappeared in a storm on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, with all hands. No surviviors were ever found from the crew of the ship.

Reading about it, what I did not know was how quickly the wreckage was found. Less than a week after it went down, using Navy sonar, the wreckage of the ship was found on the bottom of Lake Superior, 17 miles from White Fish Bay.

The next year, 1976, Canadian folksinger Gordon Lightfoot would have a major hit with his song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Now, a number of years ago, I had a friend from work who liked Gordon Lightfoot and his music. Thus, when he came to the town where we lived, she not wating to go alone, I went with her to see him perform in concert. And one of the songs he performed was "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

There is one thing still controversial about the sinking, and that is what caused the sinking in the first place. Theories range from ineffective hatch closings, which allowed the ship to take on water in the holds, running aground on an unmarked shoal, which would have led to damage to the bottom of the ship, to just plain bad luck in encountering what is known as a "rogue wave," which was enough to damage the hatch covers and sink the ship.

Still, the crew is remembered each year on November 12, by a memorial service at the Mariners' Church in Detroit, Micigan.

[Leah]

I think the ship sunk from over weight.

[10,000 Volt Ghost]

http://mikeinwv.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/edmundfitzgerald.jpg

One of my favorite beers from Great Lakes brewing company too.

[retrorussell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0DqPSF2fyo

I somehow think of this song when I see the cover of "Death Ship".  It might have been a better movie if it was about the ghosts of the EF killing people.

[snowman]

About a month or so go Discovery Channel (or History Channel. Can't remember for sure) about the sinking. They looked at the construction of the Edmund Fitzgerald and similar ships and Lake Superior weather. If I remember correctly they surmised it was a combined of bad construction and being hit with a giant rogue wave.

[Andrew]

About a month or so go Discovery Channel (or History Channel. Can't remember for sure) about the sinking. They looked at the construction of the Edmund Fitzgerald and similar ships and Lake Superior weather. If I remember correctly they surmised it was a combined of bad construction and being hit with a giant rogue wave.

I think that I saw either that same documentary, or else the Edmund Fitzgerald was also discussed into another documentary about lost ships.  The show I watched must have been on a year or more ago.  Part of the discussion was about it being caught by waves breaking over the deck that caused flooding and its sinking.  Part of the documentary studied another ship that was lost under those same circumstances.

[Hammock Rider]

They even discussed it on a popular sitcom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhelCI4iXwQ

[akiratubo]

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

[indianasmith]

Ten years after the Edmund Fitzgerald went down, in December 1985, I was
a crewman aboard  the USS Lockwood (FF-1064) when we were hit and nearly sunk by a Filipino  ore carrier, the RPS Santo Nino. It tore a gash in our hull 35 feet high, 22 feet wide, and extending 10 feet into the skin of the ship.  I wrote some verses about the event to the rhyme and meter of THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD.
The whole thing is shamelessly plagiarized, but I was rather proud of it at the time,
and still am.

THE WRECK OF THE USS LOCKWOOD
       Lewis B. Smith, 1985

The Pacific's a pond, out in Tsagami-wan,
till the winds of December come blowing -
Then waves strong and high lift their heads to the sky
and the ships cease their comin' and going.

The Lockwood was hale as she did set asail
To test out her engines and boilers.
Her men loud and strong did their jobs all day long
yes, they worked like the devil's own toilers.

For two nights and days Lockwood fought the rough seas,
As the waters did grab her and toss her.
The crew did their drills with few slips and spills
And never a fear they would lose her.

The drills were all done, gone to bed was the sun
The men in their bunks lay a-dreaming.
But a ship dark and tall pulled out with the nightfall,
and towards the Lockwood was steaming.

Kollar was the man, with a strong steady hand,
He stood at the helm there to guide her.
The Captain in his chair and the Weps Boss was there,
as the skies got dark and not lighter.

O God! Came the shout - there is danger about!
To starboard a ship is approaching!
The men braced for shock with a horrified look
As they saw their own doom encroaching!

The Santo Nino came, her rusty dark frame
loomed like a giant through the weather.
With a horrible screech - to the heavens it reached!
the two fated ships came together!

