50 Years Later: "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald"

[Old No7]

I just saw that the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was 50 years ago today... November 10th.

RIP to the captain & crew -- fair winds and following seas.

I've always like the haunting song by Gordon Lightfoot (RIP), which is a fascinating and captivating piece of song/storytelling history. I've seen some reports of them finding the ship (as the bell was recovered in 1995), but I haven't watched any of the more recent videos. Some other info is posted below.

Old No7

From the web:
One of Gordon Lightfoot’s most important works was "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." Written shortly after the shipwreck of the same name, the song comforted many, became a chart-topping success at the time, and nearly 50 years later it has found a place in popular culture and social media. The song also served as the inspiration for former Split Rock Lighthouse keeper Lee Radzak to start the annual beacon lighting to honor the crew.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake, they called Gitche Gumee.
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy.
With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side coming back from some mill in Wisconsin.
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most, with a crew and good captain well seasoned.
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms when they left fully loaded for Cleveland.
And later that night when the ship's bell rang, could it be the north wind they'd been feeling?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound and a wave broke over the railing.
And every man knew, as the captain did too 'twas the witch of November come stealing.
The dawn came late, and the breakfast had to wait wWhen the gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came, it was freezin' rain In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin' "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya".
At seven p.m., a main hatchway caved in, he said "Fellas, it's been good to know ya".
The captain wired in he had water comin' in and the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay if they'd put 15 more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized, they may have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings, in the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams, the islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario takes in what Lake Erie can send her.
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know with the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit, they prayed in the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed 'til it rang twenty-nine times for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake, they call Gitche Gumee.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead when the gales of November come early.

~ Gordon Lightfoot ~

Edmund Fitz 02.jpg

[AmBraCol]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vST6hVRj2A

[Bill in Oregon]

Has it been that long? Still give me chills.
And the question remains: "Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?"
I do not.

[samsi]

I was in HS at the time and remember the next morning well, it was quite somber. A close friend's father was nearly on that trip and another classmates uncle was one of those lost.

My grandfather spent his career sailing the Great Lakes as an engineer on the ore carriers. My dad and uncles gave it a try but none stuck with it, it takes a certain temperament to ride out the weather on those boats.

[gamekeeper]

I remember Pichy telling us all about the Edmund Fitzgerald he even made a model boat based on her.

[Old No7]

...it takes a certain temperament to ride out the weather on those boats.

True that. A friend of mine did dozens of trips across the North & South Atlantic as an engineer on merchant vessels. He only did 2 or 3 trips on the Great Lakes -- as he said that's where he saw the wildest weather and waves ever. On the ocean you may have large rolling swells, and while the ratio of height to length can vary, you'd typically climb up its face over a distance many times its height. When the wind whips up you'll have smaller waves on both sides of the swell's top, but you're still typically climbing up and sliding down, as the ship rolls over them. But he said on the lakes you'll get "square waves" -- the wave is as tall as it is long -- and all you do is pound, pound, pound with no leisurely climb up a rolling swell. He said the closest he ever got to meeting his maker was in a tanker on the Great Lakes -- or, as he'd call them, the "Not-So-Great Lakes".

Cheers.

Old No7

[kaschi]

i remember when the Gordon Lightfoot song came out commemorating the tragedy. Seem to remember hearing it on the radio a lot in the fall of 1976.

[2ndovc]

Growing up on the Great Lakes, the story of the Fitzgerald was unavoidable. To a deep water sailor I’m sure the weather could be disconcerting at times, but they are great. I’ve spent my life on the Lakes and all have their unique characteristics. Erie is the shallowest and can produce viscous waves that can feel like they’re just trying to end you.
The line in Lightfoot’s song, “Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?”, is a perfect description. The first time I was sailing on the ocean, we had been warned about the 12-15’ waves. We got offshore a couple of miles and I thought “is this what everyone was afraid of? “.
I’ve seen much worse since, but to a 12 year old kid my thoughts were “I’ve seen worse.”.
The winds on Erie can whip up ten footers in no time and truly turn the minutes to hours.

jb

[Ray]

If you can make it through all 4,963 seconds you might not want to listen to mister lightfoot for awhile.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FS1vHfhZN ... BsaXZloAcB