48 Years Ago Today: The Gales of November Remembered

[RU4Real]

On this day in 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, an ore carrier and the largest ship in the Great Lakes, was lost with all 29 hands on board during a storm on Lake Superior.

The exact mechanism of the Fitz's sinking is still unknown. What is known is that both the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Arthur M. Anderson, another ore carrier in the vicinity, reported winds in excess of gale force and significant wave heights in excess of 30 feet. The Fitz was rolling heavily and additionally reported an improperly sealed loading hatch which was causing the vessel to take on water.

It was only a year later that Gordon Lightfoot, while recording his Summertime Dream album, penned the lyrics to his most commercially successful song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Most fans of the late Gord know that on recording day he played the song's basic chord progression for his band, which was followed by an improvisational run-through. That "second take" is what appears on the album.

 

[RUGuitarMan]

I have very clear memories of that time/place. I was a wide eyed, naive, insecure freshman at RU in the fall of 1976. Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald” was being played everywhere. A haunting, great story song by one of the best singer/songwriters.

 

[RutHut]

As the big freighters go, she was bigger than most.
No longer the biggest as of 1971.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Yoohoo! @RU4Real!!!

 

[DJ Spanky]

Always loved those lake freighters. We lived in Grosse Pointe Farms when I was a kid, and the Pier, which was on Lake St. Claire, gave a perfect view of the ships angling in to make the Detroit River.

 

[T2Kplus20]

Always loved those lake freighters. We lived in Grosse Pointe Farms when I was a kid, and the Pier, which was on Lake St. Claire, gave a perfect view of the ships angling in to make the Detroit River.

FYI - Always forget to ask, I see your degrees listed. Did you have a career in ChemE or computer science?

 

[DJ Spanky]

FYI - Always forget to ask, I see your degrees listed. Did you have a career in ChemE or computer science?

Comp Sci. What can I say, I'm a computer geek.

 

[Source]

Major League Baseball and Edmund Fitzgerald

Make the connection.🙄

 

[DJ Spanky]

Major League Baseball and Edmund Fitzgerald

Make the connection.🙄

A ball Babe Ruth hit into orbit actually caused the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald when it re-entered the atmosphere and crashed through the opening left by the improperly sealed loading hatch.

 

[rudad02]

My Father served on a destroyer in the Pacific during WW2 at both Iowa Jima & Okinawa. They brought down 28 Kamakazis & were hit once. Said the only time he thought he wasn't coming home was during two typhoons they sailed through. More than one destroyer went down in those storms.