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Fascinating Horror
  • 18/09/2024
"On the 9th of November, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald left Wisconsin and set off across Lake Superior laden with a cargo of iron ore pellets..."

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► The image in this video which I display when speaking about Captain McSorley is actually Captain Bernie Cooper of the Arthur M Anderson. Apologies for this error, which is entirely my own.

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Transcript
00:00On the 9th of November, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald left Wisconsin and set off across
00:19Lake Superior laden with a cargo of iron ore pellets. It was a journey the cargo freighter
00:26had made many times before, but this particular sailing would be different. The Edmund Fitzgerald
00:32would never make it to its planned destination of Zug Island near Detroit, and neither would
00:38any of the 29 crew members on board. Construction of the Edmund Fitzgerald began in 1957 and
00:47was completed the following year. The freighter was, at that time, larger than any other on
00:53the Great Lakes, measuring, as it did, 222 meters or 729 feet from bow to stern. This
01:03gargantuan vessel was owned by the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, and was therefore
01:08given the name of the company's then president, Edmund Fitzgerald. Clearly Mr. Fitzgerald
01:16was proud of the ship his company had commissioned, and he wasn't alone. The crew and captains
01:22of the vessel demonstrated a similar pride. She was known in her early years for frequently
01:28hauling record-breaking amounts of cargo in a season, and for doing so with an impeccable
01:33safety record. The Edmund Fitzgerald was a popular site with tourists and ship spotters,
01:40too, especially when under the command of Captain Peter Pulser. This particular captain
01:45was known for piping music through the ship's tannoy system to inspire the crew, and for
01:50heading out on deck with a bullhorn as the ship passed through locks in order to bellow
01:55commentary and fun facts to watching tourists. The haulage of cargo across the Great Lakes
02:01of America might seem like a fairly mundane task. Indeed, the Edmund Fitzgerald was often
02:07referred to as a workhorse of a ship. It's safe to say, though, that among those in close
02:13contact with her she was a much-loved workhorse. In her early years she was cared for well,
02:20and thus by 1975 was nowhere near the end of her expected lifespan. All being well,
02:27it was thought that she stood a good chance of lasting well into the 2000s. However, this
02:34was not to be. On the 9th of November 1975 the Edmund Fitzgerald set out on a routine
02:42voyage from Wisconsin to Zug Island, loaded with a cargo of iron ore pellets. She departed
02:48around 2.15pm, at which time the weather forecast was fair. A storm was due in the
02:56early hours of the next morning, but the National Weather Service predicted that it would pass
03:00by to the south of Lake Superior, and would thus be of no concern to the crew of the Edmund
03:06Fitzgerald. Just five hours later, however, the National Weather Service updated their
03:11predictions. Far from passing by to the south, the storm would bring gale-force winds to
03:18the whole of Lake Superior. The captain at the helm of the Edmund Fitzgerald for this
03:23journey was 63-year-old Captain Ernest M. McSorley. When McSorley received this worrying
03:30forecast he ordered a change of direction, steering the freighter towards the Canadian
03:35shore of the lake, where it might be able to find some shelter from waves and wind.
03:41By 1am on the 10th of November the Edmund Fitzgerald was battling its way through a
03:46powerful storm. Winds blew at more than 50 knots, and waves more than three meters or
03:5310 feet high smashed against the sides of the ship. Doggedly the Edmund Fitzgerald crawled
03:59onwards through the onslaught. Morning came and the storm continued. At around 2.45pm
04:07that day snow was added to the already challenging conditions, reducing visibility and forcing
04:14the Edmund Fitzgerald to slow to a crawl. At 3.30pm Captain McSorley radioed another
04:21nearby ship, the SS Arthur M. Anderson, which was following the same course as the Edmund
04:27Fitzgerald but about 16km or 10 miles behind.
04:32I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a list, reported Captain McSorley.
04:41In this context, list meant that the ship was tilting to one side. Captain McSorley
04:46asked the Arthur M. Anderson to stay close in case of an emergency. Later, around 7.10pm,
04:54the first mate on board the Arthur M. Anderson checked in on Captain McSorley. After providing
05:00some navigational guidance he asked,
