What was the wreck of the edmund fitzgerald

Image of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck taken during a dive in to recover the ship's bell. Photo provided by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.

Anderson calls Fitzgerald with navigation instructions. The ship is about 10 miles behind the doomed freighter. Have you checked down? Fitzgerald, there is a target 19 miles ahead of us. So the target would be 9 miles on ahead of you. He is going to pass to the west of you. Fitzgerald disappears from Anderson radar. More than an hour later, the Coast Guard begins an active search. The 29 crew members aboard all perish.

Life vests recovered after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. Photo courtesy of the U. Coast Guard. The No. An oil-splattered life ring from the Edmund Fitzgerald was among the limited debris recovered after the sinking. Coast Guard and Fred Stonehouse. Sketch of the Edmund Fitzgerald shipwreck site from the U.

Coast Guard marine casualty report. When the U. About 1. Coast Guard, though, was able to send an HU fixed-wing search aircraft from Traverse City, Michigan, which arrived in the search area at p. An HH helicopter with a high-powered searchlight arrived at 1 a. The agency sent the Woodrush buoy tender too, but it took 2. The Canadian Coast Guard participated in the search as well, sending an aircraft.

In addition, the Ontario Provincial Police launched a beach patrol along the eastern coastline of Lake Superior. The search lasted for three days, and only debris was found, such as lifeboats and rafts.

None of the 29 crew were found. On the fourth day — Nov. Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft found the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald using equipment that submarines use to detect magnetic anomalies. Another U. Coast Guard survey using a side scan sonar showed two big objects near each other. Between Nov. Navy commissioned a second survey with Seaward, Inc. Since the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, the government and other organizations have conducted many underwater surveys:.

After these surveys, the Ontario Heritage Act was amended in to hinder dives, pictures, and scans of the wreckage without a license. The Act was amended again in and as well. No survey equipment of any kind is allowed near the shipwreck without a license. After the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, an investigation by the U. Coast Guard resulted in 15 recommendations for regulation changes. Coast Guard 19 recommendations. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald has been memorialized in numerous ways over the decades.

Aside from traditional ceremonies, there are books, plays, songs, and TV specials that remember the shipwreck. Every year on Nov. The museum is where the recovered bell from the ship is on display. During the ceremony, the bell rings 29 times for each of the lost crew members, and their surviving family members have the opportunity to participate.

The bell also rings a 30th time in remembrance of the estimated 30, people who have lost their lives on the Great Lakes. Additionally, some of the surviving family members gather to mark special events or anniversaries related to the Fitzgerald.

For instance, a consecration ceremony was held over the wreckage on Lake Superior and a dozen families attended. Read more about how the Edmund Fitzgerald is remembered here. He had some experience sailing the Great Lakes and knows how unpredictable the weather can be. Although the lyrics tell a true story, Lightfoot took some creative liberties to make the seven verses rhyme.

Since releasing the song in , he has changed some of the lyrics for live performances because a couple of them offended a few people. It reached No. Cash Box Top The song was nominated for two Grammy Awards, too. Even though it was about 6. The lyrics were just too important.

At p. Steady winds at 43 knots and waves of up to 12 and 16 feet were reported by the Anderson. At around this time the Fitzgerald contacted the Anderson and reported "a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged and a list". A list is when a ship leans to one side. Also around this time, the storm's fury had closed the Sault Ste. Marie locks. A shift of winds to the NW is very important, as this increased the fetch, allowing large waves to build. The Fitzgerald and Anderson were no longer protected by land.

Late on the afternoon of the 10th, the captain of the Fitzgerald made radio contact with another ship, the Avafor , and reported that they "had a bad list, had lost both radars, and was taking heavy seas over the deck in one of the worst seas he had ever been in.

At seven p. When asked how the Fitzgerald was making out they replied "We are holding our own". This was around p. Shortly afterwards the Fitzgerald disappeared from the Anderson's radar screen. This phrase of the song, while romantic, makes it sound as if the crew knew they were doomed. In reality the sinking of the Fitzgerald was very rapid and it is likely they did not know the seriousness of their condition.

Indeed, after the wreck a severely damaged life boat was found, and only part of the second. Of secondary yet substantial importance is the degree of surface-layer stability present over the lake. Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes in surface area and volume. It has the capacity to contain the water volume of the four other lakes plus three additional Lake Eries. Given its immense size, it is capable of sustaining waves in excess of 10 meters 33 feet , about the height of a four-story home.

During the early morning of November 9, , a low-pressure system began to take shape in the southern plains. This storm would move northeast and intensify considerably over the next 36 hours as it moved into the Great Lakes region. During that time, the Edmund Fitzgerald and another vessel, the Arthur M. Anderson, departed ports on western Lake Superior to begin their voyages east to the Sault Ste. Marie locks and eventually the lower Great Lakes.

Details of what took place during the storm on November 10, , including the communication between the captains of the Anderson and Fitzgerald, can be found in a Marine Accident Report submitted by the National Transportation Safety Bureau Accident Investigation. The full report is available here. Soon after, a gale warning was issued for Lake Superior.