On November 10, 1975 the gales of November sealed the fate of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior during one of the violent storms of the Great Lakes. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is the largest shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. The Edmund Fitzgerald was one of the largest ore carriers on the Great Lakes. It was there one minute and gone off of the radar the next. Taken down to the graveyard of the Great Lakes shipwrecks.
On November 10 – Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Service . A memorial service for the men lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald will be held on November 10 at Dr. Henri Belanger Park in River Rouge, Mi. The service will be held near the Mariners Memorial Lighthouse beginning at 6:00 p.m. The tug boat will be on hand to take out a wreath to be placed on the river. The service will feature a plaque presentation, bell ringing, lantern lighting, and refreshments will be served. For more information call Roscoe Clark at 810-519-2148 or Dolores Swekel 313-842-7822. The service will be at River Rouge Michigan on the Detroit River next to where the ship was built at the slips and on the other side is where Zug Island is located. A special Edmund Fitzgerald open house will be open to the pubic from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at the River Rouge Historical Museum River Rouge Historical Museum 10750 W. Jefferson Ave. River Rouge, Michigan 48218 (Formerly Gallagher Funeral Home).
Meet Daughter of ROBERT C. RAFFERTY I am honored and excited to be invited to attend the upcoming service held this November 10th in River Rouge.I will be coming from Kansas to honor my dad and the other 28 crewmen. My father was the ” Old Cook” referred to in the Gordon Lightfoot song. There will be so many events having to do with the FITZ I hope to be able to fit it all in. I think it’s great to include the school kids learning about the Great Lakes and the ships that have sailed on them. I grew up in Toledo Ohio and watched from many ports my dads ship sail off with a load of iron ore or coal. Those good memories never go away. Hope to see you there. All are welcome to honor and remember that fateful night. Pam Johnson Daughter of ROBERT C. RAFFERTY
My father was also one of the crew members of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Only he was not on this ship that night. I will always remember the tone in my father’s voice as he tells of the demise of the ship he once worked upon in the seventies himself. The tone was of absolute shock and disbelief. Unfortunately my father passed away himself 2 months later while in port in Ohio. He died with his ship just as the 29 crew members had with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. Only there bodies were never released from the icy grave of Lake Superior. The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald remembered.
2010 Summer event in detroit this year for the workers of the Edmund Fitzgeral and a new bell.
Thanks
November 10, 2010
Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Service in River Rouge
S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald 5th Service in River Rouge, Michigan
6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Wednesday November 10, 2010
Mark and Unmark Shoals found and verfied
by two Hydrographic Services
Six-Fathom Shoal Updates
During a taped conversation with his office, which was made a part of the record, the ANDERSON’s master stated that the FITZGERALD “passed right over that 6-fathom spot.” The Canadian Hydrographic Service survey shows the water depth at this charted “6- fathom spot”. If the FITZGERALD, whose draft was more than 27 feet, had passed through this position on a course plan later that day of 141 T the vessel would have had to pass over the north tip of Caribou Island and through an area where the depth is less than 21 feet.
During a taped conversation with his office, which was made a part of the record, the ANDERSON’s master stated that the FITZGERALD “passed right over that 6-fathom spot.”
Listen
“Revise Lake Survey Chart No. 9 showing the areas between Michipicoten Island and Caribou Island in Lake Superior to reflect the findings of the survey performed by the Canadian Hydrographic Service. (Class II, Priority Action) 01—78—33)
Crain on hand for lifting
We found over turn rocks at the shoal
Red paint on rocks and bottom damage on shoal cause by a boat grounding
Six-Fathom Shoal Updates
Perhaps the most widely accepted of the four theories about the loss of the Fitzgerald is that the ship crossed Caribou Island’s Six-Fathom Shoal, which is located off the north end of the island with water as shallow as 26.5 feet. This contact or a near contact could damage the hull plate and allow water to begin accumulating inside the affected port side ballast tanks. Significantly, within a few minutes of passing the mark and unmarked shoals, the Fitzgerald Captain Ernest McSorley reported a port list, missing vents and a fence rail down. Beyond that, Captain “Bernie” Cooper and Morgan Clark of the Anderson commented that his radar showed the –
“Fitzgerald to be closer to the shoal than he wanted his ship to be”.