05:02By the way, Fitzgerald, how are you making out with your problems?
05:07Stoically Captain McSorley replied,
05:10We are holding our own.
05:12That would be the last communication of any kind from the Edmund Fitzgerald. The crew
05:17of the Arthur M. Anderson tried to radio again and again but could not get through, and couldn't
05:23spot the ship on radar. They contacted the Coast Guard, first to express concern and
05:30then to outright report that the Edmund Fitzgerald was missing.
05:35By 9pm the Arthur M. Anderson had reached a safe harbour in Whitefish Bay between Michigan
05:41and Ontario. However, the Coast Guard was soon in touch to ask the ship to turn around
05:47and venture back out to look for the Edmund Fitzgerald. The captain's hesitancy in responding
05:52gives some indication as to the conditions at the time.
05:56Well, he replied to the Coast Guard, I'll go back and take a look but, god, I'm afraid
06:02I'm going to take a hell of a beating out there. I'll turn around and give her a whirl
06:07but, god, I don't know. I'll give it a try.
06:14Despite the awful conditions the Arthur M. Anderson led the search. It was to be an unsuccessful
06:21one. The only trace of the Edmund Fitzgerald that was found was a smashed lifeboat and
06:26some other debris. After many ships had spent many hours searching the waters in increasingly
06:33treacherous conditions there was only one conclusion that could be reached. The Edmund
06:38Fitzgerald had sunk. There were many questions to be answered about this disaster. First
06:45and foremost among them was what had actually caused the sinking. There had been no distress
06:51signal and not one of the crew members on board had been able to escape in a lifeboat.
06:57How were other ships in the area able to weather the storm when the Edmund Fitzgerald was not?
07:03Was there anything particular about the design of the ship that led to its sinking? Even
07:08now, after years of extensive investigation, there are no answers to these questions, only
07:15many theories. The wreckage, discovered five days after the sinking, has been surveyed
07:21visited multiple times. The ship lies broken in two pieces, and some theorize that it fractured
07:28under stress while still on the surface. Others believe strongly that this is not possible,
07:34and that the ship must have been swamped by a series of massive rogue waves. Still others
07:40contend that the sinking must have been down to the cargo hold flooding, or to the ship
07:45scraping against a reef in the dark and confusion of the storm. Perhaps it was alleged the ship
07:52had not been as well cared for under Captain McSorley as it had in previous years. Some
07:58evidence was found that repairs had been deferred or temporarily patched, and the captain had
08:03a reputation for pushing the ship hard and accepting no delays even in extreme weather
08:09conditions. Perhaps it was his actions and decisions that caused the Edmund Fitzgerald
08:15to be lost. While the exact mechanism of the disaster remains unclear, several contributing
08:21factors were identified in the years after the wreck, and even though no single one could
08:26be blamed for the incident, changes were made to improve safety across the board. In the
08:32aftermath of the disaster depth detectors were made mandatory on ships over a certain
08:37weight, as were survival suits for all crew. Navigational and communication infrastructure
08:44on the Great Lakes was improved dramatically, as were maps and charts of the area. Finally
08:50the US Coast Guard began a much more rigorous inspection program of all ships sailing on
08:55the Great Lakes. These routes are not without danger, but thanks to these changes and more
09:02there hasn't been another incident as deadly as the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in
09:06the area since. A memorial to the 29 crew members who lost their lives when the Edmund
09:13Fitzgerald sank stands near the water at Whitefish Point in Michigan. The ship's bell and anchor
09:19have also been retrieved, and are kept in museums to be preserved in honor of the memory
09:25of the deceased. The sailors who perished were proud and competent individuals. Though
09:31we do not necessarily know exactly why they were lost, we can still appreciate the immense
09:36risk they took in order to carry out their work. Shipping on the Great Lakes continues
09:42to this day, an everyday necessary undertaking which fuels industry and powers a nation.
09:50The journeys back and forth across Lake Superior and the other inland bodies of water in the
09:55Great Lakes chain may seem unremarkable simply because they happen every day. The cargo is
10:02mundane, the work steady, but as the Edmund Fitzgerald shows the crew who undertake this
10:09relatively thankless work, do so at great personal risk.

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