The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[Rye Miles #13621]

Edmund Fitzgerald wreck 50 years ago today 

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Edmund-Fitzgerald

[Cypress Sun]

They now ring the bell 30 times to honor Gordon Lightfoot for telling the story that would otherwise be forgotten....

 

 

[watab kid]

i recall lightfoot releasing that song and i then became aware of the shipping hazzards of the great lakes , after i moved here i toured the museums in duluth and realized this was far to common - that one raised the public attention , there are a lot of wrecks and the lakes are really deep , most have not been visited after they went down , many still are the final resting place of those that they went down with 

[WD Farren]

That tune remains a favorite after all these years, and his “Pony Man” as well.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

Lightfoot never made a dime off the song.

It all went to the families of the lost crew.

[Stump Water]

1 hour ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Lightfoot never made a dime off the song.

It all went to the families of the lost crew.

 

I'm getting mixed stories about that.  He created a scholarship fund, but I can't confirm "never made a dime".  

.

13 hours ago, watab kid said:

this was far to common

 

"From 1875 to 1975, there were at least 6,000 commercial shipwrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes," Bacon told NPR. "So that is one shipwreck a week every week for a century. That is one casualty every day for a century."

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5518215/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck

.

Edited November 10, 2025 by Stump Water

[Sedalia Dave]

3 hours ago, The Original Lumpy Gritz said:

Lightfoot never made a dime off the song.

It all went to the families of the lost crew.

 

While he has supported many maritime causes in the Great Lakes area including sponsoring a few scholarships; he did not donate the royalties earned from “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” to the families of the crew. As far as my research goes he has never given any money directly to the families.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

45 minutes ago, Sedalia Dave said:

 

While he has supported many maritime causes in the Great Lakes area including sponsoring a few scholarships; he did not donate the royalties earned from “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” to the families of the crew. As far as my research goes he has never given any money directly to the families.

Thanks, I may have miss-remembered. 

[watab kid]

12 hours ago, Stump Water said:

 

I'm getting mixed stories about that.  He created a scholarship fund, but I can't confirm "never made a dime".  

.

 

"From 1875 to 1975, there were at least 6,000 commercial shipwrecks on the bottom of the Great Lakes," Bacon told NPR. "So that is one shipwreck a week every week for a century. That is one casualty every day for a century."

https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5518215/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck

.

i did not realize it was that common , thats a sad commentary on the maritime trade of the great lakes 

[Michigan Slim]

On 11/11/2025 at 12:48 AM, watab kid said:

i did not realize it was that common , thats a sad commentary on the maritime trade of the great lakes 

I would suspect that the bulk of the events occurred before modern weather for casting. Storms blow up in a hurry on the big lakes.

[watab kid]

3 hours ago, Michigan Slim said:

I would suspect that the bulk of the events occurred before modern weather for casting. Storms blow up in a hurry on the big lakes.

yes , i would agree with that - both points , ive not heard of anything recently , but then the tacanite mining has all but ceased in the decades since the EF went down , our mining industry in the arrowhead is almost non-existant so shipping has been reduced 

[Michigan Slim]

https://www.history.com/articles/edmund-fitzgerald-sinking-lake-superior

 

Says in this article that not a single major ship has gone down since. The sinking prompted a major overhaul of the way things were done. 

[watab kid]

thanks that was an interesting read 

[Michigan Slim]

Rogue waves to 60'. My God. 

[El Sobrante Kid]

3 hours ago, Michigan Slim said:

Rogue waves to 60'. My God. 

 

I have seen a few documentaries that discussed rogue waves. Apparently they are very real, and 60' is not the biggest.

[Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103]

Good friend of mine served on the USS Saratoga.

He said a number of his shipmates told him there was no way in two hells they would sail the freshwater inland seas.

They cited the speed with which a storm will develop, how fast, how high, and how utterly vicious the waves become.

[Abilene Slim SASS 81783]

8 minutes ago, Linn Keller, SASS 27332, BOLD 103 said:

They cited the speed with which a storm will develop, how fast, how high, and how utterly vicious the waves become.

‘Tis my experience, having sailed those bodies of water (Lake Michigan, Gulf Coast and Caribbean).

[Trailrider #896]

Lake Michigan can be a beast when the wind shifts out of the North and the barometric pressure falls abruptly. Can cause a sesh which is a freshwater tsunamay ("tidal wave")! The narrowness of the lake acts like a funnel!