Friday marks 48th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — November 10, 2023 marks the 48th anniversary of the most famous shipwreck to happen on Lake Superior.
The Edmund Fitzgerald freighter sank in a terrible November storm on November 10, 1975. Each of the 29 crew members also lost their lives that day, about 17 miles north-northwest of Whitefish Point where the ship went down.
Michigan historian and author Ric Mixter has documented shipwreck history for more than 25 years. Mixter was in a submersible vessel that dove down to survey the wreckage in July of 1994.
“I could have spent a week down there and I bet you I’d still have questions," Mixter said.
The Edmund Fitzgerald first sailed in 1958 and was over 729 feet long, bigger than even most modern-day ships on the lakes.
An advancing low pressure system brought whipping winds and intense waves on the day of the Fitzgerald's sinking.
"They realized by the time they got up towards Michipicoten they were in the eye of the storm. The winds died down, now the wind direction changed to the northwest," Mixter said. "And wind was building from Thunder Bay Ontario waves that were three stories tall. And that’s what most definitely collapsed the hatches, at least two of them, on the Edmund Fitzgerald.”
While there is still plenty of mystery surrounding the Edmund Fitzgerald's final moments, Mixter believes the ship never ran aground and folded at its center.
"It had been pushed through several storms in 1975 alone, it had damage from these storms that made it weaker, and then they lost vents that were 8 inch openings on the deck where Lake Superior was pouring in," Mixter said. "Captain McSorely was trying to pump it out. That made them extremely susceptible to these big waves.”
The ship's bell was recovered in 1995 and is permanently on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck museum. A replica engraved with the names of the 29 crew members lost that day was placed on the sunken vessel as a permanent grave marker.
A ceremony closed to the public will happen at Whitefish Point on Friday at 7 p.m., but the Great Lakes Shipwreck museum will livestream the ceremony on its website.
The bell will be rung 30 times during the ceremony Friday, once for each of the crew members lost and one additional time for any lost mariners on the Great Lakes.
The famous song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot continues to spark interest in the wreck, especially given Lightfoot's recent passing in May 2023.
- May 1, 2023: Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot dies at 84
Mixter will speak at the Michigan Maritime Museum on Wednesday, Nov. 15 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. as part of the museum's working waterfronts lecture series. The event is free for members and $10 for non-members.
News Channel 3 livestreamed the commemoration ceremony, which can be viewed below: