Hubby’s college roommate’s high school friend was lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald. It has a personal connection for us.
We visited the lighthouse at Whitefish Bay (Michigan), where they were heading before the ship was lost. Mentioned in the lyrics. The museum there has a display on the tragedy.
Not often mentioned - the ship was retrofitted with an expansion so it could carry more ore. Cut in half, expanded, and welded back together. So was another sister ship, but that one was quietly decommissioned soon after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. I tried to find documentation of this, but haven’t found it in a search.
As waves washed over the bow, deck hatch covers could have been torn loose, allowing the holds to flood. As the bow began to sink, waves could roll back over the deck, hitting the bridge with full force and preventing a distress call. The Fitzgerald was over 600 feet long, and the lake 220 feet deep where she sank. The bow of the Fitzgerald would have hit the bottom of the lake before the stern left the surface. That impact would have been enough to snap the hull at a weld seam, and the stern would flood rapidly after.
On a related note, during the “Big Blow” in November 1913 (still the deadliest storm recorded on the Great Lakes,) a captain reported having seen another vessel lifted at bow and stern by waves, leaving the middle of the ship unsupported. She “crumbled like an eggshell” and disappeared beneath the surface.
That November 1975 storm covered a huge swath of the Great Lakes region. I worked at a law firm in downtown Toronto, hundreds of miles from Lake Superior. We closed early because of the heavy rain and wind. As for his more cheerful song Carefree Highway, it's a real place. In the early 1970's, Gordon saw the exit sign off of Interstate 17 in Arizona and liked the name. I live a stone's throw from Carefree Highway now.
It was almost 30,000 short tons of ore, not 30
Oops. Thanks.
Hubby’s college roommate’s high school friend was lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald. It has a personal connection for us.
We visited the lighthouse at Whitefish Bay (Michigan), where they were heading before the ship was lost. Mentioned in the lyrics. The museum there has a display on the tragedy.
Not often mentioned - the ship was retrofitted with an expansion so it could carry more ore. Cut in half, expanded, and welded back together. So was another sister ship, but that one was quietly decommissioned soon after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. I tried to find documentation of this, but haven’t found it in a search.
RIP Gordon Lightfoot 🕊️
As waves washed over the bow, deck hatch covers could have been torn loose, allowing the holds to flood. As the bow began to sink, waves could roll back over the deck, hitting the bridge with full force and preventing a distress call. The Fitzgerald was over 600 feet long, and the lake 220 feet deep where she sank. The bow of the Fitzgerald would have hit the bottom of the lake before the stern left the surface. That impact would have been enough to snap the hull at a weld seam, and the stern would flood rapidly after.
On a related note, during the “Big Blow” in November 1913 (still the deadliest storm recorded on the Great Lakes,) a captain reported having seen another vessel lifted at bow and stern by waves, leaving the middle of the ship unsupported. She “crumbled like an eggshell” and disappeared beneath the surface.
And that explains why it snapped in half! The waves would have weakened the welds.
That November 1975 storm covered a huge swath of the Great Lakes region. I worked at a law firm in downtown Toronto, hundreds of miles from Lake Superior. We closed early because of the heavy rain and wind. As for his more cheerful song Carefree Highway, it's a real place. In the early 1970's, Gordon saw the exit sign off of Interstate 17 in Arizona and liked the name. I live a stone's throw from Carefree Highway now.
I can still hear the opening notes of that song in my head. It haunted me as a teen, and still does.
Ah, crap. Hadn't heard about Gordon Lightfoot. He wrote some great songs. Walk free.
As Michiganders and Great Lakes boaters, this is one of our "favorite" stories. Thank you for telling it so well!
Phenomenal song by a great musician. My late mother didn't like much "modern" music, but she loved Gordon Lightfoot's songs.
I remember him for If you could read my mind. Mostly because I remembered him from the remake.
We saw Gordon Lightfoot in concert at Ravinia in the early 80s. A magical, unforgettable evening.