The men rushed to stations to fight conflagrations
The hatches and scuttles were slamming.
The drills all paid off as the floods were cut off,
This time it was real and not shamming.

A fire did not start.  Only two men were hurt.
God was watching over this warship.
The tugs pulled her in as the lonely north wind
Came whistling in through the giant rip.

The very next day the CO called us away,
and we all listened to him up topside.
And though we were sad, he said he was glad.
His voice rang out with a quiet pride.

He said "Men you're the best and you've stood your worst test.
This old girl's been in a real mixer.
Now lift up your heads and feel proud," he said -
"Cause now it's our duty to fix her."

[snowman]

About a month or so go Discovery Channel (or History Channel. Can't remember for sure) about the sinking. They looked at the construction of the Edmund Fitzgerald and similar ships and Lake Superior weather. If I remember correctly they surmised it was a combined of bad construction and being hit with a giant rogue wave.

I think that I saw either that same documentary, or else the Edmund Fitzgerald was also discussed into another documentary about lost ships.  The show I watched must have been on a year or more ago.  Part of the discussion was about it being caught by waves breaking over the deck that caused flooding and its sinking.  Part of the documentary studied another ship that was lost under those same circumstances.

That sounds about right. It was a Canadian made feature and they discussed the Fitzgerald and a second ship (whose's name I can't remember) that sunk in similar circumstances. The second ship, however, had one survivor who was interviewed. They showed underwater photography taken of both wrecks. They looked at how the Fitzgerald was built, interviewed people knowledgeable about its construction and the cargo it was carrying.  Finally, they also did tests using a scale model of the Fitzgerald in a large water tank operated by a Canadian government research facility to simulate the waves. They were able to show, via simulation, what it would have looked like on the bridge as the waves came over the bow. Very well done in my opinion.

[AndyC]

When suppertime came the old cook came on deck
Saying "fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
At 7PM the main hatchway caved in
He said "fellas, it's been good to know ya."

Interesting that Lightfoot changed that bit just this year, since new findings have ruled out crew error in fastening the hatches as a possible cause of the sinking.

I read a book about the sinking years ago, and it explained the hatch theory pretty well. Straight-deck bulk freighters like the Fitzgerald have a row of huge hatches running down the centre, with covers that are lifted off and on by a rolling crane. Each of those is surrounded by a whole bunch of clamps that have to be fastened tightly and in the right order to ensure the cover is firmly seated on the hatch. Thick and heavy as they are, the hatch covers can flex a little and leave gaps if they aren't properly clamped. Until recently, a prevailing theory was that the crew took some common shortcuts in fastening the hatches, which probably would have been fine had the storm not been as bad as it was. Under those extreme conditions, however, it would have gradually allowed tons of water to seep in as the waves came over the deck, or possibly caused one of the hatches to fail completely. That theory has only recently been ruled out conclusively.

So, Gord now sings:

At 7 p.m., it grew dark, it was then
he said "Fellas it's been.....

Sounds kind of awkward, and not nearly as dramatic, but I suppose it does right by the crew and their families.

Here's a picture of a similar straight decker, showing the arrangement of hatches, as well as the crane about two thirds of the way back.

You can imagine what would happen if one of those covers came off in a storm.

[Mr. DS]

I have to admit I was a bit glib on Lightfoot's song.  It was one of those songs that came on when I worked retail and I hummed along with it.  It was later I discovered what the song was really about.  The lyrics really tell the tale and its kind of sad hardly anyone writes a song like that anymore.  Anyhow, RIP to the crew of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald.  

[AndyC]

For years, I assumed the Edmund Fitzgerald was some old sailing ship of long ago, and not an ore carrier that sank in 1975, just before the song was written. It wasn't until I went through a period of listening to a lot of Gordon Lightfoot that I actually listened closely to the lyrics and did some reading on the incident. It's such a powerful song, it gives a legendary quality to the story. And really, it is entirely because of Gordon Lightfoot that the Fitzgerald is not just another work-related tragedy that briefly made headlines. Ships do occasionally sink in bad weather, accidents happen and people die on the job. That this tragedy is so well remembered is one man's doing.