Name: Edmund Fitzgerald
Date: November 10, 1975
Location: Lake Superior, 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point
Details: Lost with all 29 crew members in a severe storm
Story:
The Edmund Fitzgerald was launched on June 7, 1958 by Great Lakes Engineering Works of River Rouge, MI and was owned by Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company of Milwaukee, WI who invested heavily in the iron and minerals industries, and at the time of her launch she was the largest ship on the Great Lakes. She was named after Northwestern Mutual Life's president and chairman of the board, Edmund Fitzgerald, who's grandfather had been a lake captain. While owned by Northwestern, the Fitzgerald would be operated by the Columbia Transportation division of the Oglebay Norton Corporation, and was quickly designated the fleet's flagship.
The 729 Fitzgerald went to work immediately, and was a record setting workhorse, often outdoing her own cargo records. The record load she carried was 27,842 tons of taconite. Taconite is a pelletized form of iron ore, making it easier for a ship to discharge it's own cargo or be unloaded by clamshell buckets. For 17 years the Fitzgerald carried taconite from Duluth, Minnesota or Superior, Wisconsin to the steel mills of the Lower Lakes, in places like Detroit, Toledo or Cleveland. She would quickly become a favorite of boatwatchers because of her size, her classic and aesthetic appearance, string of records, and at one point, her "DJ captain". Captain Peter Pulcer was in command of the Fitz, as one of her nicknames was, when she set all the records, but he is best known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom system while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers. When in the Soo Locks, he would come out of the pilothouse of the vessel and use a bullhorn to entertain tourists with a commentary on details about the Big Fitz.
The Edmund Fitzgerald began what was to be her last trip at 2:15 PM on Sunday, November 9, 1975. Under the command of Captain Ernest McSorley, the Fitzgerald had loaded a cargo of 26,113 tons of taconite pellets bound for the steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit. Around 5 PM the Fitzgerald met up with another vessel, the Arthur M. Anderson under the command of Captain Jesse "Bernie" Cooper. The forecast was not unusual for November on the Lakes, and the National Weather Service predicted that a storm would pass just south of Lake Superior by 7 AM on November 10.
At 7 PM on November 9, the National Weather Service changed it's forecast, issuing gale warnings for the whole of Lake Superior. At this time, both the Fitzgerald and the Anderson altered course northward toward the lee of the Canadian shore. At 2:00 AM on November 10, the NWS upgraded the warnings from gale to storm, forecasting winds in the 40-60 MPH range. Until this point, the Fitzgerald had been following the Anderson, but the faster Fitzgerald pulled ahead about 3:00 AM. The storm center passed directly over both vessels, and both experienced shifting winds, with wind speeds temporarily dropping to almost nonexistent before ramping up to their highest speeds yet, and wind directions changed from northeast to south to northwest. Throughout the night and day of the 10th, both ships radioed in weather reports to indicate the truly horrendous conditions.
At 3:15 PM on November 10, the Fitzgerald changed course to pass between Michipicoten and Caribou Islands in eastern Lake Superior. Captain Cooper of the Anderson, and his first mate, Morgan Clark, discussed how close the Fitzgerald was to Caribou Island and to the dangerous Six Fathom Shoal, a rocky shoal surrounding Caribou Island. At 3:30 PM, Captain McSorley called Captain Cooper to report that he had sustained some topside damage, including a fence rail laid down, two vents for the ballast tanks lost or damaged, and that he was taking on water giving the ship a list. He also said he was checking down, or reducing speed, due to the severity of the conditions. Shortly after 4 PM, McSorley again contacted the Anderson, reporting that he had lost both of the ship's radars because of the conditions, and requested the Anderson provide radar plots until they reached Whitefish Bay.
Between 5:30 and 6 PM, Captain Cedric Woodard, a Great Lakes Pilot onboard the Swedish vessel Avafors, contacted the Fitzgerald via the radio. He reported to Captain McSorley that the Whitefish Point light was on, but the radio beacon was still out. He also heard Captain McSorley shout to someone something unclear about not letting anyone on deck, and something about the vents that was unintelligible. Captain Woodard asked McSorley to repeat, but McSorley responded with a brief report of his damages.
The Anderson reported being hammered by wind gusts in excess of 100 MPH and waves running 16 to 26 feet. Captain Cooper reported sometime shortly before 7 pm that the Anderson was assaulted by two immense waves that crashed down over the ship and covered the deck with water up to 12 feet deep, making the waves about 35 feet in height.
First Mate Clark contacted the Fitzgerald about 7:10 PM, informing Captain McSorley that there was an upbound vessel on their radar. McSorley asked if he was going to clear the upbound ship, and Clark responded that he was, and asked McSorley how the Fitzgerald was getting on with their reported problems. McSorley responded with what was to be the last words ever received from the Edmund Fitzgerald: "We are holding our own."
