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charlene · 09-04-2015, 05:10 PM

http://www.thesuburbanite.com/articl...NEWS/150829447

Lore of Edmund Fitzgerald remains long after ship's wreck

Brian Lisik
TheSuburbanite.com correspondent

Posted Sep. 4, 2015 at 2:00 PM

JACKSON TWP.
Most everyone is familiar with the tale of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The ubiquitous Gordon Lightfoot song dedicated to its tragic crash on Nov. 10, 1975, helped with that.

The song's lyrics are still as haunting and chilling today as on the icy night of the disaster itself. Perhaps more because of the utter commonness of the Fitz before it sank 500 feet below the surface of Lake Superior without so much as a single distress call.
On Aug. 17, area residents who were curious to discover more about the ship and its tragic history attended a presentation at the Jackson Township Branch of the Stark County District Library.

Carrie Sowden, an underwater archaeologist and archeological director at the Great Lakes Historical Society, led the presentation, “The Edmund Fitzgerald: What Really Happened?” Sowden said there are a number of reasons the ship remains an enigma among the thousands of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes.

“The song did a lot,” Sowden admitted. “But there is also this concept of a mystery and the controversy over what happened. There were no survivors, no bodies, just (pieces) of lifeboats found. And it is still a contemporary story.”

Ron Michael, of Akron, has been studying the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for years and attended the discussion on Aug. 17. While much of the presentation included information he already knew, he said the topic itself remains intriguing to him.
“It's just fascinating to me that a ship that size just disappeared,” he said.

DOOMED VESSEL?

When it was built in 1958, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest freighter on the Great Lakes. At 729-by-75 feet, it was designed perfectly for its main route – taking ore from Duluth, Minn. to Cleveland and Detroit where it would pick up coal and carry it back. It just fit through the 730- by 76-foot Soo Locks between lakes Huron and Superior where it traveled.

The freighter was owned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Milwaukee, Wis., and named after its president and chairman of the board, Edmund Fitzgerald, whose grandfather had himself been a lake captain.

It took three tries to break a champagne bottle over its bow and 36 minutes to remove the blocks from the side of the Fitz on its maiden voyage – a sign to the superstitious the ship was doomed from the beginning. Sowden said, however, the Fitz's next 20 years of duty was a success. As a "workhorse," she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own previous record.

In its hundreds of runs, the Fitz had a few small accidents, Sowden said, including a grounding in 1969, a small collision in 1970, losing its bow anchor in the Detroit River in 1974 and hitting the walls of the Soo in 1973 and 1974.

Page 2 of 4 - “And with a one-foot clearance, I'm surprised that didn't happen more often,” Sowden said.

DATE WITH DESTINY

By November 1975, the ship had converted from coal to oil power and was captained by Ernest M. McSorley.

“He knows this vessel and he knows how it responds,” Sowden said of McSorley.
A 45-year veteran who had captained the Fitz since 1972, McSorley had his eyes on retirement at the end of the season. He may have planned to retire at the end of the ill-fated run that began at 2:15 p.m. Nov. 9. The Fitz set out from Superior, Wis., carrying 26,535 tons of taconite ore pellets to the steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit.

That day, the Fitz began “caravanning” with another freighter, the Arthur M. Anderson, which was destined for Gary, Ind. out of Two Harbors, Minn. The weather forecast was not unusual for November, though the National Weather Service had predicted that a storm would pass just south of Lake Superior by 7 a.m. on Nov. 10. Still, the two ships decided to stay in contact, given they were both headed into the predicted storm.

“They began to hug the north shore of the lake, seeking the protection of land,” Sowden said. “They were dealing with 60-mph winds and 10-foot waves by Nov. 10.”
The Arthur Anderson also alerted the Fitz that it seemed to be traveling close to an area known as the Six-Fathom Shoal, which gave freighters 12 feet of ground clearance in good weather, but this afternoon was shaping up to be nothing of the kind.

At 3 p.m. the ship captains were still talking, but McSorley noted some trouble. He radioed that the Fitz had “a fence rail down and we've got a bad list.” At 4:10, McSorley reported that both radar units were down. His ship was, in essence, traveling blindly into the oncoming storm.

“McSorley needs help from the Arthur Anderson to help navigate,” Sowden said. “He is also talking to other ships in the area and tells the captain of a Swedish ship that was just leaving Whitefish Bay that this was the worst (storm) he had ever seen. Remember, McSorley had been a captain for 45 years.”

One hour later, the Arthur Anderson was hit from behind with two 35- to 40-foot waves, which Arthur Anderson Capt. Jesse B. "Bernie" Cooper estimated would have hit the Fitzgerald around the time it disappeared from the Arthur Anderson's radar.

By then, the swirling storm was producing winds close to 89 mph.

After allowing time to determine if its own radar had not been damaged, the Arthur Anderson radioed the United States Coast Guard to report the Edmund Fitzgerald missing. When Coast Guard officials said the storm was too bad for their 150-foot ships, the Arthur Anderson, along with another freighter, the William Clay Ford, turned into the storm in search of the Fitz.

