Edmund Fitzgerald Sinks to the Bottom of Lake Superior 47 Years Ago
Can you believe it's already been 47 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald lost her entire crew of 29 men to Michigan's Lake Superior?
It happened 47 years ago on November 10,1975. I was just out of high school back then when this tragic journey took place.
At the time the Edmund Fitzgerald was being loaded with 26,000 tons of iron ore. The doomed voyage ended about 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Once the largest ship on the Great Lakes, the 728-foot Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin at 2:15 p.m. on Nov. 10, 1975. Her crew planned to cross Lake Superior to deliver the load at Detroit’s Zug Island.
And what comes to mind? The incredible recording of "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" recorded by the very talented Gordon Lightfoot.
What an incredible song paying tribute to the captain and crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald. We're talking about sons, brothers, husbands and fathers.
Several investigations took place after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. (Mlive.com)
Investigators would later say that in the big freighter’s last hour, it battled sustained winds of 60 mph, and waves higher than 25 feet. It may have even encountered “The Three Sisters” - a trio of rapidly-hitting waves that are higher than the others around them.
Even to this very day, can't even imagine what took place back in 1975 aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald.
7:15 p.m. The Fitzgerald disappears from the Anderson’s radar. More than an hour later, the Coast Guard begins an active search. The 29 crew members aboard the Fitzgerald all perish.