All 29 lost their lives when the feared November storms that strike Lake Superior claimed the ship and crew. Nov 10th it was, and the Author Anderson was sailing behind her. The Author Anderson still sails the Great Lakes today.
Remember the Edmund Fitzgerald
- Thread starter 318willrun
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That was a bad deal.
33IMP
Well-Known Member
Once you hear Gordon Lightfoot (who passed a few ago) you'll never forget the "Edmund Fitzgerald".
They never have conclusively proved what really happened. Several theories.
They never have conclusively proved what really happened. Several theories.
A real Troubadour he was. I think it was just a year ago or so he died. I was in a waiting room, overhearing a mother speak to her child about the song and his death. Funny she did not mention the song "Sundown"
There is actually a fairly new theory that makes way more sense than anything they've come up with so far. The Fitzgerald was 729 feet long. She sank in water about 530 feet deep. Experts now think that a series of rouge waves overtook the bow sending it straight to the bottom bow first. When the bow hit the bottom it broke the ship in two. They think the whole sinking took place in less than 20 seconds. That's why no one was able to be saved. The whole thing was just a terrible tragedy.
It's a really spooky song. When I play it, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
That's a BFS
It is a magical story. He was really touched to have written those lyrics.
No doubt about it. I can play the song forwards and backwards, but I've never been able to nail all the lyrics down. It's a LONG song.
33IMP
Well-Known Member
It carried a literal battleship-weight of iron ore.
(Lyrics are available on you tube, as the song is played).
(Lyrics are available on you tube, as the song is played).
Practice practice practice
some days are better than others. Some homemade blackberry brandy really helps the range.
We go to Superior now and then. I love it. Been to White Fish Point, Copper Harbor, Munising, Grand Marias, etc etc. My wife loves to collect the rocks along the shore. We actually found a huge Yooper Rock (for those that know)
Some of these freighters are over a 1000 ft long. They are something to see if a guy hasn't seen them.
And.... Superior is over 1300 ft deep in some places.... the deepest of the great lakes. Lake Michigan is just under a 1000 ft deep
LocuMob
Fluid Technician
Lake Superior is technically an inland sea. It's big!
Its amazing how difficult (expensive) it is to go up or down.
He updated some of the words years later as he found out more info on the sinking.
I noticed that with subsequent versions. I didn't realize he added. Thanks for that information.
And don't forget the Cuda that was parked by one of the guys on the ship, later found abandoned where he had parked it.
Here's a super simplified video of what they think now happened. Seems very plausible.
33IMP
Well-Known Member
Yet there was a theory that the EF was off course, and bottomed out on a charted reef. (I wonder what her loaded draught was)
Looked it up. Kinda surprised, it was only 25 ft, loaded.
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The Author Anderson was about 3.5 miles behind the Edmund Fitzgerald, and just lost all contact with nothing. There are a few theories on how the EF sunk. Many believe a swell broke it as it was overloaded, but the waves were averaging 25 ft with 70 mph winds so if a swell wave hit it, it could have snapped in the center. I doubt we'll ever know the absolute fact.
Makes perfectly good sense. A long ship, overloaded, in rough waters with big waves.
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