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At the time it was launched in 1958, the 729-foot long, 75-foot wide freighter S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest ship to ply the Great Lakes. On November 10, 1975 the Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin carrying 26,000 tons of iron ore pellets, bound for Detroit. Though the day was bright, in her path lay a terrible storm with 60 MPH winds and waves in excess of 15 feet. As the storm built, her experienced Captain Ernest McSorley bore north across Lake Superior, seeking the relative shelter of the Canadian shore and Whitefish Bay.
Luck was not with the ship or the crew. The radar system and its backup failed. The storm took out the power to Whitefish Point's light and radio beacon. Though the light was brought back on line, the radio beacon was not. The Arthur M. Anderson, another ship within 10 miles of the Fitzgerald, received reports that the ship was listing to the starboard and of other structural damages to the vessel. At 7:10 PM, Captain McSorley delivered what was to be his final message:
"We're holding our own."
The Arthur M. Anderson lost the Fitzgerald's image on its radar screens at 7:25 PM. The ship and crew of 29 men, sank to the bottom of Lake Superior. The tragic story of the Edmund Fitzgerald is remembered through Gordon Lightfoot's ballad "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald".
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Added: 6th October 2007
Views: 642
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Posted By: Guido |
 
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I’m a transplanted yankee from the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn NY . I’ve lived in Florida since I was 8, when my family dragged my sister and I out of B’kln and down to Miami…..but I’m NOT a Florida Cracker! I’ll be a Yankee until my dying day and proud of it. My blood is comprised of 60% olive oil, and 40% chicken soup. In June of ’65 I graduated from High School and met my husband Larry, who was a radar operator for the USAF, a few months later, and the rest is history..we’ve been married for 42 years and have three great kids: David, Jessica and Kimberly. My first job after graduation was as an operator with Southern Bell , when you could actually dial 0 or 411 and get a live person. Over the years (before I retired) I worked mostly secretarial jobs, my longest being at the University of Florida, and my last being at a correctional facility for youthful offenders. In 1980 I had an editorial column in our local paper, which lasted a few years. I’m mother to a 100lb golden retriever named Buddy-Beans, a 25 yr old cockatiel named Beeper and at least 500 wild birds and other assorted wildlife that I feed and spoil on 8 ½ acres that we call “Clackum’s Corner”. Even though I was raised in the city, I love living in the country now and could never go back to the noise! I’ve been an animal lover ever since I was a child, and I’m now referred to by the neighbors as that crazy bird lady! After my family, my greatest pleasures are wildlife photography and writing.
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Naomi
Added: 28th April 2008
Views: 175
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Posted By: Steve |
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