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. 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. It was considered a private hunting preserve through the early 1900s. Diving expeditions on the shoals also found no evidence of any recent groundings there by a ship. Capt. Cooper radioed theFitzgerald at 7:10 PMuknown to him that it would be the final communication with McSorley. Okay, fine, Ill be talking to you later. Clark signed off. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. An entire generation now has no active memory of November 10, 1975, but the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald continues to fascinate, mystify and preoccupy young and old. Cooper tried desperately to raise McSorley on the radio to no avail. The last dive in 1993 indicated that zebra and cuaga muscles were begginning to grow on her metal superstructure and that rusting had gotten worse. The story is about Inuit hunting the toughest Caribou until only . In the fewest words possible, I say She never should have embarked on this cruise, but She had to. There have been about half a dozen dives to the site since the shipwreck in 1975. Wold, R.J., Hutchinson, D.R. However, divers found no recent damage to the shoal after the wreck and the ship's exact course could only be estimated because the Fitzgerald radars were inoperable and the Anderson kept inexact course records during the journey. This theory is the thought that the Fitzgerald hit the bottom near Caribou Island, ripping a hole in the ship. Near-hurricane force winds seemed to pick up strength throughout the day while visibility was greatly reduced. But the questions surrounding the cause of the wreck kept mounting and continue to do so. Meantime, northwest winds built massive seas from the starboard quarter (right rear), washing powerful waves completely over the deck as the ship left the eastern lee of Caribou Island. Hinze, W.J., Allen, D.J., Fox, A.J., Sunwood, D., Woelk, T. and Green, A.G., 1992. Captain Jesse Cooper, (J.C.) of the S.S. Arthur M. Anderson watches the Fitzgerald round Caribou Island and comments that the Fitzgerald is much closer to Six Fathom Shoal than he would want to be. In Lake Superior Port Cities Inc.s newly released book, The Night the Fitz Went Down, Captain Dudley Paquette vividly describes his voyage through the massive seas of the November 9-10, 1975, storm as master of the downbound Inland Steel Companys SS Wilfred Sykes. For the island near Thunder Bay, see, Caribou Island (near Michipicoten Island), Caribou Island near the international border. The last radio communication between the Fitzgerald and the Anderson was at 7:10 pm. In fact, the Fitzgerald -- known as a workhorse ship that set numerous cargo hauling records -- was allowed by 1975 to sit a touch over 3 feet deeper in the water when laden with cargo than originally intended when the ship was launched in 1958. Not long after the search ended, years of arguments and disagreements over what could have caused theEdmund Fitzgeraldto sink have clouded up any hope of truly understanding what occurred the night of November 10, 1975 as the shipping companies, government agencies and sea fairers of the Great Lakes all have different theories and opinions that do not match. That would seem to indicate that their instruments convinced them that water was leaking into the tank area. USS Indianapolis (CA-35)
Various cars scatter the bottom of the river covered in grass and zebra muscles. From what I know, the Fitzgerald sank 45 years ago as of posting this comment, soon to be 46. The Anderson changes course to avoid Six Fathom Shoal area north of Caribou Island. The Fitzgerald is about 16 miles ahead. On this voyage, Fitzgerald was fully loaded with iron ore. Until 1959,Edmund Fitzgeraldheld the record for the longest ship on the Great Lakes. By stretching more than 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the island Caribou north point, a dangerous reef is presently known as "Six Fathom Shoal." Cooper started to fear the worst and contacted the Coast Guard alerting them to theFtizgerald'sdisappearance. She was already moving slow and was listing as well. Another sonar survey was conducted November 22-25. 3:30 PM Radio transmission between the Fitzgerald and the Anderson It was not long after thatFitzgeraldvanished from theAnderson'sradar. Was a bad night. Ernest M. McSorley had loaded her with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets, made of processed iron ore, heated and rolled into marble-size balls 26,116 long tons more than the great iron boat weighed empty. The Headstones originally hailing from Kingston, Ont. It is approximately 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) long and 2.4 kilometres (1.5 mi) wide, and 1,600 acres (647 ha . In testimony before the marine board, Captain Cooper said that 10 miles southeast of Caribou he had waves cresting over the pilothouse - 35 feet above the waterline. Coast Guard aircraft were on the scene by 10:55 p.m. Commercial vessels in the protective waters of Whitefish Bay were requested to form a search effort and several, including the Anderson, did venture out of shelter to search the storm-tossed seas for survivors. 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. Your comment will appear after being approved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). This island was considered an emergency landing airport (YCI) during World War II. The LCA thinks the Fitzgerald grounded on the poorly-marked Six Fathom Shoal northwest of Caribou Island, causing fatal damage to the hull. Despite having been built in Michigan and having operated mostly around Michigan,Edmund Fitzgeraldwas homeported in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Size wise, both theArthur B. HomerandEdmund Fitzgeraldwere impressive even compared to oceanic ships, with an outstanding length of 711 to 729 feet. Diving on the wreck has been completely banned by the Canadian goverment by all means including ROVs and manned submersibles as the wreck is entirely located within the territorial waters of the Canadian province of Ontario. [7], These reefs are not coral reefs. 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. 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. May god rest the souls of the 29 men who perished that fateful night, The iron ore freighter is only about 9 nautical miles from Pancake Bay off highway #17 Ontario Canada, it sits in Canadain waters. But what caused the ship to take on water, enough to lose buoyancy and dive to the bottom so quickly, without a single cry for help, cannot be determined. The weather had cleared dramatically. Phantom Fireworks is the leading retailer of consumer fireworks in the U.S. Phantom provides the widest range of consumer fireworks in all categories. Perhaps the real cause of the sinking may never be known for certain. Todays captain, however, has much more accurate and immediate information than did those sailing in 1975, when the Fitzgerald was virtually blind and wallowing in huge seas and heavy winds on its way from Caribou Island to its final resting place. Other information comes from an interview witn Captain Bernie Cooper shortly before his death in 1993. All rights reserved (About Us). Grew up learning about this. The CURV III unit took 43,000 feet of video tape and 900 photographs of the wreck. Aware of a building November storm entering the Great Lakes from the great plains, Captain McSorley and Captain Cooper agreed to take the northerly course across Lake Superior, where they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore. If the ship had "hogged" upon striking the. Of note, the NTSB report included a dissenting opinion that held to this theory. $45.00. One man lived to tell about what happened unlike the Fitz. In 2003, the herd was estimated to have 490,000 individuals, 6 and in 2016, the herd count decreased to 201,000. 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. No limit on the Perch, so we returned pretty low in the water. 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. Disproven by: Captain's experience in the area, ballast tank location Rogue waves. They . "They were killing the boat," he said. 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. The first one flooded our boat deck. Yes, she almost certainly hit the shoals. Captain Cooper asked McSorley if he had his pumps going, and McSorley said, Yes, both of them.. The now unmanned lighthouse which is owned by the Canadian Coast Guard is located on a tiny adjacent island called Lighthouse Island a few hundred feet across and positioned 1 mile (1.6km) west of the southern tip of the island. The Lake Carriers Association was inclined to accept that Fitzgerald passed over the Six Fathom Shoal Area as reported by Captain Cooper. Another wave just like the first one or bigger hit us again.
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