Does anyone remember the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald? ..............

[Kelley (Texas)]

November 10th was the fateful date that was the end of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Is anyone on the Forum familiar with the Great Lakes and is it true that the waves can exceed one hundred feet during one of these type storms that sunk this ship? Also, there is a song about this ship sinking. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

 

[Micheal_R]

n/t

 

[Kelley (Texas)]

I read about another ship that sank and it also encountered a bad winter storm...giant waves and high winds. I do not ever remember hearing about storms off our Gulf Coast except hurricanes, nothing like what I am reading about taking place on the Great Lakes. Evidently, lots of boats have sunk up there over the years. Please have a great day! Kelley (Texas)

 

[Royal]

the waves can be huge and they are different than the sea. I think it is because of the density of the salt water in the seas. If I remember right the distance between the waves is farther apart in fresh water and if the nose is on one huge wave and the next, it bridges and will have little support in the middle. They snap in half, which I believe happened with the EF.

I have dove on a number of these ships, steel and wooden and they are in great shape. Little deteriation like with wrecks in the salt water.

The first sailing ship to sink in the great lakes was the Griffin, if I remember right and it still has no been found. Much of the lakes are too deep for sport divers, The EF is over 500 ft deep if I remember right.

 

[ojm bc]

n/t

 

[ohio Bill]

I live close to Lake Erie and saw the EF for that last time it left the Harbor town of Huron Ohio my 2 brothers and I were fishing in a small boat with my father the only time he ever took us fishing we floated past the ship as it was taking on iron ore from the port of the Huron shipping yard. We used to see it often and even spoke to some of the crew from time to time we used to fish for yellow perch off of the Huron pier and it would dock at the pier waiting to get into port. What a site to behold the ship was huge to us back then. We don't get 100 ft waves in Lake Erie but I have seen 25 to 35 ft waves when the lake gets NW winds lots of folks lost to the Lake Erie wrath.
Bill

 

[Wayne in BC]

and here is the song. BTW Gordon Lightfoot is a cousin of Carol's, not close, just a sexual relation

The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald