View source for SS Edmund Fitzgerald

{{Short description|Great Lakes freighter sunk in Lake Superior}}
{{Redirect|Edmund Fitzgerald}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = Edmund Fitzgerald, 1971, 3 of 4 (restored; cropped).jpg
| Ship caption = SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' in 1971
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header = 
| Ship country = United States
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United States|civil}}
| Ship registry = [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]]
| Ship name = SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald''
| Ship owner = [[Northwestern Mutual Financial Network|Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company]]
| Ship operator = [[File:House flag of the Columbia Steamship Company.svg|border|20px]] Columbia Transportation Division, [[Oglebay Norton Corporation|Oglebay Norton Company]] of [[Cleveland, Ohio]]
| Ship ordered = February 1, 1957
| Shipbuilder = [[Great Lakes Engineering Works]] of [[River Rouge, Michigan]]
| Ship yard number = 301
| Ship laid down = August 7, 1957
| Ship launched = June 7, 1958
| Ship christened = 
| Ship maiden voyage = September 24, 1958
| Ship identification = Registry number US&nbsp;277437
| Ship acquired = 
| Ship nickname = Fitz, Mighty Fitz, Big Fitz, Pride of the American Side, Toledo Express, Titanic of the Great Lakes
| Ship in service = June 8, 1958
| Ship out of service = November 10, 1975
| Ship fate = Lost with all hands (29 crew) in a storm, November 10, 1975
| Ship status = Wreck
| Ship notes = Location of wreck: {{Wikidatacoord|Q1286267|region:CA-ON_type:landmark_scale:1250000|display=inline,title}}<ref>{{cite web |author=[[National Transportation Safety Board]] |title=Marine Accident Report: SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Sinking in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 |publisher=National Transportation Safety Board |date=May 4, 1978 |url=https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR7803.pdf |access-date=May 14, 2020 |page=3 |archive-date=October 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019044443/https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/MAR7803.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
| Ship namesake = Edmund Fitzgerald, president of Northwestern Mutual
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
| Hide header = 
| Header caption = 
| Ship type = [[Lake freighter]]
| Ship tonnage = * {{GRT|13632}}<ref name=BGSU>{{cite web |author=[[Bowling Green State University]] |year=2010 |title=Historical Collections of the Great Lakes: Great Lakes Vessels Online Index |url=http://ul.bgsu.edu/cgi-bin/xvsl2.cgi |access-date=November 7, 2010 |publisher=Bowling Green State University |location=Bowling Green, Ohio |archive-date=March 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311232623/http://ul.bgsu.edu/cgi-bin/xvsl2.cgi |url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{NRT|8713}} (from 1969: 8,686&nbsp;NRT)<ref name=BGSU/>
* {{DWT|25500}}<ref>{{csr|register=MSI|id=5097216|shipname=Edmund Fitzgerald|access-date=February 15, 2022}}</ref>
| Ship displacement = 
| Ship length = * {{cvt|729|ft}} [[Length overall|overall]]<ref name=USCG2>{{cite book |author=[[United States Coast Guard]] |title=Marine Board Casualty Report: SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald''; Sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975 With Loss of Life |series=<!-- Deny Citation Bot--> |type=Report |id=USCG 16732/64216 |publisher=United States Coast Guard |date=July 26, 1977 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015071191467 |page=2}}<!-- catalog URL: http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/002744583 --></ref>
* {{cvt|711|ft}} [[Length between perpendiculars|between perpendiculars]]<ref name=USCG2/>
| Ship beam = {{cvt|75|ft}}<ref name=USCG2/>
| Ship depth = {{cvt|39|ft}} ([[Moulded depth|moulded]])<ref name=devendorf>{{cite book |last=Devendorf |first=John F. |title=Great Lakes Bulk Carriers 1869–1985 |publisher=Thunder Bay Press |year=1996 |isbn=1-889043-03-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LzRUAAAAMAAJ |access-date=February 2, 2011 |via=Google Books |page=151 |archive-date=July 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723180929/https://books.google.com/books?id=LzRUAAAAMAAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>
| Ship hold depth = {{cvt|33|ft|4|in|m}}<ref name=devendorf/><ref name=thompson1994>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark L. |title=Queen of the Lakes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irtD2o_uQ88C |publisher=Wayne State University Press |location=Detroit |year=1994 |isbn=0-8143-2393-6 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |via=Google Books |page=164}}</ref>
| Ship draft = {{cvt|25|ft}} typical
| Ship capacity = 
| Ship ice class = 
| Ship power = * ''As built:''
* Coal fired [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] steam turbine at {{cvt|7500|shp|kW|lk=in}}
* ''After refit:''
* Conversion to oil fuel and the fitting of automated boiler controls over the winter of 1971–72.
* Carried {{cvt|72000|U.S.gal|L impgal}} fuel oil
| Ship propulsion = Single fixed pitch {{cvt|19.5|ft|1|adj=on}} propeller
| Ship speed = {{cvt|14|kn|lk=in}}
| Ship crew = 29
| Ship notes = 
}}
|}

'''SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald''''' was an American [[lake freighter|Great Lakes freighter]] that sank in [[Lake Superior]] during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. When launched on June 7, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's [[Great Lakes]] and remains the largest to have sunk there. She was [[#Wreck discovery and surveys|located in deep water]] on November 14, 1975, by a U.S. Navy aircraft detecting magnetic anomalies, and found soon afterwards to be in two large pieces.

For 17 years, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' carried [[taconite]] {{gloss|mode=def|a variety of [[iron ore]]}} from mines near [[Duluth, Minnesota]], to iron works in [[Detroit, Michigan]]; [[Toledo, Ohio]]; and other Great Lakes ports. As a workhorse, she set seasonal haul records six times, often breaking her own record.<ref name=thompson1994/><ref name= kantar9>{{cite book |last=Kantar |first=Andrew |title=29 Missing: The True and Tragic Story of the Disappearance of the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |publisher=Michigan State University Press |location=East Lansing, Michigan |year=1998 |isbn=0-87013-446-9 |page=9}}</ref> Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom while passing through the [[St. Clair River|St. Clair]] and [[Detroit River|Detroit]] rivers (between [[Lake Huron]] and [[Lake Erie]]), and entertaining spectators at the [[Soo Locks]] (between Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship.<ref name=thompson1994/> Her size, record-breaking performance, and "[[DJ]] captain" endeared ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to boat watchers.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark L. |title=Steamboats & Sailors of the Great Lakes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KRLZDXIEWCsC&pg=PA30 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |location=Detroit |year=1991 |isbn=0-8143-2359-6 |access-date=November 18, 2012 |via=Google Books |page=30 |quote=On the Great Lakes, freighter ships are traditionally called boats, derived from ''steamboats.''}}</ref>

Carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain [[Ernest M. McSorley]] in command, she embarked on her ill-fated voyage from [[Superior, Wisconsin]], near Duluth, on the afternoon of November 9, 1975. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' joined a second taconite freighter, {{SS|Arthur M. Anderson}}. By the next day, the two ships were caught in a [[List of storms on the Great Lakes#Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1975)|severe storm]] on Lake Superior, with near-[[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale|hurricane-force]] winds and waves up to {{convert|35|ft}} high. Shortly after 7:10&nbsp;p.m., ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' suddenly sank in Canadian (Ontario) waters {{convert|530|ft|fathom m}} deep, about {{convert|17|mi|nmi km|abbr=off|sp=us}} from [[Whitefish Bay]] near the twin cities of [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan]], and [[Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario]]—a distance ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' could have covered in just over an hour at her top speed.

''Edmund Fitzgerald'' previously reported being in significant difficulty to the Swedish vessel ''Avafors'': "I have a bad [[Angle of list|list]], lost both radars. And am taking heavy seas over the deck. One of the worst seas I've ever been in." However, no distress signals were sent before she sank; Captain McSorley's last (7:10&nbsp;p.m.) message to ''Arthur M. Anderson'' was, "We are holding our own".  Her crew of 29 perished, and no bodies were recovered. The exact cause of the sinking remains unknown, though many books, studies, and expeditions have examined it. ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' may have been swamped, suffered structural failure or topside damage, grounded on a [[shoal]], or suffered from a combination of these.

The disaster is one of the best known in the history of Great Lakes shipping, in part because Canadian singer [[Gordon Lightfoot]] made it the subject of his 1976&nbsp;popular ballad  "[[The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald|The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'']]". Lightfoot wrote the hit song after reading an article, "The Cruelest Month", in the November 24, 1975, issue of ''[[Newsweek]]''. The sinking led to changes in Great Lakes shipping regulations and practices that included mandatory [[survival suit]]s, depth finders, [[Positioning system|positioning systems]], increased [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]], and more frequent inspection of vessels.

==History==
[[File:SS Edmund Fitzgerald Upbound & In Ballast - Coast Guard.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=SS Edmund Fitzgerald upbound and in ballast |SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' in [[sailing ballast|ballast]], heading for the [[taconite]] mines]]

===Design and construction===
[[Northwestern Mutual Financial Network|Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company]] of [[Milwaukee, Wisconsin]], invested in the iron and minerals industries on a large scale, including the construction of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', which represented the first such investment by any American life insurance company.<ref name=schumacher14>{{cite book |last=Schumacher |first=Michael |title=Mighty ''Fitz'': The Sinking of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |location=New York |year=2005 |isbn=1-58234-647-X |page=14}}</ref> In 1957, they contracted [[Great Lakes Engineering Works]] (GLEW), of [[River Rouge, Michigan]], to design and construct the ship "within a foot of the maximum length allowed for passage through the soon-to-be completed [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]]."<ref>{{cite book |last=MacInnis |first=Joseph |title=Fitzgerald's Storm: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald |publisher=Baker and Taylor for Thunder Bay Press |location=Charlotte, North Carolina |year=1998 |isbn=1-882376-53-6}}</ref> The ship's value at that time was $7 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|7000000|1957}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}).{{inflation-fn|US-GDP|name-list-style=amp}} ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was the first [[Lake freighter|laker]] built to the [[seawaymax|maximum St. Lawrence Seaway size]],{{sfnp|Thompson|1994|p=165}} which was {{convert|730|ft|m|1}} long, {{convert|75|ft|m|1}} wide, and with a {{convert|25|foot|m|1}} draft.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jenish |first=D'arcy |title=The St. Lawrence Seaway: Fifty Years and Counting |url=http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/seaway/history/index.html |page=31 |publisher=Penumbra Press |location=Manotick, Ontario |year=2009 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |isbn=978-1-897323-75-5 |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614041425/http://www.greatlakes-seaway.com/en/seaway/history/index.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[moulded depth]] (roughly speaking, the vertical height of the hull) was {{cvt|39|ft}}.<ref name=devendorf/> The hold depth (the inside height of the cargo hold) was {{cvt|33|ft|4|in|m}}.<ref name=devendorf/><ref name=thompson1994/> GLEW laid the first [[keel]] plate on August 7 the same year.{{sfnp|MacInnis|1998|p=21}}

With a [[deadweight tonnage|deadweight capacity]] of {{convert|26000|LT|ST t|0|lk=in}},<ref name=thompson1994/> and a {{convert|729|ft|adj=on}} hull, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was the longest ship on the Great Lakes, earning her the title [[Queen of the Lakes]]{{sfnp|Thompson|1994|p=165}} until September 17, 1959, when the {{convert|730|ft|adj=on|sigfig=4}} SS ''Murray Bay'' was launched.{{sfnp|Thompson|1994|p=170}} ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s three central cargo holds<ref name=wolff226>{{cite book |last1=Wolff |first1=Julius F. |last2=Holden |first2=Thom |name-list-style=amp |title=Julius F. Wolff Jr.'s Lake Superior Shipwrecks |publisher=Lake Superior Port Cities |location=Duluth, Minnesota |year=1990 |edition=2nd expanded |isbn=0-942235-01-0 |page=226}}</ref> were loaded through 21 watertight [[cargo hatch]]es, each {{convert|11|by|48|ft}} of {{convert|5/16|in|mm|adj=mid|-thick}} steel.<ref>{{cite book |last=Stonehouse |first=Frederick |title=The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |publisher=Avery Color Studios |location=Gwinn, Michigan |year=2006 |edition=6th |isbn=1-892384-33-7 |pages=9, 15–16}}</ref> Originally coal-fired, her boilers were converted to burn [[Residual fuel|oil]] during the 1971–72 winter layup.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|pp=14, 20}} In 1969, the ship's maneuverability was improved by the installation of a diesel-powered [[bow thruster]].{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=19}}

By ore freighter standards, the interior of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was luxurious. Her [[Hudson's|J.L. Hudson Company]]–designed furnishings{{sfnp|Thompson|1991|p=164}} included deep pile carpeting, tiled bathrooms, drapes over the [[porthole]]s, and leather swivel chairs in the guest lounge. There were two guest staterooms for passengers. Air conditioning extended to the crew quarters, which featured more amenities than usual. A large [[galley (kitchen)|galley]] and fully stocked pantry supplied meals for two dining rooms. ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s [[pilothouse]] was outfitted with "state-of-the-art nautical equipment and a beautiful map room."{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|pp=16–17}}

===Name and launch===
[[File:Flag of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.svg|thumb|right|Flag of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald]]
Northwestern Mutual wanted to name the ship after its president and chairman of the board, Edmund Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald's own grandfather and all great uncles had themselves been lake captains,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cutler |first1=Elizabeth Fitzgerald |last2=Hirthe |first2=Walter |name-list-style=amp |title=Six Fitzgerald Brothers: Lake Captains All |publisher=Wisconsin Marine Historical Society |location=Milwaukee |year=1983 |isbn=978-0961247607 |pages=189–193}}</ref> and his father owned the Milwaukee Drydock Company, which built and repaired ships.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shipwreck Overshadowed Fitzgerald's Legacy |last=Zielinski |first=Graeme |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bTIqAAAAIBAJ&pg=6730,7793003&dq=&hl=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313063452/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bTIqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YkUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6730,7793003&dq=&hl=en |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 13, 2016 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=November 10, 2005 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |via=Google News |page=112}}</ref> Fitzgerald had attempted to dissuade the naming of the ship after himself, proposing the names ''Centennial'', ''Seaway'', ''Milwaukee'' and ''Northwestern''. The board was resolute, and Edmund abstained from voting; the 36 board members voted unanimously to name her the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald''.{{sfnp|Cutler|Hirthe|1983|p=193}} More than 15,000 people attended ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s [[Ship naming and launching|christening and launch]] ceremony on June 7, 1958. The event was plagued by misfortunes. When Elizabeth Fitzgerald, wife of Edmund Fitzgerald, tried to christen the ship by smashing a champagne bottle over the bow, it took her three attempts to break it. A delay of 36 minutes followed while the shipyard crew struggled to release the keel blocks. Upon sideways launch, the ship created a large wave that doused the spectators and then crashed into a pier before righting herself. Other witnesses later said they swore the ship was "trying to climb right out of the water". {{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|pp=15–16}} On September 22, 1958, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' completed nine days of [[sea trial]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Andra-Warner |first=Elle |title=Edmund Fitzgerald: The Legendary Great Lakes Shipwreck |publisher=North Shore Press |location=Grand Marais, Minnesota |year=2006 |isbn=0-9740207-3-7 |page=21}}</ref>

===Career===
[[File:Edmund Fitzgerald-USACE.jpg|thumb|right|alt=SS Edmund Fitzgerald underway |SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' under way]]
Northwestern Mutual's normal practice was to purchase ships for operation by other companies.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 1961 |title=J. Burton Ayers (Propeller) |magazine=Telescope |publisher=Great Lakes Maritime Institute |page=112 |url=http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/32541/data?n=2 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |ref={{harvid|"J. Burton Ayers"|1961}} |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706184614/http://images.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/32541/data?n=2 |url-status=live}}</ref> In ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s case, they signed a 25-year contract with Oglebay Norton Corporation to operate the vessel.<ref name=wolff226/> Oglebay Norton immediately designated ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' the [[flagship]] of its Columbia Transportation fleet.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|pp=16–17}}

''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was a record-setting workhorse, often beating her own milestones.<ref name=thompson1994/> The vessel's record load for a single trip was {{convert|27402|LT|ST t|0}} in 1969.<ref name=thompson1994/> For 17 years, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' carried [[taconite]] from [[Iron Range|Minnesota's Iron Range]] mines near Duluth, Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other ports. She set seasonal haul records six different times.<ref name=kantar9/> Her nicknames included "Fitz", "Pride of the American Side",{{sfnp|Kantar|1998|p=6}} "Mighty Fitz", "Toledo Express",{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|pp=9–10}} "Big Fitz",<ref>{{cite book |last=Edwards |first=Jack |title=Big Fitz |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ACKumpEJESAC |publisher=Wayne Rigby Literacy |location=Chicago |year=2000 |isbn=0-7635-6807-4 |access-date=March 16, 2011 |via=Google Books |page=5}}</ref> and the "''[[Titanic]]'' of the Great Lakes".{{sfnp|Kantar|1998|p=43}} Loading ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' with taconite pellets took about four and a half hours, while unloading took around 14&nbsp;hours. A round trip between [[Superior, Wisconsin]], and Detroit, Michigan, usually took her five days and she averaged 47&nbsp;similar trips per season.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=28}} The vessel's usual route was between Superior, Wisconsin, and Toledo, Ohio, although her port of destination could vary.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|pp=9–10}} By November 1975, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had logged an estimated 748&nbsp;round trips on the Great Lakes and covered more than a million miles, "a distance roughly equivalent to 44&nbsp;trips around the world."{{sfnp|MacInnis|1998|p=30}}

Up until a few weeks before her loss, passengers had traveled on board as company guests. Frederick Stonehouse wrote:

{{blockquote|Stewards treated the guests to the entire VIP routine. The cuisine was reportedly excellent and snacks were always available in the lounge. A small but well-stocked kitchenette provided the drinks. Once each trip, the captain held a candlelight dinner for the guests, complete with mess-jacketed stewards and special "clamdigger" punch.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|pp=13–14}}}}

Because of her size, appearance, string of records, and "DJ captain,"<ref name=thompson1994/> ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' became a favorite of boat watchers throughout her career. Although Captain Peter Pulcer was in command of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' on trips when cargo records were set, "he is best remembered&nbsp;... for piping music day or night over the ship's intercom system" while passing through the [[St. Clair River|St. Clair]] and [[Detroit River]]s.<ref name=thompson1994/> While navigating the [[Soo Locks]] he would often come out of the pilothouse and use a bullhorn to entertain tourists with a commentary on details about ''Edmund Fitzgerald''.<ref name=thompson1994/>

In 1969, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' received a safety award for eight years of operation without a time-off worker injury.<ref name=thompson1994/> The vessel ran aground in 1969, and she collided with SS ''Hochelaga'' in 1970. Later that same year, she struck the wall of a [[Lock (water transport)|lock]], an accident repeated in 1973 and 1974. On January 7, 1974, she lost her original bow anchor in the [[Detroit River]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Bishop |first=Hugh |title=The Night the ''Fitz'' Went Down |publisher=Lake Superior Port Cities |location=Duluth, Minnesota |year=2000 |isbn=0-942235-37-1 |page=85}}</ref> None of these mishaps were considered serious or unusual.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=18}} [[Lake freighter|Freshwater ships]] are built to last more than half a century, and ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' would have still had a long career ahead of her when she sank.<ref name=schumacher14/>

===Final voyage and wreck===
[[File:Edmund Fitzgerald Trackline.jpg|thumb|upright=0.729|alt=Map of Fitzgerald's probable course on final voyage |The National Transportation Safety Board map of probable course of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and ''Arthur M. Anderson'']]

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''Edmund Fitzgerald'' left Superior, Wisconsin, at 2:15&nbsp;p.m. on the afternoon of November 9, 1975,{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=218}} under the command of Captain [[Ernest M. McSorley]]. She was en route to the steel mill on [[Zug Island]], near Detroit, Michigan,<ref name=lawrence>{{cite news |last=Lawrence |first=Eric |title=Ghostly Views of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Shipwreck |newspaper=[[Detroit Free Press]] |pages=1A, 8A |date=November 7, 2010}}</ref> with a cargo of {{convert|26116|LT|ST t}} of taconite ore pellets and soon reached her full speed of {{convert|16.3|mph|kn km/h}}.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=4}} Around 5&nbsp;p.m., ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' joined a second freighter under the command of Captain Jesse B. "Bernie" Cooper, {{SS|Arthur M. Anderson||2}}, destined for [[Gary, Indiana]], out of [[Two Harbors, Minnesota]].{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=22}} The weather forecast was not unusual for November and the [[National Weather Service]] (NWS) predicted that a storm would pass just south of Lake Superior by 7&nbsp;a.m. on November 10.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=10}}

SS ''Wilfred Sykes'' loaded opposite ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' at the Burlington Northern Dock&nbsp;#1 and departed at 4:15&nbsp;p.m., about two hours after ''Edmund Fitzgerald''. In contrast to the NWS forecast, Captain Dudley J. Paquette of ''Wilfred Sykes'' predicted that a major storm would directly cross Lake Superior. From the outset, he chose a route that took advantage of the protection offered by the lake's north shore to avoid the worst effects of the storm. The crew of ''Wilfred Sykes'' followed the radio conversations between ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and ''Arthur M. Anderson'' during the first part of their trip and overheard their captains deciding to take the regular Lake Carriers' Association [[downbound]] route.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=14}} The NWS altered its forecast at 7:00&nbsp;p.m., issuing [[gale warning]]s for the whole of Lake Superior.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=18}} ''Arthur M. Anderson'' and ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' altered course northward, seeking shelter along the Ontario shore,{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=22}} where they encountered a winter storm at 1:00&nbsp;a.m. on November 10. ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' reported winds of {{convert|52|kn}} and waves {{convert|10|ft|m|1}} high.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=20}} Captain Paquette of ''Wilfred Sykes'' reported that after 1&nbsp;a.m., he overheard McSorley say that he had reduced the ship's speed because of the rough conditions. Paquette said he was stunned to later hear McSorley, who was not known for turning aside or slowing down, state that "we're going to try for some [[Windward and leeward|lee]] from [[Isle Royale]]. You're walking away from us anyway … I can't stay with you."{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=14}}

At 2:00&nbsp;a.m. on November 10, the NWS upgraded its warnings from gale to storm, forecasting winds of {{convert|35|-|50|kn}}.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=19}} Until then, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had followed ''Arthur M. Anderson,'' which was travelling at a constant {{convert|14.6|mph|kn km/h}},{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=22}} but the faster ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' pulled ahead at about 3:00&nbsp;a.m.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=5}} As the storm center passed over the ships, they experienced shifting winds, with wind speeds temporarily dropping as wind direction changed from northeast to south and then northwest.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=20}} After 1:50&nbsp;p.m., when ''Arthur M. Anderson'' logged winds of {{convert|50|kn}}, wind speeds again picked up rapidly, and it began to snow at 2:45&nbsp;p.m., reducing visibility; ''Arthur M. Anderson'' lost sight of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', which was about {{convert|16|mi}} ahead at the time.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|pp=24–25}}

Shortly after 3:30&nbsp;p.m., Captain McSorley radioed ''Arthur M. Anderson'' to report that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was taking on water and had lost two vent covers and a fence railing. The vessel had also developed a [[List (watercraft)|list]].{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=26}} Two of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s six [[bilge pump]]s ran continuously to discharge shipped water.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=6}} McSorley said that he would slow his ship down so that ''Arthur M. Anderson'' could close the gap between them.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=26}} In a broadcast shortly afterward, the [[United States Coast Guard]] (USCG) warned all shipping that the [[Soo Locks]] had been closed and they should seek safe anchorage. Shortly after 4:10&nbsp;p.m., McSorley called ''Arthur M. Anderson'' again to report a radar failure and asked ''Arthur M. Anderson'' to keep track of them.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=27}} ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', effectively blind, slowed to let ''Arthur M. Anderson'' come within a {{convert|10|mi|adj=on}} range so she could receive radar guidance from the other ship.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=219}}

For a time, ''Arthur M. Anderson'' directed ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' toward the relative safety of [[Whitefish Bay]]; then, at 4:39&nbsp;p.m., McSorley contacted the USCG station in [[Grand Marais, Michigan]], to inquire whether the [[Whitefish Point Light|Whitefish Point light]] and navigation [[Electric beacon|beacon]] were operational. The USCG replied that their monitoring equipment indicated that both instruments were inactive.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=84}} McSorley then hailed any ships in the Whitefish Point area to report the state of the navigational aids, receiving an answer from Captain Cedric Woodard of ''Avafors'' between 5:00 and 5:30&nbsp;p.m. that the Whitefish Point light was on but not the radio beacon.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=5}} Woodard testified to the Marine Board that he overheard McSorley say, "Don't allow nobody on deck,"{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=6}} as well as something about a vent that Woodard could not understand.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=106}} Some time later, McSorley told Woodard, "I have a 'bad list', I have lost both radars, and am taking heavy seas over the deck in one of the worst seas I have ever been in."{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=18}}

By late in the afternoon of November 10, sustained winds of over {{convert|50|kn}} were recorded by ships and observation points across eastern Lake Superior.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=11}} ''Arthur M. Anderson'' logged sustained winds as high as {{convert|58|kn}} at 4:52&nbsp;p.m.,{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=27}} while waves increased to as high as {{convert|25|ft}} by 6:00&nbsp;p.m.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=28}} ''Arthur M. Anderson'' was also struck by {{convert|70|to|75|kn|adj=on}} gusts{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=11}} and [[rogue wave]]s as high as {{convert|35|ft}}.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=226}}

At approximately 7:10&nbsp;p.m., when ''Arthur M. Anderson'' notified ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' of an [[upbound]] ship and asked how she was doing, McSorley reported, "We are holding our own." She was never heard from again. No distress signal was received, and ten minutes later, ''Arthur M. Anderson'' lost the ability either to reach ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' by radio or to detect her on radar.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=6}}

===Search===
[[File:Edmund fitz lifeboat.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Edmund Fitzgerald lifeboat |One of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s lifeboats, on display at the ''Valley Camp'' museum ship]]
Captain Cooper of ''Arthur M. Anderson'' first called the USCG in [[Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan|Sault Ste. Marie]] at 7:39&nbsp;p.m. on channel&nbsp;16, the radio distress frequency. The USCG responders instructed him to call back on channel&nbsp;12 because they wanted to keep their emergency channel open and they were having difficulty with their communication systems, including antennas blown down by the storm.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=79}} Cooper then contacted the upbound saltwater vessel ''Nanfri'' and was told that she could not pick up ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' on her radar either. Despite repeated attempts to raise the USCG, Cooper was not successful until 7:54&nbsp;p.m. when the officer on duty asked him to keep watch for a {{convert|16|ft|m|adj=on}} boat lost in the area.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hemming |first=Robert J. |title=The Gales of November: The Sinking of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |publisher=Baker and Taylor. for Thunder Bay Press |location=Charlotte, North Carolina |year=1981 |isbn=1-882376-33-1 |page=193}}</ref> At about 8:25&nbsp;p.m., Cooper again called the USCG to express his concern about ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=30}} and at 9:03&nbsp;p.m. reported her missing.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=34}} Petty Officer Philip Branch later testified, "I considered it serious, but at the time it was not urgent."{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=83}}

Lacking appropriate search-and-rescue vessels to respond to ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s disaster,{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=83}} at approximately 9:00&nbsp;p.m., the USCG asked ''Arthur M. Anderson'' to turn around and look for survivors. Around 10:30&nbsp;p.m., the USCG asked all commercial vessels anchored in or near Whitefish Bay to assist in the search.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=36}} The initial search for survivors was carried out by ''Arthur M. Anderson'', and a second freighter, {{SS|William Clay Ford}}. The efforts of a third freighter, the [[Toronto]]-registered {{SS|Hilda Marjanne}}, were foiled by the weather. The USCG sent a [[buoy tender]], {{USCGC|Woodrush|WLB-407|2}}, from Duluth, Minnesota, but it took two and a half hours to launch and a day to travel to the search area. The [[Traverse City, Michigan]], USCG station launched an [[Grumman HU-16 Albatross|HU-16]] fixed-wing search aircraft that arrived on the scene at 10:53&nbsp;p.m. while an [[Sikorsky S-62|HH-52]] USCG helicopter with a 3.8-million-[[candlepower]] searchlight arrived at 1:00&nbsp;a.m. on November 11.{{sfnp|Hemming|1981|p=195}} [[Canadian Coast Guard]] aircraft joined the three-day search and the [[Ontario Provincial Police]] established and maintained a beach patrol all along the eastern shore of Lake Superior.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=221}}

Although the search recovered debris, including lifeboats and rafts, none of the crew were found.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=97}} On her final voyage, ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s crew of 29 consisted of the [[Captain (nautical)|captain]]; the [[First mate|first]], [[Second mate|second]], and [[third mate]]s; five [[Seafarer's professions and ranks|engineers]]; three [[Oiler (occupation)|oilers]]; a [[Chief cook|cook]]; a [[Wiper (occupation)|wiper]]; two maintenance men; three [[Watchkeeping|watchmen]]; three [[deckhand]]s; three [[wheelsmen]]; two porters; a [[cadet]]; and a [[Chief steward|steward]]. Most of the crew were from Ohio and Wisconsin;<ref>{{cite news |title=The Fateful Voyage of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |last=Nolan |first=Jenny |url=http://blogs.detroitnews.com/history/2000/09/20/the-fateful-voyage-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/ |newspaper=The Detroit News |date=September 21, 2000 |access-date=May 22, 2017 |archive-date=November 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113112928/http://blogs.detroitnews.com/history/2000/09/20/the-fateful-voyage-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/ |url-status=live}}</ref> their ages ranged from 20 (watchman Karl A. Peckol) to 63 (Captain McSorley).{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=190}}

''Edmund Fitzgerald'' is among the largest and best-known vessels lost on the Great Lakes,<ref>{{cite book |last=Swayze |first=David |title=Shipwreck! A Comprehensive Directory of Over 3,700 Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes |publisher=Harbor House Publishers |location=Boyne City, Michigan |year=1992 |isbn=0-937360-12-0 |page=87}}</ref> but she is not alone on the Lake Superior seabed in that area. In the years between 1816, when ''Invincible'' was lost, and 1975, when ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sank, the [[Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve|Whitefish Point]] area had claimed at least 240&nbsp;ships.<ref>{{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Mark L. |title=Graveyard of the Lakes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tog_ll_MYrkC |publisher=Wayne State University Press |location=Detroit |year=2000 |isbn=0-8143-3226-9 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |via=Google Books |page=18}}</ref>

==Wreck discovery and surveys==
[[File:Edmond Fitzgerald relative position of wreck.jpg|thumb|right|alt=USCG drawing of wreck site |A USCG drawing of the relative positions of the wreck parts]]

===Wreck discovery===
A U.S. Navy [[Lockheed P-3 Orion]] aircraft, piloted by Lt. George Conner and equipped to detect [[magnetic anomalies]] usually associated with submarines, found the wreck on November 14, 1975 in Canadian waters close to the international boundary at a depth of {{convert|530|ft|m}}. ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' lies about {{convert|15|mi|nmi km}} west of Deadman's Cove, Ontario;  about {{convert|8|mi|nmi km}} northwest of [[Pancake Bay Provincial Park]]; and {{convert|17|mi|nmi km}} from the entrance to [[Whitefish Bay]] to the southeast.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=6}} A further November 14–16 survey by the USCG using a [[side scan sonar]] revealed two large objects lying close together on the lake floor. The U.S. Navy also contracted Seaward, Inc., to conduct a second survey between November 22 and 25.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=58}}

===Underwater surveys===
From May 20 to 28, 1976, the U.S. Navy dived on the wreck using its unmanned [[submersible]], [[CURV-III]], and found ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' lying in two large pieces in {{convert|530|ft}} of water. Navy estimates put the length of the bow section at {{convert|276|ft}} and that of the stern section at {{convert|253|ft}}. The bow section stood upright in the mud, some {{convert|170|ft}} from the stern section that lay capsized at a 50-degree angle from the bow. In between the two broken sections lay a large mass of taconite pellets and scattered wreckage lying about, including hatch covers and hull plating.{{sfnp|Hemming|1981|pp=211–213}}

In 1980, during a Lake Superior research dive expedition, marine explorer [[Jean-Michel Cousteau]], the son of [[Jacques Cousteau]], sent two divers from {{RV|Calypso}} in the first manned submersible dive to ''Edmund Fitzgerald''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hudson |first=Cy |date=July–August 2005 |title=Cousteau's ''Calypso'' Goes Into Retirement |magazine=The Lightship |publisher=Lake Huron Lore Marine Society |location=Marysville, Michigan |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=3–4 at 3 |url=http://www.lakehuronlore.com/NewsLetter%20Archive.html |access-date=November 4, 2010 |format=PDF |oclc=12318717 |archive-date=May 24, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524063120/http://www.lakehuronlore.com/NewsLetter%20Archive.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> The dive was brief, and although the dive team drew no final conclusions, they speculated that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had broken up on the surface.<ref>{{cite news |last=Nuytten |first=Phil |title=30th anniversary, "The Legend Lives On&nbsp;...": Diving the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |magazine=Diver Magazine |date=December 2005 |location=North Vancouver, British Columbia |publisher=Seagraphic Publications |url=http://divermag.com/archives/article-dec05.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710134551/http://divermag.com/archives/article-dec05.pdf |archive-date=July 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |access-date=November 10, 2011 |pages=35–41 at 37 |oclc=423800816 |issn=0706-5132}}</ref>

The [[National Sea Grant Program|Michigan Sea Grant Program]] organized a three-day dive to survey ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' in 1989. The primary objective was to record 3-D videotape for use in museum educational programs and the production of documentaries. The expedition used a towed survey system (TSS Mk1) and a self-propelled, tethered, free-swimming [[remotely operated underwater vehicle]] (ROV). The Mini Rover ROV was equipped with miniature stereoscopic cameras and wide-angle lenses in order to produce 3-D images. The towed survey system and the Mini Rover ROV were designed, built and operated by Chris Nicholson of Deep Sea Systems International, Inc.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Vrana |first1=Kenneth J. |last2=Schwartz |first2=John |name-list-style=amp |date=December 1989 |url=http://deepseasystems.com/pdfs/E%20FITZ%201%2010%2012%20(1).pdf |title=Instrumented Sled, ROV Join to Provide Enhanced Images of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |magazine=Sea Technology |pages=17–21 at 18 |access-date=January 10, 2012}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Participants included the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA), the [[National Geographic Society]], the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], the [[Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum|Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society]] (GLSHS), and the [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]], the latter providing RV ''Grayling'' as the support vessel for the ROV.{{sfnp|Nuytten|2005|p=39}} The GLSHS used part of the five hours of video footage produced during the dives in a documentary and the National Geographic Society used a segment in a broadcast. Frederick Stonehouse, who wrote one of the first books on the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' wreck, moderated a 1990 panel review of the video that drew no conclusions about the cause of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s sinking.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=217}}

Canadian explorer [[Joseph B. MacInnis]] organized and led six publicly funded dives to ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' over a three-day period in 1994.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=209}} [[Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution]] provided ''Edwin A. Link'' as the support vessel, and their manned submersible, ''Celia.''{{sfnp|Nuytten|2005|p=39}} The GLSHS paid $10,000 for three of its members to each join a dive and take still pictures.{{sfnp|MacInnis|1998|p=100}} MacInnis concluded that the notes and video obtained during the dives did not provide an explanation why ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sank.{{sfnp|MacInnis|1998|p=98}} The same year, longtime sport diver Fred Shannon formed Deepquest Ltd., and organized a privately funded dive to the wreck of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', using Delta Oceanographic's submersible, ''Delta.''<ref>{{cite magazine |last=McCosh |first=Cy |date=June 1996 |title=Secrets of the Lakes |magazine=[[Popular Science]] |volume=248 |issue=6 |pages=92–96 at 94 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e3zzudr4_3UC&pg=PA92 |access-date=November 3, 2010 |via=Google Books |issn=0161-7370}}</ref> Deepquest Ltd. conducted seven dives and took more than 42 hours of underwater video{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=86}} while Shannon set the record for the longest submersible dive to ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' at 211 minutes.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Shannon |first=Frederick |date=November 2010 |title=35th Anniversary Proves Enduring ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Mystery |magazine=The Great Lakes Pilot |volume=7 |issue=5 |page=91 |publisher=Great Lakes Pilot Publishing |location=Grand Marais, Michigan |oclc=662452564}}</ref> Prior to conducting the dives, Shannon studied NOAA navigational charts and found that the international boundary had changed three times before its publication by NOAA in 1976.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Shannon |first=Frederick |date=November 2009 |title=The 34th Anniversary of the Sinking of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |magazine=The Great Lakes Pilot |publisher=Great Lakes Pilot Publishing |location=Grand Marais, Michigan |volume=6 |issue=9 |page=52 |oclc=662452564}}</ref> Shannon determined that based on GPS coordinates from the 1994 Deepquest expedition, "at least one-third of the two acres of immediate wreckage containing the two major portions of the vessel is in U.S. waters because of an error in the position of the U.S.–Canada boundary line shown on official lake charts."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Shannon |first=Frederick |date=November–December 1995 |title=Does Expedition '94 to the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Solve the Mystery of the Greatest Inland Wreck in the World? |magazine=Michigan Natural Resources |volume=65 |issue=6 |pages=22–26 at 24 |publisher=Michigan Department of Natural Resources |location=Lansing |issn=0275-8180}}</ref>

Shannon's group discovered the remains of a crew member partly dressed in coveralls and wearing a life jacket alongside the bow of the ship, indicating that at least one of the crew was aware of the possibility of sinking.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=326}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Wozniak |first=Maurice D. |date=July 28, 1994 |title=Divers Discover Human Remains in ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Wreckage |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19940728&id=ivAcAAAAIBAJ&pg=2423,5516542&hl=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312115851/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19940728&id=ivAcAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1ywEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2423,5516542&hl=en |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 12, 2016 |newspaper=[[The Milwaukee Journal]] |page=A9 |access-date=November 10, 2015 |via=Google News}}</ref> The life jacket had deteriorated canvas and "what is thought to be six rectangular cork blocks&nbsp;... clearly visible."{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=222}} Shannon concluded that "massive and advancing structural failure" caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to break apart on the surface and sink.<ref name=lawrence/>

MacInnis led another series of dives in 1995 to salvage the bell from ''Edmund Fitzgerald''.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=224}} The [[Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians]] backed the expedition by co-signing a loan in the amount of $250,000.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bell Recovery |url=http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/the-bell-recovery-63/ |publisher=Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum |access-date=April 17, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415101020/http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/the-bell-recovery-63 |archive-date=April 15, 2012}}</ref> Canadian engineer [[Phil Nuytten]]'s [[atmospheric diving suit]], known as the [[Newtsuit]], was used to retrieve the bell from the ship, replace it with a replica, and put a beer can in ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s pilothouse.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Farnquist |first=Thomas L. |title=Requiem for the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'': High-Tech Dives in Lake Superior Retrieve a Ship's Bell—and Memories of a Lost Crew |magazine=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |location=Washington, DC |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |volume=189 |date=January 1996 |pages=36–47 at 40, 47 |issn=0027-9358 |issue=1}}</ref> That same year, Terrence Tysall and Mike Zee set multiple records when they used [[Trimix (breathing gas)|trimix gas]] to scuba dive to ''Edmund Fitzgerald''. The pair are the only people known to have touched the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' wreck. They also set records for the deepest scuba dive on the Great Lakes and the deepest shipwreck dive, and were the first divers to reach ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' without the aid of a submersible. It took six minutes to reach the wreck, six minutes to survey it, and three hours to resurface to avoid [[decompression sickness]], also known as "the bends".<ref>{{cite news |last=Fallstrom |first=Jerry |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1995/09/10/orlando-chicago-divers-first-to-touch-the-wreck-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald/ |access-date=November 5, 2010 |title=Orlando, Chicago divers first to touch the wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |date=September 10, 1995 |archive-date=April 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414204804/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1995-09-10/news/9509100120_1_edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck-divers-lake-superior |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Restrictions on surveys===
Under the ''[[Ontario Heritage Act]]'', activities on registered archeological sites require a license.<ref>{{Cite canlaw |short title=Ontario Heritage Act |abbr=R.S.O. |year=1990 |chapter=O.18 |link=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90o18_e.htm |amended1=S.O. 2005, c. 6, s. 35 |amended2=S.O. 2009, c. 33, Sched. 11, s. 6, ss. 15 |access-date=May 7, 2011 |section 48(1)}}</ref> In March 2005, the Whitefish Point Preservation Society accused the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) of conducting an unauthorized dive to ''Edmund Fitzgerald''. Although the director of the GLSHS admitted to conducting a sonar scan of the wreck in 2002, he denied such a survey required a license at the time it was carried out.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bellerose |first=Dan |title=Group Claims Illegal Dive Made to ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Site |date=March 15, 2005 |newspaper=[[Sault Star]] |location=Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |pages=A1–A2}}</ref>

An April 2005 amendment to the ''Ontario Heritage Act'' allows the Ontario government to impose a license requirement on dives, the operation of submersibles, side scan sonars, or underwater cameras within a designated radius around protected sites.<ref>{{wikicite|reference={{Cite canlaw|short title =Ontario Heritage Amendment Act |abbr=S.O. |year=2005 |chapter=6 |link=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/statutes/english/2005/elaws_src_s05006_e.htm |access-date=May 7, 2011}}|ref={{harvid|Ontario_Heritage_Amendment_Act|2005}} }} §35.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Pollack |first=Susan R. |date=November 4, 2005 |title=The Legend Lives On: 30 Years Later, Great Lakes Tragedy Still Fascinates |newspaper=The Detroit News |page=A1}}</ref> Conducting any of those activities without a license would result in fines of up to {{CAD|1 million}}.{{sfnp|Ontario Heritage Amendment Act|2005|loc=§44}} On the basis of the amended law, to protect wreck sites considered "watery graves", the Ontario government issued updated regulations in January 2006, including an area with a {{convert|500|m|ft|0|adj=on|sp=us}} radius around ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and other specifically designated marine archeological sites.<ref>{{cite news |title=''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Wreck Site Gets Added Protection |last=Blake |first=Erica |url=http://www.toledoblade.com/article/20060208/NEWS19/602080406/-1/NEWS |date=February 8, 2006 |newspaper=[[The Blade (Toledo)|The Blade]] |location=Toledo, Ohio |access-date=March 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060224005347/http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20060208%2FNEWS19%2F602080406%2F-1%2FNEWS |archive-date=February 24, 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite canlaw |type=reg |link=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_060011_e.htm |regtitle=Marine Archaeological Sites |regnumber=11/06 |access-date=May 7, 2011 |section=1(2)}}</ref> In 2009, a further amendment to the ''Ontario Heritage Act'' imposed licensing requirements on any type of surveying device.<ref>{{Cite canlaw|short title =Good Government Act |abbr=S.O. |year=2009 |chapter=33 |link=http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/statutes/english/2009/elaws_src_s09033_e.htm |access-date=May 7, 2011 |schedule=11 section 6(15)}}</ref>

==Hypotheses on the cause of sinking==
Extreme weather and sea conditions play a role in all of the published hypotheses regarding ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s sinking, but they differ on the other causal factors.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Hultquist |first1=T.R. |last2=Dutter |first2=M.R. |last3=Schwab |first3=D.J. |name-list-style=amp |date=May 2006 |title=Reexamination of the 9–10 November 1975 ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Storm Using Today's Technology |magazine=Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society |location=Easton, Pennsylvania |publisher=[[American Meteorological Society]] |volume=87 |issue=5 |pages=607–622 at 607–608 |doi=10.1175/BAMS-87-5-607 |issn=0003-0007 |bibcode=2006BAMS...87..607H |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Waves and weather hypothesis===
[[File:Weather Map from November 10 1975 Edmund Fitzgerald Storm.png|thumb|[[Weather map]] of November 10, 1975.]]
In 2005, NOAA and the NWS ran a computer simulation, including weather and wave conditions, covering the period from November 9, 1975, until the early morning of November 11.{{sfnp|Hultquist|Dutter|Schwab|2006|p=611}} Analysis of the simulation showed that two separate areas of high-speed wind appeared over Lake Superior at 4:00&nbsp;p.m. on November 10. One had speeds in excess of {{convert|43|kn}} and the other winds in excess of {{convert|40|kn}}.{{sfnp|Hultquist|Dutter|Schwab|2006|p=616}} The southeastern part of the lake, the direction in which ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was heading, had the highest winds. Average wave heights increased to near {{convert|19|ft}} by 7:00&nbsp;p.m., November 10, and winds exceeded {{cvt|50|mph|kn km/h}} over most of southeastern Lake Superior.{{sfnp|Hultquist|Dutter|Schwab|2006|p=620}}

''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sank at the eastern edge of the area of high wind{{sfnp|Hultquist|Dutter|Schwab|2006|p=617}} where the long [[Fetch (geography)|fetch]], or distance that wind blows over water, produced significant waves averaging over {{convert|23|ft}} by 7:00&nbsp;p.m. and over {{convert|25|ft}} at 8:00&nbsp;p.m. The simulation also showed one in 100&nbsp;waves reaching {{convert|36|ft}} and one out of every&nbsp;1,000 reaching {{convert|46|ft}}. Since the ship was heading east-southeastward, it is likely that the waves caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to roll heavily.<ref name=johnson>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Mark |title=The Witch of November: What Sank the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |date=November 10, 2010 |url=http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/weather/weather_news/the-witch-of-november%3A-what-sank-the-edmund-fitzgerald |publisher=[[WEWS-TV]] |location=Cleveland |access-date=December 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621234551/http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/weather/weather_news/the-witch-of-november:-what-sank-the-edmund-fitzgerald |archive-date=June 21, 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

At the time of the sinking, the ship ''Arthur M. Anderson'' reported northwest winds of {{cvt|57|mph|kn km/h}}, matching the simulation analysis result of {{cvt|54|mph|kn km/h}}.<ref name=johnson/> The analysis further showed that the maximum sustained winds reached near [[Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale|hurricane force]] of about {{cvt|70|mph|kn km/h}} with gusts to {{convert|86|mph|kn km/h}} at the time and location where ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sank.{{sfnp|Hultquist|Dutter|Schwab|2006|p=620}}

===Rogue wave hypothesis===
A group of three [[rogue wave (oceanography)|rogue waves]], often called "three sisters,"{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|pp=226–227}} was reported in the vicinity of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' at the time she sank.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=85}}{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=324}} The "three sisters" phenomenon is said to occur on Lake Superior and refers to a sequence of three rogue waves forming that are one-third larger than normal waves. The first wave introduces an abnormally large amount of water onto the deck. This water is unable to fully drain away before the second wave strikes, adding to the surplus. The third incoming wave again adds to the two accumulated backwashes, quickly overloading the deck with too much water.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=85}}

Captain Cooper of ''Arthur M. Anderson'' reported that his ship was "hit by two 30 to 35 foot seas about 6:30&nbsp;p.m., one burying the aft cabins and damaging a lifeboat by pushing it right down onto the saddle. The second wave of this size, perhaps 35 foot, came over the bridge deck."{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|pp=226–227}} Cooper went on to say that these two waves, possibly followed by a third, continued in the direction of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and would have struck about the time she sank.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=324}} This hypothesis postulates that the "three sisters" compounded the twin problems of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s known list and her lower speed in heavy seas that already allowed water to remain on her deck for longer than usual.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|pp=226–227}}

The "''Edmund Fitzgerald''" episode of the 2010 television series ''Dive Detectives'' features the wave-generating tank of the [[National Research Council (Canada)|National Research Council]]'s Institute for Naval Technology in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]], and the tank's simulation of the effect of a {{convert|17|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} rogue wave upon a scale model of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''. The simulation indicated such a rogue wave could almost completely submerge the bow or stern of the ship with water, at least temporarily.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Mike |last1=Fletcher |first2=Warren |last2=Fletcher |name-list-style=amp |date=April 3, 2010 |url=http://www.divedetectives.com/rogue-wave-edmund-fitzgerald.php |title=Rogue Wave/''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |work=Dive Detectives |publisher=Smithsonian Channel |access-date=October 9, 2012 |archive-date=December 8, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208113553/http://www.divedetectives.com/rogue-wave-edmund-fitzgerald.php |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Cargo-hold flooding hypothesis===
The July 26, 1977, USCG Marine Casualty Report suggested that the accident was caused by ineffective hatch closures.<ref name=USCG2/> The report concluded that these devices failed to prevent waves from inundating the cargo hold. The flooding occurred gradually and probably imperceptibly throughout the final day, finally resulting in a fatal loss of buoyancy and stability. As a result, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' plummeted to the bottom without warning.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=223}} Video footage of the wreck site showed that most of her hatch clamps were in perfect condition. The USCG Marine board concluded that the few damaged clamps were probably the only ones fastened. As a result, ineffective hatch closure caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to flood and founder.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=94}}

From the beginning of the USCG inquiry, some of the crewmen's families and various labor organizations believed the USCG findings could be tainted because there were serious questions regarding their preparedness as well as licensing and rules changes.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=222}} [[Paul E. Trimble|Paul Trimble]], a retired USCG vice admiral and president of the Lake Carriers Association (LCA), wrote a letter to the [[National Transportation Safety Board]] (NTSB) on September 16, 1977, that included the following statements of objection to the USCG findings:

{{blockquote|The present hatch covers are an advanced design and are considered by the entire lake shipping industry to be the most significant improvement over the telescoping leaf covers previously used for many years&nbsp;… The one-piece hatch covers have proven completely satisfactory in all weather conditions without a single vessel loss in almost 40&nbsp;years of use&nbsp;… and no water accumulation in cargo holds&nbsp;…{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=12}}}}
It was common practice for ore freighters, even in foul weather, to embark with not all cargo clamps locked in place on the hatch covers. Maritime author Wolff reported that, depending on weather conditions, all the clamps were eventually set within one to two days.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|pp=227–228}} Captain Paquette of ''Wilfred Sykes'' was dismissive of suggestions that unlocked hatch clamps caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to founder. He said that he commonly sailed in fine weather using the minimum number of clamps necessary to secure the hatch covers.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=83}}

The May 4, 1978, NTSB findings differed from the USCG. The NTSB made the following observations based on the CURV-III survey:

{{blockquote|The No.&nbsp;1 hatch cover was entirely inside the No.&nbsp;1 hatch and showed indications of buckling from external loading. Sections of the [[coaming]] in way of the No.&nbsp;1 hatch were fractured and buckled inward. The No.&nbsp;2 hatch cover was missing and the coaming on the No.&nbsp;2 hatch was fractured and buckled. Hatches Nos.&nbsp;3 and 4 were covered with mud; one corner of hatch cover No.&nbsp;3 could be seen in place. Hatch cover No.&nbsp;5 was missing. A series of 16&nbsp;consecutive hatch cover clamps were observed on the No.&nbsp;5 hatch coaming. Of this series, the first and eighth were distorted or broken. All of the 14&nbsp;other clamps were undamaged and in the open position. The No.&nbsp;6 hatch was open and a hatch cover was standing on end vertically in the hatch. The hatch covers were missing from hatches Nos.&nbsp;7 and 8 and both coamings were fractured and severely distorted. The bow section abruptly ended just aft of hatch No.&nbsp;8 and the deck plating was ripped up from the separation to the forward end of hatch No.&nbsp;7.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=12}}}}

The NTSB conducted computer studies,{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=181}} testing and analysis to determine the forces necessary to collapse the hatch covers{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=14}} and concluded that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sank suddenly from flooding of the cargo hold "due to the collapse of one or more of the hatch covers under the weight of giant boarding seas" instead of flooding gradually due to ineffective hatch closures.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=224}} The NTSB dissenting opinion held that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sank suddenly and unexpectedly from [[wave shoaling|shoaling]].{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=190}}

===Shoaling hypothesis===
The LCA believed that instead of hatch cover leakage, the more probable cause of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s loss was [[shoal]]ing or grounding in the Six Fathom Shoal northwest of [[Caribou Island (Lake Superior)|Caribou Island]] when the vessel "unknowingly raked a [[reef]]" during the time the Whitefish Point light and radio beacon were not available as navigation aids.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=224}} This hypothesis was supported by a 1976&nbsp;Canadian hydrographic survey, which disclosed that an unknown shoal ran a mile farther east of Six Fathom Shoal than shown on the Canadian charts. Officers from ''Arthur M. Anderson'' observed that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sailed through this exact area.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=224}} Conjecture by proponents of the Six Fathom Shoal hypothesis concluded that ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s downed fence rail reported by McSorley could occur only if the ship "[[Hogging and sagging|hogged]]" during shoaling, with the bow and stern bent downward and the midsection raised by the shoal, pulling the railing tight until the cables dislodged or tore under the strain.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=6}} Divers searched the Six Fathom Shoal after the wreck occurred and found no evidence of "a recent collision or grounding anywhere."{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=9}} Maritime authors Bishop and Stonehouse wrote that the shoaling hypothesis was later challenged on the basis of the higher quality of detail in Shannon's 1994&nbsp;photography that "explicitly show[s] the devastation of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''".{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=222}} Shannon's photography of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s overturned stern showed "no evidence on the bottom of the stern, the propeller or the rudder of the ship that would indicate the ship struck a shoal."{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|pp=8–9}}

Maritime author Stonehouse reasoned that "unlike the Lake Carriers, the Coast Guard had no vested interest in the outcome of their investigation."{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=83}} Author Bishop reported that Captain Paquette of ''Wilfred Sykes'' argued that through their support for the shoaling explanation, the LCA represented the shipping company's interests by advocating a hypothesis that held LCA member companies, the [[American Bureau of Shipping]], and the U.S. Coast Guard Service blameless.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=9}}

Paul Hainault, a retired professor of mechanical engineering from [[Michigan Technological University]], promoted a hypothesis that began as a student class project. His hypothesis held that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' grounded at 9:30&nbsp;a.m. on November 10 on [[Superior Shoal]]. This shoal, charted in 1929, is an underwater mountain in the middle of Lake Superior about {{convert|50|mi}} north of [[Copper Harbor, Michigan]].{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=239}} It has sharp peaks that rise nearly to the lake surface with water depths ranging from {{convert|22|to|400|ft}}, making it a menace to navigation. Discovery of the shoal resulted in a change in recommended shipping routes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Woodford |first=Arthur M. |title=Charting the Inland Seas: A History of the U.S. Lake Survey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PjcUrS0vZGcC&pg=PA121 |publisher=Wayne State University |location=Detroit |year=1994 |isbn=0-8143-2499-1 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |via=Google Books |page=121}}</ref> A [[seiche]], or standing wave, that occurred during the low-pressure system over Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, caused the lake to rise {{convert|3|ft}} over the Soo Locks's gates to flood Portage Avenue in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, with {{convert|1|ft|1}} of water.<ref>{{cite news |title=Eastern U.P. Battered |last=Kight |first=Pat |date=November 11, 1975 |newspaper=[[The Evening News (Sault Ste. Marie)|The Evening News]] |location=Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan |page=D8}}</ref> Hainault's hypothesis held that this seiche contributed to ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' shoaling {{convert|200|ft}} of her hull on Superior Shoal, causing the hull to be punctured mid-body. The hypothesis contended that the wave action continued to damage the hull, until the middle third dropped out like a box, leaving the ship held together by the center deck. The stern section acted as an anchor and caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to come to a full stop, causing everything to go forward. The ship broke apart on the surface within seconds. Compressed air pressure blew a hole in the starboard bow, which sank 18&nbsp;degrees off course. The rear kept going forward with the engine still running, rolled to port and landed bottom up.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|pp=240–241}}

===Structural failure hypothesis===
Another published hypothesis contends that an already weakened structure, and modification of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s winter [[Load line (watercraft)|load line]] (which allows heavier loading and travel lower in the water), made it possible for large waves to cause a stress fracture in the hull. This is based on the "regular" huge waves of the storm and does not necessarily involve rogue waves.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=84}}

The USCG and NTSB investigated whether ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' broke apart due to structural failure of the hull and because the 1976 CURV&nbsp;III survey found ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s sections were {{convert|170|ft}} from each other, the USCG's formal casualty report of July 1977 concluded that she had separated upon hitting the lake floor.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=223}} The NTSB came to the same conclusion as USCG because:

{{blockquote|The proximity of the bow and stern sections on the bottom of Lake Superior indicated that the vessel sank in one piece and broke apart either when it hit bottom or as it descended. Therefore, ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' did not sustain a massive structural failure of the hull while on the surface&nbsp;... The final position of the wreckage indicated that if the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had capsized, it must have suffered a structural failure before hitting the lake bottom. The bow section would have had to right itself and the stern portion would have had to capsize before coming to rest on the bottom. It is, therefore, concluded that the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' did not capsize on the surface.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=18}}}}

Other authors have concluded that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' most likely broke in two on the surface before sinking due to the intense waves, like the ore carriers {{SS|Carl D. Bradley}} and {{SS|Daniel J. Morrell}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Sinking of the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |work=Underworld Tales |url=http://www.underworldtales.com/edmund-fitzgerald-sinking |access-date=May 30, 2018 |archive-date=June 9, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180609164036/http://www.underworldtales.com/edmund-fitzgerald-sinking/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Looking Back on the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |location=Mount Pleasant, Michigan |publisher=[[WCMU-TV]] |url=https://wcmu.org/news/?p=19798 |access-date=May 30, 2018}}{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Norman N. |last=Brown |date=February 17, 2006 |title=''Mighty Fitz'' Recounts Mystery |work=U-T San Diego |url=http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20060217/news_1c17book.html |access-date=May 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720195124/http://legacy.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20060217/news_1c17book.html |archive-date=July 20, 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After maritime historian Frederick Stonehouse moderated the panel reviewing the video footage from the 1989&nbsp;ROV survey of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', he concluded that the extent of taconite coverage over the wreck site showed that the stern had floated on the surface for a short time and spilled taconite into the forward section; thus the two sections of the wreck did not sink at the same time.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=217}} The 1994&nbsp;Shannon team found that the stern and the bow were {{convert|255|ft}} apart, leading Shannon to conclude that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' broke up on the surface.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=86}} He said:

{{blockquote|This placement does not support the hypothesis that the ship plunged to the bottom in one piece, breaking apart when it struck bottom. If this were true, the two sections would be much closer. In addition, the angle, repose and mounding of clay and mud at the site indicate the stern rolled over on the surface, spilling taconite ore pellets from its severed cargo hold, and then landed on portions of the cargo itself.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=86}}}}

The stress fracture hypothesis was supported by the testimony of former crewmen. Former Second Mate Richard Orgel, who served on ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' in 1972 and 1973, testified that "the ship had a tendency to bend and spring during storms 'like a diving board after somebody has jumped off.{{' "}}{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=227}} Orgel was quoted as saying that the loss of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was caused by hull failure, "pure and simple. I detected undue stress in the side tunnels by examining the white enamel paint, which will crack and splinter when submitted to severe stress."{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=90}} George H. "Red" Burgner, ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s [[Chief steward|steward]] for ten seasons and winter ship-keeper for seven years, testified in a deposition that a "loose [[keel]]" contributed to the vessel's loss. Burgner further testified that "the keel and sister [[Keelson|kelson]]s were only 'tack welded'" and that he had personally observed that many of the welds were broken.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=228}} Burgner was not asked to testify before the Marine Board of Inquiry.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=227}}

When [[Bethlehem Steel|Bethlehem Steel Corporation]] permanently laid up ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s [[sister ship]], [[SS Arthur B. Homer|SS ''Arthur B. Homer'']], just five years after going to considerable expense to lengthen her, questions were raised as to whether both ships had the same structural problems.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=92}} The two vessels were built in the same shipyard using welded joints instead of the riveted joints used in older ore freighters. Riveted joints allow a ship to flex and work in heavy seas, while welded joints are more likely to break.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=92}} Reports indicate that repairs to ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s hull were delayed in 1975 due to plans to lengthen the ship during the upcoming winter layup. ''Arthur B. Homer'' was lengthened to {{convert|825|ft}} and placed back in service by December 1975, not long after ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' foundered. In 1978, without explanation, Bethlehem Steel Corporation denied permission for the chairman of the NTSB to travel on ''Arthur B. Homer''. ''Arthur B. Homer'' was permanently laid up in 1980 and broken for scrap in 1987.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=93}}

Retired GLEW naval architect Raymond Ramsay, one of the members of the design team that worked on the hull of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'',<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramsay |first=Raymond. |title=SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'': Requiem for the Toledo Express |publisher=Keweenaw Productions |location=Houghton, Michigan |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-9826158-3-6 |page=48}}</ref> reviewed her increased load lines, maintenance history, along with the history of long ship hull failure and concluded that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was not seaworthy on November 10, 1975.{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|p=16}} He stated that planning ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to be compatible with the constraints of the St. Lawrence Seaway had placed her hull design in a "{{sic|?|straight jacket|expected=straitjacket}}."{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|p=66}} ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s long-ship design was developed without the benefit of [[Research and development|research, development, test, and evaluation]] principles while computerized analytical technology was not available at the time she was built.{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|p=37}} Ramsay noted that ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s hull was built with an all-welded (instead of riveted) modular fabrication method,{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|p=45}} which was used for the first time in the GLEW shipyard.<ref name=schumacher14/>{{sfnp|MacInnis|1998|p=21}} Ramsay concluded that increasing the hull length to {{convert|729|ft}} resulted in an L/D slenderness ratio (the ratio of the length of the ship to the depth of her structure)<ref>{{cite book |last1=Charles |first1=J.A. |last2=Furness |first2=M.A. |last3=Crane |first3=F.A.A. |name-list-style=amp |title=Selection and Use of Engineering Materials |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C2zlUBelh1gC&q=l+d+ratio+for+ships&pg=PA258 |publisher=Butterworth-Heinemann |location=Maryland Heights, Missouri |year=1997 |isbn=0-7506-3277-1 |access-date=February 20, 2011 |via=Google Books |page=258 |archive-date=July 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723180948/https://books.google.com/books?id=C2zlUBelh1gC&q=l+d+ratio+for+ships&pg=PA258 |url-status=live}}</ref> that caused excessive multi-axial bending and springing of the hull, and that the hull should have been structurally reinforced to cope with her increased length.{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|pp=71, 134}}

===Topside damage hypothesis===
The USCG cited topside damage as a reasonable alternative reason for ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' sinking and surmised that damage to the fence rail and vents was possibly caused by a heavy floating object such as a log.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=325}} Historian and mariner Mark Thompson believes that something broke loose from ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s deck. He theorized that the loss of the vents resulted in flooding of two ballast tanks or a ballast tank and a walking tunnel that caused the ship to list. Thompson further conjectured that damage more extensive than Captain McSorley could detect in the pilothouse let water flood the cargo hold. He concluded that the topside damage ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' experienced at 3:30&nbsp;p.m. on November 10, compounded by the heavy seas, was the most obvious explanation for why she sank.

==Possible contributing factors==
The USCG, NTSB, and proponents of alternative theories have all named multiple possible contributing factors to the foundering of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''.

===Weather forecasting===
[[File:SS Edmund Fitzgerald scale model.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Scale mode of Fitzgerald |A scale model of SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'']]
The NWS long-range forecast on November 9, 1975, predicted that a storm would pass just south of Lake Superior and over the [[Keweenaw Peninsula]], extending into the Lake from Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Captain Paquette of ''Wilfred Sykes'' had been following and charting the low-pressure system over [[Oklahoma]] since November 8 and concluded that a major storm would track across eastern Lake Superior. He therefore chose a route that gave ''Wilfred Sykes'' the most protection and took refuge in [[Thunder Bay]], [[Ontario]], during the worst of the storm. Based on the NWS forecast, ''Arthur M. Anderson'' and ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' instead started their trip across Lake Superior following the regular Lake Carriers Association route, which placed them in the path of the storm.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=xii}} The NTSB investigation concluded that the NWS failed to accurately predict wave heights on November 10.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=21, 23}} After running computer models in 2005 using actual meteorological data from November 10, 1975, Hultquist of the NWS said of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s position in the storm, "It ended in precisely the wrong place at the absolute worst time."<ref>{{cite book |last=Bohnak |first=Karl |title=So Cold a Sky: Upper Michigan Weather Stories |publisher=Thomson-Shore |location=Dexter, Michigan |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-9778189-0-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/socoldskyuppermi0000bohn |page=316}}</ref>

===Inaccurate navigational charts===
After reviewing testimony that ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had passed near shoals north of Caribou Island, the USCG Marine Board examined the relevant navigational charts. They found that the Canadian 1973&nbsp;navigational chart for the Six Fathom Shoal area was based on Canadian surveys from 1916 and 1919 and that the 1973&nbsp;U.S. Lake Survey Chart No.&nbsp;9 included the notation, "Canadian Areas. For data concerning Canadian areas, Canadian authorities have been consulted."{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|pp=85–86}} Thereafter, at the request of the Marine Board and the Commander of the USCG Ninth District, the [[Canadian Hydrographic Service]] conducted a survey of the area surrounding [[Michipicoten Island]] and Caribou Island in 1976. The survey revealed that the shoal ran about {{convert|1|mi}} farther east than shown on Canadian charts.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|pp=86–87}} The NTSB investigation concluded that, at the time of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s foundering, Lake Survey Chart No.&nbsp;9 was not detailed enough to indicate Six Fathom Shoal as a hazard to navigation.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=21, 23}}

===Lack of watertight bulkheads===
Mark Thompson, a [[Merchant Navy|merchant seaman]] and author of numerous books on Great Lakes shipping, stated that if her cargo holds had had [[watertight subdivision]]s, "the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' could have made it into Whitefish Bay."{{sfnp|Thompson|1991|p=167}} Frederick Stonehouse also held that the lack of watertight [[Bulkhead (partition)|bulkhead]]s caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to sink. He said:

{{blockquote|The Great Lakes ore carrier is the most commercially efficient vessel in the shipping trade today. But it's nothing but a motorized barge! It's the unsafest commercial vessel afloat. It has virtually no watertight integrity. Theoretically, a one-inch puncture in the cargo hold will sink it.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|pp=105–106}}}}

Stonehouse called on ship designers and builders to design lake carriers more like ships rather than "motorized super-barges"{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=124}} making the following comparison:

{{blockquote|Contrast this [the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''] with the story of the SS ''Maumee'', an oceangoing tanker that struck an iceberg near the South Pole recently. The collision tore a hole in the ship's bow large enough to drive a truck through, but the ''Maumee'' was able to travel halfway around the world to a repair yard, without difficulty, because she was fitted with watertight bulkheads.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=117}}}}

After ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' foundered, Great Lakes shipping companies were accused of valuing cargo [[Cargo|payloads]] more than human life,{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|pp=104–105}} since the vessel's cargo hold of {{convert|860950|cuft|m3}} had been divided by two non-watertight traverse "screen" bulkheads. The NTSB ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' investigation concluded that Great Lakes freighters should be constructed with watertight bulkheads in their cargo holds.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=25}}

The USCG had proposed rules for watertight bulkheads in Great Lakes vessels as early as the sinking of ''Daniel J. Morrell'' in 1966 and did so again after the sinking of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', arguing that this would allow ships to make it to refuge or at least allow crew members to abandon ship in an orderly fashion. The LCA represented the Great Lakes fleet owners and was able to forestall watertight subdivision regulations<ref>{{USCFR|46|179|subpart=B|212|access-date=May 7, 2011}}.</ref> by arguing that this would cause economic hardship for vessel operators. A few vessel operators have built Great Lakes ships with watertight subdivisions in the cargo holds since 1975, but most vessels operating on the lakes cannot prevent flooding of the entire cargo hold area.{{sfnp|Thompson|1991|p=168}}

===Lack of instrumentation===
A [[fathometer]] was not required under USCG regulations, and ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' lacked one,{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=9}} even though fathometers were available at the time of her sinking. Instead, a [[Sounding line|hand line]] was the only method ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had to take depth soundings. The hand line consisted of a piece of line knotted at measured intervals with a lead weight on the end. The line was thrown over the bow of the ship and the count of the knots measured the water depth.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=102}} The NTSB investigation concluded that a fathometer would have provided ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' additional navigational data and made her less dependent on ''Arthur M. Anderson'' for navigational assistance.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=21, 23}}

''Edmund Fitzgerald'' had no system to monitor the presence or amount of water in her cargo hold, even though there was always some present. The intensity of the November 10 storm would have made it difficult, if not impossible, to access the hatches from the spar deck (deck over the cargo holds). The USCG Marine Board found that flooding of the hold could not have been assessed until the water reached the top of the taconite cargo.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=134}} The NTSB investigation concluded that it would have been impossible to pump water from the hold when it was filled with bulk cargo.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=17, 23}} The Marine Board noted that because ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' lacked a draft-reading system, the crew had no way to determine whether the vessel had lost [[Freeboard (nautical)|freeboard]] (the level of a ship's deck above the water).{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=135}}

===Increased load lines, reduced freeboard===
The USCG increased ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s load line in 1969, 1971, and 1973 to allow {{convert|3|ft|3.25|in|mm|0}} less minimum freeboard than ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s original design allowed in 1958.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=223}} This meant that ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s deck was only {{convert|11.5|ft}} above the water when she faced {{convert|35|ft|adj=on}} waves during the November 10 storm.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|p=8}} Captain Paquette of ''Wilfred Sykes'' noted that this change allowed loading to 4,000 tons more than what ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was designed to carry.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=137}}

Concerns regarding ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s keel-welding problem surfaced during the time the USCG started increasing her load line.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=228}} This increase and the resultant reduction in freeboard decreased the vessel's critical reserve buoyancy. Prior to the load-line increases she was said to be a "good riding ship" but afterwards ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' became a sluggish ship with slower response and recovery times. Captain McSorley said he did not like the action of a ship he described as a "wiggling thing" that scared him. ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s bow hooked to one side or the other in heavy seas without recovering and made a groaning sound not heard on other ships.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=228}}

===Maintenance===
NTSB investigators noted that ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s prior [[Ship grounding|groundings]] could have caused undetected damage that led to major structural failure during the storm, since Great Lakes vessels were normally [[drydock]]ed for inspection only once every five years.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=21, 23}} It was also alleged that when compared to ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s previous captain (Peter Pulcer), McSorley did not keep up with routine maintenance and did not confront the mates about getting the requisite work done.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=228}} After August B. Herbel Jr., president of the [[ASTM International|American Society for Testing and Materials]], examined photographs of the welds on ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', he stated, "the hull was just being held together with patching plates." Other questions were raised as to why the USCG did not discover and take corrective action in its pre-November 1975 inspection of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', given that her hatch coamings, gaskets, and clamps were poorly maintained.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=349}}

===Complacency===
On the fateful evening of November 10, 1975, McSorley reported he had never seen bigger seas in his life.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=221}} Paquette, master of ''Wilfred Sykes,'' out in the same storm, said, "I'll tell anyone that it was a ''monster'' sea washing solid water over the deck of every vessel out there."{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=108}} The USCG did not broadcast that all ships should seek safe anchorage until after 3:35&nbsp;p.m. on November 10, many hours after the weather was upgraded from a gale to a storm.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=27}}

McSorley was known as a "heavy weather captain"{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|pp=22, 76}} who {{" '}}beat hell' out of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and 'very seldom ever hauled up for weather{{' "}}.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=228}} Paquette held the opinion that negligence caused ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' to founder. He said, "in my opinion, all the subsequent events arose because (McSorley) kept pushing that ship and didn't have enough training in weather forecasting to use common sense and pick a route out of the worst of the wind and seas."{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=76}} Paquette's vessel was the first to reach a discharge port after the November 10 storm; she was met by company attorneys who came aboard ''Sykes.'' He told them that ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s foundering was caused by negligence.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=30}} Paquette was never asked to testify during the USCG or NTSB investigations.{{sfnp|Bishop|2000|p=30}}

The NTSB investigation noted that Great Lakes cargo vessels could normally avoid severe storms and called for the establishment of a limiting sea state applicable to Great Lakes bulk cargo vessels. This would restrict the operation of vessels in sea states above the limiting value.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=24–27}} One concern was that shipping companies pressured the captains to deliver cargo as quickly and cheaply as possible regardless of bad weather.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=333}} At the time of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s foundering, there was no evidence that any governmental regulatory agency tried to control vessel movement in foul weather despite the historical record that hundreds of Great Lakes vessels had been wrecked in storms. The USCG took the position that only the captain could decide when it was safe to sail.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=315}}

The USCG Marine Board issued the following conclusion:

{{blockquote|The nature of Great Lakes shipping, with short voyages, much of the time in very protected waters, frequently with the same routine from trip to trip, leads to complacency and an overly optimistic attitude concerning the extreme weather conditions that can and do exist. The Marine Board feels that this attitude reflects itself at times in deferral of maintenance and repairs, in failure to prepare properly for heavy weather, and in the conviction that since refuges are near, safety is possible by "running for it." While it is true that sailing conditions are good during the summer season, changes can occur abruptly, with severe storms and extreme weather and sea conditions arising rapidly. This tragic accident points out the need for all persons involved in Great Lakes shipping to foster increased awareness of the hazards which exist.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|p=103}}}}

Mark Thompson countered that "the Coast Guard laid bare [its] own complacency" by blaming the sinking of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' on industry-wide complacency since it had inspected ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' just two weeks before she sank.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=349}} The loss of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' also exposed the USCG's lack of rescue capability on Lake Superior.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=109}} Thompson said that ongoing budget cuts had limited the USCG's ability to perform its historical functions. He further noted that USCG rescue vessels were unlikely to reach the scene of an incident on Lake Superior or Lake Huron within 6&nbsp;to 12&nbsp;hours of its occurrence.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=369}}

==Legal settlement==
Under [[maritime law]], ships fall under the jurisdiction of the [[Admiralty law|admiralty courts]] of their flag country. As ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was sailing under the [[U.S. flag]], even though she sank in foreign (Canadian) waters, she was subject to U.S. admiralty law.<ref> {{cite web |last=Beisenherz |first=Nona |title=Admiralty and Maritime Law Research Guide |work=International and Foreign Law Research Guides |url=http://law.loyno.edu/~beisen/maritime.html |publisher=[[Loyola University New Orleans]] Law Library |access-date=December 25, 2010 |ref={{harvid|Beisenherz|2010}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615072947/http://law.loyno.edu/~beisen/maritime.html |archive-date=June 15, 2010}}</ref> With a value of $24&nbsp;million, ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s financial loss was the greatest in Great Lakes sailing history.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|pp=217–218}} In addition to the crew, {{convert|26116|LT|ST t}} of taconite sank along with the vessel.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=218}} Two widows of crewmen filed a $1.5&nbsp;million lawsuit against ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s owners, Northwestern Mutual, and its operators, Oglebay Norton Corporation, one week after she sank. An additional $2.1&nbsp;million lawsuit was later filed. Oglebay Norton subsequently filed a petition in the U.S. District Court seeking to "limit their liability to $817,920 in connection with other suits filed by families of crew members".<ref> {{cite book |author-link=William Ratigan |last=Ratigan |first=William |title=Great Lakes Shipwrecks and Survivals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MsrCAItQ9FIC |publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company |location=Grand Rapids, Michigan |year=1977 |isbn=0-8028-7010-4 |access-date=February 25, 2011 |via=Google Books |pages=345–346}}</ref> The company paid compensation to surviving families about 12&nbsp;months in advance of official findings of the probable cause and on condition of imposed confidentiality agreements.{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|pp=16, 26, 144–145}} Robert Hemming, a reporter and newspaper editor, reasoned in his book about ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' that the USCG's conclusions "were benign in placing blame on [n]either the company or the captain&nbsp;... [and] saved the Oglebay Norton from very expensive lawsuits by the families of the lost crew."{{sfnp|Hemming|1981|p=226}}

==Subsequent changes to Great Lakes shipping practice==
The USCG investigation of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s sinking resulted in 15&nbsp;recommendations regarding load lines, weathertight integrity, search and rescue capability, lifesaving equipment, crew training, loading manuals, and providing information to masters of Great Lakes vessels.{{sfnp|United States Coast Guard|1977|pp=105–108}} NTSB's investigation resulted in 19&nbsp;recommendations for the USCG, four recommendations for the American Bureau of Shipping, and two recommendations for NOAA.{{sfnp|National Transportation Safety Board|1978|pp=24–27}} Of the official recommendations, the following actions and USCG regulations were put in place:
:1. In 1977, the USCG made it a requirement that all vessels of 1,600&nbsp;[[Gross register tonnage|gross register tons]] and over use depth finders.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=182}}
:2. Since 1980, [[survival suit]]s have been required aboard ship in each crew member's quarters and at their customary work station with [[strobe light]]s affixed to life jackets and survival suits.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=329}}
:3. A [[Loran-C|LORAN-C]] positioning system for navigation on the Great Lakes was implemented in 1980 and later replaced with [[Global Positioning System]] (GPS) in the 1990s.{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=187}}
:4. [[Emergency position-indicating radiobeacon station|Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons]] (EPIRBs) are installed on all Great Lakes vessels for immediate and accurate location in event of a disaster.{{sfnp|Thompson|2000|p=329}}
:5. Navigational charts for northeastern Lake Superior were improved for accuracy and greater detail.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=229}}
:6. NOAA revised its method for predicting wave heights.{{sfnp|Wolff|Holden|1990|p=229}}
:7. The USCG rescinded the 1973 Load Line Regulation amendment that permitted reduced freeboard loadings.{{sfnp|Ramsay|2009|p=78}}
:8. The USCG began the annual pre-November inspection program recommended by the NTSB. "Coast Guard inspectors now board all U.S. ships during the fall to inspect hatch and vent closures and lifesaving equipment."{{sfnp|Thompson|1991|p=169}}

Karl Bohnak, an Upper Peninsula meteorologist, covered the sinking and storm in a book on local weather history. In this book, Joe Warren, a deckhand on ''Arthur M. Anderson'' during the November 10, 1975, storm, said that the storm changed the way things were done. He stated, "After that, trust me, when a gale came up we dropped the hook [anchor]. We dropped the hook because they found out the big ones could sink."{{sfnp|Bohnak|2007|p=318}} Mark Thompson wrote, "Since the loss of the ''Fitz,'' some captains may be more prone to go to anchor, rather than venturing out in a severe storm, but there are still too many who like to portray themselves as 'heavy weather sailors.'"{{sfnp|Thompson|1991|p=170}}

==Memorials==
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width     = 220
| footer    = 
| footer_align = 
| image1    = Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial at Whitefish Point.jpg
| alt1      = Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial at Whitefish Point
| caption1  = Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial at [[Whitefish Point]]
| image2    = Ships Bell 2.JPG
| alt2      = Bell from ''Edmund Fitzgerald''
| caption2  = The bell from ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
| image3    = FitzgeraldAnchor.jpg
| alt3      = ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' bow anchor
| caption3  = ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' bow anchor on display at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum
}}
The day after the wreck, [[Mariners' Church]] in Detroit rang its bell 29&nbsp;times, once for each life lost.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=95}} The church continued to hold an annual memorial, reading the names of the crewmen and ringing the church bell, until 2006 when the church broadened its memorial ceremony to commemorate all lives lost on the Great Lakes.<ref>{{cite news |title=Detroit Church Broadens Its Scope Marking ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Anniversary |date=November 13, 2006 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-13-edmund-fitzgerald_x.htm |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |access-date=January 18, 2011 |archive-date=February 5, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130205072756/http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-11-13-edmund-fitzgerald_x.htm |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bulanda |first=George |title=Great Mariner's Church Remembers ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' on 35th Anniversary of Sinking |magazine=[[Hour Detroit]] |url=http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/November-2010/Mariners-rsquo-Church-of-Detroit |date=November 2010 |access-date=November 8, 2010 |issn=1098-9684 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101106211335/http://www.hourdetroit.com/Hour-Detroit/November-2010/Mariners-rsquo-Church-of-Detroit/ |archive-date=November 6, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> After the death of singer [[Gordon Lightfoot]] on May 1, 2023, the church bell was ceremonially rung 29 times in memory of the crew, plus an additional ring in memory of Lightfoot who committed their deaths to posterity.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mackay |first1=Hannah |date=May 2, 2023 |title=Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society Pays Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot |work=The Detroit News |url=https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/02/great-lakes-shipwreck-historical-society-pays-tribute-to-gordon-lightfoot/70173740007/ |url-status=live |access-date=May 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505024723/https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2023/05/02/great-lakes-shipwreck-historical-society-pays-tribute-to-gordon-lightfoot/70173740007/ |archive-date=May 5, 2023}}</ref>

The [[ship's bell]] was recovered from the wreck on July 4, 1995. A replica engraved with the names of the 29&nbsp;sailors who died replaced the original on the wreck.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=167}} A legal document signed by 46&nbsp;relatives of the deceased, officials of the Mariners' Church of Detroit and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historic Society (GLSHS) "donated the custodian and conservatorship" of the bell to the GLSHS "to be incorporated in a permanent memorial at Whitefish Point, Michigan, to honor the memory of the 29&nbsp;men of the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald."''{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=171}} The terms of the legal agreement made the GLSHS responsible for maintaining the bell, and forbade it from selling or moving the bell or using it for commercial purposes. It provided for transferring the bell to the Mariners' Church of Detroit if the terms were violated.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=171}}

An uproar occurred in 1995 when a maintenance worker in [[St. Ignace]], Michigan, refurbished the bell by stripping the protective coating applied by [[Michigan State University]] experts.<ref>{{cite news |title=No Peace for Bell's Dead: Debate Rages as to Whether it's ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Artifact or a Tourist Attraction |last=Poulson |first=David |date=March 17, 1996 |newspaper=[[The Grand Rapids Press]] |pages=C3, C6}}</ref> The controversy continued when the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum tried to use the bell as a touring exhibit in 1996. Relatives of the crew halted this move, objecting that the bell was being used as a "traveling trophy."{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=172}} {{As of|2005}}, the bell is on display in the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in [[Whitefish Bay|Whitefish Point]] near [[Paradise, Michigan|Paradise]], Michigan.<ref>{{cite news |title=''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Still Haunts Great Lakes Sailors |last=Walsh-Sarnecki |first=Peggy |date=November 10, 2005 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2005-11-10-Edmund-Fitzgerald_x.htm |newspaper=USA Today |access-date=January 27, 2011 |archive-date=November 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113131213/http://www.usatoday.com/weather/news/2005-11-10-Edmund-Fitzgerald_x.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

An anchor from ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' lost on an earlier trip from 1974 was recovered from the Detroit River on July 20, 1992 and is on display at the [[Dossin Great Lakes Museum]] in Detroit, Michigan.<ref name=DHS>{{cite web |author=Detroit Historical Society |author-link=Detroit Historical Society |title=Exhibitions at Dossin Great Lakes Museum |year=2011 |url=http://www.detroithistorical.org/main/dossin/exhibitions.aspx |publisher=Detroit Historical Society |access-date=March 3, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327041133/http://www.detroithistorical.org/main/dossin/exhibitions.aspx |archive-date=March 27, 2012}}</ref> The Dossin Great Lakes Museum also hosts a Lost Mariners Remembrance event each year on the evening of November 10.<ref name=DHS/><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obccoA8dEK4</ref> Artifacts on display in the [[Steamship Valley Camp]] museum in Sault Ste. Marie, include two lifeboats, photos, a movie of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and commemorative models and paintings. Every November 10, the [[Split Rock Lighthouse]] near [[Silver Bay, Minnesota]], emits a light in honor of ''Edmund Fitzgerald.''