09-04-2015, 05:10 PM	#1
charlene Moderator Join Date: May 2000 Posts: 16,004	Edmund Fitzgerald Lore http://www.thesuburbanite.com/articl...NEWS/150829447 Lore of Edmund Fitzgerald remains long after ship's wreck Brian Lisik TheSuburbanite.com correspondent Posted Sep. 4, 2015 at 2:00 PM JACKSON TWP. Most everyone is familiar with the tale of the Edmund Fitzgerald. The ubiquitous Gordon Lightfoot song dedicated to its tragic crash on Nov. 10, 1975, helped with that. The song's lyrics are still as haunting and chilling today as on the icy night of the disaster itself. Perhaps more because of the utter commonness of the Fitz before it sank 500 feet below the surface of Lake Superior without so much as a single distress call. On Aug. 17, area residents who were curious to discover more about the ship and its tragic history attended a presentation at the Jackson Township Branch of the Stark County District Library. Carrie Sowden, an underwater archaeologist and archeological director at the Great Lakes Historical Society, led the presentation, “The Edmund Fitzgerald: What Really Happened?” Sowden said there are a number of reasons the ship remains an enigma among the thousands of shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. “The song did a lot,” Sowden admitted. “But there is also this concept of a mystery and the controversy over what happened. There were no survivors, no bodies, just (pieces) of lifeboats found. And it is still a contemporary story.” Ron Michael, of Akron, has been studying the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald for years and attended the discussion on Aug. 17. While much of the presentation included information he already knew, he said the topic itself remains intriguing to him. “It's just fascinating to me that a ship that size just disappeared,” he said. DOOMED VESSEL? When it was built in 1958, the Edmund Fitzgerald was the longest freighter on the Great Lakes. At 729-by-75 feet, it was designed perfectly for its main route – taking ore from Duluth, Minn. to Cleveland and Detroit where it would pick up coal and carry it back. It just fit through the 730- by 76-foot Soo Locks between lakes Huron and Superior where it traveled. The freighter was owned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. of Milwaukee, Wis., and named after its president and chairman of the board, Edmund Fitzgerald, whose grandfather had himself been a lake captain. It took three tries to break a champagne bottle over its bow and 36 minutes to remove the blocks from the side of the Fitz on its maiden voyage – a sign to the superstitious the ship was doomed from the beginning. Sowden said, however, the Fitz's next 20 years of duty was a success. As a "workhorse," she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own previous record. In its hundreds of runs, the Fitz had a few small accidents, Sowden said, including a grounding in 1969, a small collision in 1970, losing its bow anchor in the Detroit River in 1974 and hitting the walls of the Soo in 1973 and 1974. Page 2 of 4 - “And with a one-foot clearance, I'm surprised that didn't happen more often,” Sowden said. DATE WITH DESTINY By November 1975, the ship had converted from coal to oil power and was captained by Ernest M. McSorley. “He knows this vessel and he knows how it responds,” Sowden said of McSorley. A 45-year veteran who had captained the Fitz since 1972, McSorley had his eyes on retirement at the end of the season. He may have planned to retire at the end of the ill-fated run that began at 2:15 p.m. Nov. 9. The Fitz set out from Superior, Wis., carrying 26,535 tons of taconite ore pellets to the steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit. That day, the Fitz began “caravanning” with another freighter, the Arthur M. Anderson, which was destined for Gary, Ind. out of Two Harbors, Minn. The weather forecast was not unusual for November, though the National Weather Service had predicted that a storm would pass just south of Lake Superior by 7 a.m. on Nov. 10. Still, the two ships decided to stay in contact, given they were both headed into the predicted storm. “They began to hug the north shore of the lake, seeking the protection of land,” Sowden said. “They were dealing with 60-mph winds and 10-foot waves by Nov. 10.” The Arthur Anderson also alerted the Fitz that it seemed to be traveling close to an area known as the Six-Fathom Shoal, which gave freighters 12 feet of ground clearance in good weather, but this afternoon was shaping up to be nothing of the kind. At 3 p.m. the ship captains were still talking, but McSorley noted some trouble. He radioed that the Fitz had “a fence rail down and we've got a bad list.” At 4:10, McSorley reported that both radar units were down. His ship was, in essence, traveling blindly into the oncoming storm. “McSorley needs help from the Arthur Anderson to help navigate,” Sowden said. “He is also talking to other ships in the area and tells the captain of a Swedish ship that was just leaving Whitefish Bay that this was the worst (storm) he had ever seen. Remember, McSorley had been a captain for 45 years.” One hour later, the Arthur Anderson was hit from behind with two 35- to 40-foot waves, which Arthur Anderson Capt. Jesse B. "Bernie" Cooper estimated would have hit the Fitzgerald around the time it disappeared from the Arthur Anderson's radar. By then, the swirling storm was producing winds close to 89 mph. After allowing time to determine if its own radar had not been damaged, the Arthur Anderson radioed the United States Coast Guard to report the Edmund Fitzgerald missing. When Coast Guard officials said the storm was too bad for their 150-foot ships, the Arthur Anderson, along with another freighter, the William Clay Ford, turned into the storm in search of the Fitz.