Shortly after that transmission, a snow squall blotted the lights of the Fitzgerald out from the view of the Anderson. 10 minutes later when the squall cleared, the lights of the Fitzgerald had disappeared. The radar of the Anderson briefly showed two targets which also then quickly disappeared. Captain Cooper attempted to call the Fitzgerald on the radio, and receives no answer, then tried to call a saltwater vessel in the area, and got no reply. Was the Anderson's radio not functioning? Captain Cooper radioed the steamer William Clay Ford, who received and responded. It is the Fitzgerald that isn't receiving or transmitting.
At 7:39 PM the Anderson called the Coast Guard station at Sault Ste. Marie to report that they cannot locate the Fitzgerald or raise them on the radio. They also contacted the Coast Guard again at 7:55 PM, making a similar report.
At 8:32 PM Captain Cooper contacted the Coast Guard Group Soo again, saying he was very concerned for the welfare of the Fitzgerald, reporting the last known condition of the Fitzgerald, and also reporting that none of the upbound ships had passed the Fitz.
At 9:00 PM, Group Soo made an unbelievable request to Captain Cooper, asking if he could turn the Anderson around and return to the wild open lake to search for the Fitzgerald (the Anderson had reached Whitefish Bay by this time). Captain Cooper responds with an uncertain answer, saying he could give it a try, but that the conditions were truly awful. The Anderson had survived the maw of hell that had possibly claimed the Fitzgerald, and now Captain Cooper was being asked to put his ship and crew back in jeopardy to go back and search for the Fitzgerald, or survivors of her crew. Group Soo left the decision to the Captain regarding whether he would be hazarding his vessel or not, and ultimately Captain Cooper agreed to turn around and try and head back out, and Group Soo contacted several other vessels at anchor. Only two would agree to head out.
The William Clay Ford, under the command of Captain Don Erickson, which was upbound and without cargo, and the smaller Canadian vessel Hilda Marjanne agreed to try and go out, but the Marjanne would be beaten back by the angry Lake Superior. The Ford and the Anderson would search in tandem, together but alone, throughout the black stormy night, and as conditions began to dissipate, they would be joined by other ships. The ships and Coast Guard aircraft would search the eastern end of Lake Superior for the next few days, but all that was found of the Edmund Fitzgerald was a lifeboat, half of another, two inflatable life rafts, twenty one life jackets or pieces of them, and other pieces of flotsam. No ship, no survivors, no bodies.
On November 16, 1975, two large objects were located laying close together on the bottom of Lake Superior in 530 feet of water, 17 miles northwest of Whitefish Point, just inside Candian waters. The two objects proved to be the Edmund Fitzgerald. The ship was broken into two parts, a 276 foot bow section that sits upright, and an inverted stern section, with approximately a 200 foot mid section being reduced to pieces.
In the weeks, months, and years that have followed, the Fitzgerald has been the subject of numerous investigations by many organizations, but no definitive cause of the sinking has been determined, and likely never will be. No survivors were left to tell the tale nor was a distress call sent, indicating that the end of the Fitzgerald came rapidly. Theories as to the cause of the sinking about, but no definite answers have been found.
This cache is placed to highlight my interest in shipwrecks, and also in honor of the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald, listed below:
1. Ernest McSorley, Captain
2. John McCarthy, First Mate
3. James Pratt, Second Mate
4. Michael Armagost, Third Mate
5. Thomas Bentsen, Oiler
6. Thomas Borgeson, Maintenance Man
7. John Simmons, Wheelsman
8. Eugene O'Brien, Wheelsman
9. John Poviach, Wheelsman
10. Ransom Cundy, Watchman
11. William Spengler, Watchman
12. Karl Peckol, Watchman
13. Mark Thomas, Deckhand
14. Paul Riipa, Deckhand
15. Bruce Hudson, Deckhand
16. David Weiss, Cadet
17. Robert Rafferty, Steward
18. Allen Kalmon, Second Cook
19. Frederick Beetcher, Porter
20. Nolan Church, Porter
21. George Holl, Chief Engineer
22. Edward Bindon, 1st Assistant Engineer
23. Thomas Edwards, 2nd Assistant Engineer
24. Russell Haskell, 3rd Assistant Engineer
25. Oliver Champeau, 4th Assistant Engineer
26. Blaine Wilhelm, Oiler
27. Ralph Walton, Oiler
28. Joseph Mazes, Maintenance
29. Gordon MacLellan, Wiper
***Please note that the First to Find for this cache will be raffled off at the event for the release of this series,"The Legend Lives on From The Chippewa on Down...", so if you happen to find this before the winner of the First to Find gets here, please do not claim the first to find. Reserve that for the winner, who's name will be posted on this page.***
This cache is located just off the Harold Hartger trail in the Kitchel Lindquist Dune Preseve on the north side of the channel in Grand Haven. Parking is available by following North Shore Road to Berwyck Street, then turning left. You will see a small parking lot on the left a short way from the corner. You will be searching for a plastic ammo box hidden in a traditional way.