the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald

S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online is a site dedicated to informing others about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which took the lives of 29men 31years ago, today - 10 November 1975.

November is referred to as "The Month of Storms" on the Great Lakes. The storm that hit when the Fitzgerald went down was one of the biggest, and the worst that Captain McSorley said he had ever seen. In the Fitzgerald's storm, winds as fast as 45knots were reported, with waves as high as 30feet. Both water pumps on the Edmund Fitzgerald were damaged, and the lifeboats were destroyed by the force of the storm. While it is many times portrayed that ships were happy to return to the water in search for the Fitz that night, they were not. Though they were eager to help their friends, it was a hard decision to make. Crews had to make a choice to risk their lives in hopes of saving others, or staying sheltered by the safety of Whitefish point. While many factors undoubtedly went into the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and no one can conclusively determine the cause, one thing is certain from testimony of other sailors that were on Lake Superior on November 10: the storm was a major factor to the ultimate demise of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

• The Edmund Fitzgerald foundered only 17 miles from the "safe haven" of Whitefish Point.
• The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald was rumored as Captain McSorley's final voyage before retirement.

lyrics to Gordon Lightfoot's song The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - a classic Canadian folk song.
links to midi version of song as well as other links about the Edmund Fitzgerald
wikipedia article