On August 8, 2007, along a remote shore of Lake Superior on the Keweenaw Peninsula, a Michigan family discovered a lone life-saving ring that appeared to have come from ''Edmund Fitzgerald''. It bore markings different from those of rings found at the wreck site, and was thought to be a hoax.<ref>{{cite news |last=Karoub |first=Jeff |date=August 9, 2007 |title=Life Ring May Be from the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |newspaper=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-08-09-303787685_x.htm |access-date=February 20, 2011 |archive-date=December 2, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202085245/http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-08-09-303787685_x.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Later it was determined that the life ring was not from ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', but had been lost by the owner, whose father had made it as a personal memorial.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cnAeAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638,191289 |title=''Fitzgerald'' Relic Just a Replica |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |agency=Associated Press |date=August 21, 2007 |page=4A |access-date=March 28, 2011 |via=[[Google News]]}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The [[Royal Canadian Mint]] commemorated ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' in 2015 with a colored silver collector coin, with a face value of $20.<ref>{{cite news |last=Alexander |first=Michael |date=October 20, 2015 |title=Lost Ships in Canadian Waters Silver Coin Series Continues with SS Edmund Fitzgerald Saga |url=http://news.coinupdate.com/lost-ships-in-canadian-waters-silver-coin-series-continues-with-s-s-edmund-fitzgerald-saga/ |access-date=October 30, 2015 |work=Coin Update |archive-date=October 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024043738/http://news.coinupdate.com/lost-ships-in-canadian-waters-silver-coin-series-continues-with-s-s-edmund-fitzgerald-saga/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Musical and theater tributes===
Ontario singer-songwriter [[Gordon Lightfoot]] wrote, composed, and recorded the song "[[The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald|The Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'']]" for his 1976 album ''[[Summertime Dream]].'' On NPR's ''Weekend Edition Saturday'' on February 14, 2015, Gordon Lightfoot said he was inspired to write the song when he saw the name misspelled "Edmond" in ''Newsweek'' magazine two weeks after the sinking; Lightfoot said he felt that it dishonored the memory of the 29 who died.<ref>{{cite news |first=Scott |last=Simon |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/02/14/386227473/50-years-of-music-with-gordon-lightfoot |title=50 Years of Music with Gordon Lightfoot |publisher=NPR |work=Weekend Edition Saturday |date=February 14, 2015 |access-date=February 14, 2015 |archive-date=February 14, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214175332/http://www.npr.org/2015/02/14/386227473/50-years-of-music-with-gordon-lightfoot |url-status=live}}</ref> Lightfoot's popular ballad made the sinking of ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' one of the best-known disasters in the history of [[Great Lakes]] shipping.{{sfnp|Kantar|1998|p=43}} The original lyrics of the song show a degree of artistic license compared to the events of the actual sinking: it states the destination as [[Cleveland]] instead of Detroit. Also, in light of new evidence about what happened, Lightfoot modified one line for live performances, the original stanza being:

{{Poemquote|When suppertime came the old cook came on deck,
Saying "Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya."
At 7 p.m. a main hatchway caved in,
He said, "Fellas, it's been good to know ya."}}

Lightfoot changed the third line to "At 7 p.m. it grew dark, it was then",<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/music/2010/03/25/13357711.html |last=Stevenson |first=Jane |date=March 26, 2010 |title=Lightfoot Changes 'Edmund Fitzgerald' Lyric |newspaper=Toronto Sun |agency=QMI Agency |access-date=March 28, 2011 |archive-date=November 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109125145/http://www.torontosun.com/entertainment/music/2010/03/25/13357711.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/article/785274--gordon-lightfoot-changes-edmund-fitzgerald-lyrics |last=Quill |first=Greg |date=March 25, 2010 |title=Gordon Lightfoot Changes 'Edmund Fitzgerald' Lyrics |work=Toronto Star |access-date=March 28, 2011 |archive-date=January 27, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127093040/http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/music/article/785274--gordon-lightfoot-changes-edmund-fitzgerald-lyrics |url-status=live}}</ref> although possibly to "At 7 p.m. it grew dark, it was dim".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://buffalonews.com/entertainment/music/gordon-lightfoot-tells-why-he-changed-lyric-to-his-signature-song/article_48ecd67e-af41-5a4d-ae1e-8537bd5890d3.html |url-access=subscription |title=Gordon Lightfoot tells why he changed lyric to Edmund Fitzgerald  |author=Roger McBain |date=June 26, 2014 |work=The Buffalo News |accessdate=April 8, 2024}}</ref>

He also changed the word "musty" in the lines

{{Poemquote|In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral}}

to "rustic", as the building is not actually musty (it is also not a cathedral as it is not the seat of a bishop, and its name is actually Mariners' Church, but this line was never changed).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gordonlightfoot.com/wreckoftheedmundfitzgerald.shtml |title=Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot Song Lyrics |author= |date= |work=Gordon Lightfoot and Folk Music - Concert Dates, CDs and more ... |accessdate=April 8, 2024}}</ref>

On May 2, 2023, at 3 p.m. the Mariners' Church of Detroit tolled its bell 30 times; 29 times in memory of the crew of the ''Fitzgerald'', and a 30th time in memory of Lightfoot, who died at age 84, on May 1, 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCollum |first1=Brian |title=Mariners' Church of Detroit Honors Gordon Lightfoot with Tuesday Ringing of Bells |url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2023/05/02/gordon-lightfoot-mariners-church-detroit-bells/70175392007/ |access-date=May 9, 2023 |work=Detroit Free Press |date=May 2, 2023 |archive-date=May 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508062416/https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/music/brian-mccollum/2023/05/02/gordon-lightfoot-mariners-church-detroit-bells/70175392007/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1986, writer [[Steven Dietz]] and songwriter/lyricist Eric Peltoniemi wrote the musical ''Ten November'' in memory of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s sinking. In 2005, the play was re-edited into a concert version called ''The Gales of November'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Minnesota Public Radio Presents |url=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/mpr_presents/archive/2005/ |date=November 26, 2005 |publisher=Minnesota Public Radio |access-date=March 15, 2011 |archive-date=December 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223080001/http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/programs/mpr_presents/archive/2005/ |url-status=live}}</ref> which opened on the 30th anniversary of the sinking at the [[Fitzgerald Theater]] in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Aamot |first=Gregg |title=I Can Feel the 'Storm': Memories Still Vivid on 30th Anniversary of the Wreck of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=November 6, 2005 |newspaper=[[St. Paul Pioneer Press]] |page=B8}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|The Fitzgerald Theater is not named after the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', but rather, [[F. Scott Fitzgerald]].<ref name=MPR-FT-About>{{cite web |title=The Fitzgerald Theater |url=https://first-avenue.com/venue/the-fitzgerald-theater/ |publisher=First Avenue |access-date=May 1, 2022 |archive-date=May 2, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502185654/https://first-avenue.com/venue/the-fitzgerald-theater/ |url-status=live}}</ref>|group=lower-alpha}}

In November 2000, Shelley Russell opened a production of her play, ''Holdin' Our Own: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald'', at the Forest Roberts Theatre on the campus of [[Northern Michigan University]]. The production featured a cast of 14, 11 set on board the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' and three on the ''Arthur M. Anderson''.<ref>{{cite press release |last=Evans |first=Kristi |date=November 7, 2000 |title=''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Tragedy Inspires Theater Production |location=Marquette |publisher=[[Northern Michigan University]] |url=http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/21487/ |access-date=May 22, 2015 |via=Newswire |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035554/http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/21487/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

A piano concerto titled ''The'' ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' was composed by American composer Geoffrey Peterson in 2002; it was premiered by the [[Sault Symphony Orchestra]] in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, in November 2005 as another 30th-anniversary commemoration.<ref>{{cite press release |author=Sault Symphony Orchestra |title=''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Piano Concerto to Commemorate 30th Anniversary of Famous Shipwreck |url=https://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2005/09/13/284809/Edmund%20Fitzgerald%20-%20press%20release.pdf |publisher=Sault Symphony Orchestra |date=September 15, 2005 |access-date=March 15, 2011 |archive-date=July 15, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715125208/http://ww1.prweb.com/prfiles/2005/09/13/284809/Edmund%20Fitzgerald%20-%20press%20release.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Commercialization===
The fame of ''Edmund Fitzgerald''{{'}}s image and historical narrative have made it public domain and subject to commercialization.{{sfnp|Schumacher|2005|p=173}} A "[[cottage industry]]"{{sfnp|Stonehouse|2006|p=205}} has evolved across the Great Lakes region from Two Harbors, Minnesota, to Whitefish Point, the incident's "[[ground zero]]".<ref>{{cite news |title=''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Memories for Sale |last=Donnelly |first=Francis X. |date=October 29, 2000 |newspaper=[[The Detroit News]] |pages=1A, 8A}}</ref> Memorabilia on sale include Christmas ornaments, T-shirts, coffee mugs, [[Great Lakes Brewing Company#Year-round|''Edmund Fitzgerald'' Porter]], videos, and other items commemorating the vessel and its loss.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Dybas |first=Cheryl Lyn |date=November 2000 |title=For sale: soul of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' |magazine=Traverse: Northern Michigan's Magazine |volume=20 |issue=11 |pages=84–86 |publisher=Prisms Publications |location=Traverse City, Michigan |issn=0746-2735}}</ref>

==See also==

{{Portal|Michigan|Transport|Ontario|Weather}}
* [[Graveyard of the Great Lakes]]
* [[List of maritime disasters]]
* [[List of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes]]
* [[List of storms on the Great Lakes]]
* [[MV Derbyshire|MV ''Derbyshire'']], a British bulk carrier lost in 1980 under similar circumstances

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Edmund Fitzgerald (ship, 1958)|SS Edmund Fitzgerald}}
* {{cite magazine |url=http://www2.boatnerd.com/glmi/FitzTelescope1998full.pdf |title=40th Anniversary of the Launch |journal=Telescope |date=May–August 1998 |volume=46 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109035710/http://www2.boatnerd.com:80/glmi/FitzTelescope1998full.pdf |archive-date= November 9, 2016 |publisher=Great Lakes Maritime Institute |location=Detroit}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726132343/http://www.greatlakesships.org/vesselview.aspx?id=218817 Image gallery I] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726132349/http://www.greatlakesships.org/vesselview.aspx?id=233899 Image gallery II] of the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' from Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary collection
* [https://www.mnhs.org/blog/collectionsupclose/images-of-the-edmund-fitzgerald Images of the ''Edmund Fitzgerald''] from the Minnesota Historical Society
* [http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/fitz.html The sinking of the SS ''Edmund Fitzgerald'', November 10, 1975], from the University of Wisconsin
* [http://www.startribune.com/local/blogs/178441961.html Yesterday's news, November 10, 1975: ''Edmund Fitzgerald'' reported missing] from the Minneapolis ''Star Tribune''

{{1975 shipwrecks}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmund Fitzgerald}}
[[Category:1958 ships]]
[[Category:Great Lakes freighters]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1975]]
[[Category:Merchant ships of the United States]]
[[Category:November 1975 events in North America]]
[[Category:Queen of the Lakes]]
[[Category:Rogue wave incidents]]
[[Category:Ships built in River Rouge, Michigan]]
[[Category:Ships lost with all hands]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Lake Superior]]