OT: Anniversary of the Edmund FItzgerald

Submitted by IncrediblySTIFF on
Today, November 10th, is the 41th(st) anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Obviously, the song sprung from the event by the eloquent Gordon Lightfoot is of great importance to our fearless leader Jim Harbaugh.

So, let us remember this tragedy and honor those who lost their lives to the witch of November.

"The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
When the wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too
'Twas the witch of November come stealin."

 

 

 

edit in bold for year updateupdat

 

 

CREDIT: Go.Blue.Hail

http://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/ot-anniversary-edmund-fitzgerald


 

Remembering the captain and crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald today. God Bless You and Yours! https://t.co/OZl3bMYWuy

— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) November 10, 2015
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morg2636

November 10th, 2016 at 1:01 PM ^

I remember that day.  I was in seventh grade (yes, I am old). I was swimming in lake Michigan that day.  It was freezing but the waves were huge.  I remember the article in the paper about the "Fitz" the next day.

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25dodgebros

November 10th, 2016 at 1:06 PM ^

I saw the launching of the Fitzgerald from my dads shoulders. He was taking 8mm movie of the launch which I will watch tonight. Thanks for the reminder. I lived in Markley when the ship sank.



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True Blue Grit

November 10th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^

for marine forensics (like me), here is the most credible analysis of the cause of the sinking I've read to date:  

http://assets1.csc.com/innovation/downloads/Edmund_Fitzgerald.pdf

Warning though - it has a lot of naval architecture terms and math in it.  But the summary is basically this:  the ship sank because of ongoing slow flooding likely caused by two damaged ballast tank vents on the upper starboard deck.  Water entered these vents, causing an increasing list to starboard and the ship to gradually lower in the water.  This could have been combined with several leaking hatch covers, but that hasn't been proven definitively.  But, the very heavy following seas dumped more and more water on the top deck, and eventually the ship lost positive stability.  The end likely came when a particularly huge wave struck the ship and caused the front two cargo hold covers to fail.  (This wave was actually observed by the crew of the Anderson some distance behind the Fitz, and contact was lost with the ship around the time this wave would have reached the EF)  It then broke apart on the surfact and sank.  

Very sad for the crew and families.  

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stephenrjking

November 10th, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^

That's interesting, I've listened in on several debates about the cause. One friend who has put a lot of time into it ventures his best guess that the ship unknowingly ran across a shoal and was damaged. There are certainly theories that the rogue wave recorded by the Anderson resulted in a hog/sag situation that could have broken the ship's back and help explain why it split into two pieces.

It's worth remembering that the depth of the water the Fitz rests under is shallower than the length of the boat.

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True Blue Grit

November 10th, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^

ruled out for several reasons.  First, there's no proof that the ship's course carried it over the shoal.  It's believed it was possible, but again no proof.  Second, they examined the shoal sometime after the accident and found no evidence of anything large hitting the rocks there. Also, due to the condition and position of the wreck, the area where it may have hit can't be examined.  

The hog/sag scenario would not have been enough without other stresses on the hulll, such as that caused by overflooding and loss of stability.  Two other similar ships were out in the storm and suffered no such fate.  The Arthur Anderson, not many miles behind the Fitz encountered the same "rogue" wave and survived it.  

Regarding the depth of water, one popular theory is that the ship made one big plunge with the bow plowing into the lake bed with the ships propellers driving in further causing the breakup.  The forensic analysis I referenced basically debunked that theory.  The study concluded it broke up at the surface.  

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MaizeAndBlueWahoo

November 11th, 2016 at 8:43 AM ^

As I understand it, the hogging and sagging could indeed have been enough to sink the ship, because it wasn't well constructed or designed.  It had welds where normally there would've been rivets, which made it inflexible and prone to undue stresses.  The one wave could easily have been the straw that broke the camel's back.  Or the log that broke it after being loaded down with straws.

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GoBlue519

November 10th, 2016 at 1:22 PM ^

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya
At seven pm a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'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

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CriticalFan

November 10th, 2016 at 1:26 PM ^

crazy to think of the weather back then compared to now.

It is 64 degrees, calm and sunny today.

Harbaugh did say "Global warming good for Michigan"  but also in ways other than recruiting.

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nwmustelid

November 10th, 2016 at 1:31 PM ^

For a long time I thought the expression "witch of November" was just Lightfoot's imagination, but Wikipedia says it's a name for a fierce Lakes storm in autumn caused by the meeting of an Arctic air mass with warm air from the Gulf (of Mexico).

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MtP Michigan Man

November 10th, 2016 at 1:40 PM ^

but some of the lyrics are a little, shall we say - bad: 

"As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most..." 

Clearly written by a Canadian, whose music mostly sucks - e.g. Loverboy, Bryan Adams, April Wine, Corey Hart.  That statement does not include Rush, The Guess Who and Triumph - they rocked!

 

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micheal honcho

November 10th, 2016 at 5:58 PM ^

If any of you get a chance stop and visit the Great Lakes shipwreck museum on whitefish point. It's where the salvaged bell from the deck of the Fitz resides. They have a small theatre where they play a short, but very powerful film about the wreck. Highly recommend a trip up there to anyone.



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mackbru

November 10th, 2016 at 7:33 PM ^

What's with the need of some people to post random anniversaries -- especially of things that have nothing to do with Michigan sports. Hey, it's Sonny and Cher's 67th wedding anniversary! I better alert people! Jesus.



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Mike420GoBlue

November 10th, 2016 at 9:00 PM ^

A couple of weeks ago I was able to help load a bulk dry material onto the Herbert C. Jackson dry bulk carrier in Monroe, Mi. Its a ship built by the same company that built The Fitz, it also is the next ship built by that company. Fitz was #300 and Herbert was #301...don't know how to embed pics, but google it if you're interested. It was creepy seeing it burst thru the fog knowing it was almost the same design

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