• Wednesday - What'sUP November 12 - 06:40 am

The top photo from Lee Rowe, shows us the Lee A. Tregurtha, 826 feet long, while she's at anchor awaiting her turn at the dock for loading or unloading on a stormy day. In the second photo, we see a view as if right on board the 690 foot long Herbert C. Jackson, thanks to Peter Tormala. Both shots give you a feeling of being there and what it might be like aboard a vessel that size, in any kind of Lake Superior weather. Today is the 29th anniversary of the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald and loss of the 29 men aboard. With these photos as a virtual look into sailing the Great Lakes, let's take a moment to remember those men and the families they left behind to carry on.

for 1st post see tuesday's big picture. my 1st time @ 1st post.

Lovely pictures.. Snow tomorrow? who can say:)

What great pictures. I remember that day 29 years ago when the Fitzgerald went down. Lake Superior should always be respected no matter what the weather.

Great pictures. That is the size ship that I would want to be on if I were out on Superior. Nothing smaller. Have a great day everyone.

Good morning! I'll never forget that day 29 years ago when the Fitzgerald went down. Let's all remember the 29 men who lost their lives that day.

in memory of our lost seamen. and may god bless our servicemen as well.

May God bless and keep those who have served and those who are now serving our country.
The photo is a great momento to those who love our great country.

Tonight the Split Rock Lighthouse will be lit in remembrance of those men who died on the Fitz 29 years ago today. I was living in Marquette at the time, and will never forget the storm or the incredible news that the Fitz was lost. May our Lord watch over and keep safe all those who sail on our inland oceans.

The brave men who were lost that night:
Captain Ernest M. McSorley, Michael E. Armagost, Fred J. Beetcher, Thomas D. Bentsen,
Edward F. Bindon Thomas D. Borgeson Oliver J. Champeau, Nolan S. Church,
Ransom E. Cundy Thomas E. Edwards, Russell G. Haskell, George J. Holl,
Bruce L. Hudson, Allen G. Kalmon, Gorden Maclellan, Joseph Mazes,
John H. McCarthy, Eugene O'Brien, Karl A. Peckol, John J. Poviach,
James A. Pratt, Robert C. Rafferty, Paul M. Rippa, John D. Simmons,
William J. Spengler, Mark A. Thomas, Ralph G. Walton, David E. Weiss,
Blaine H. Wilhelm

We still lived in the North when the Fitz went down. I post the song about the tragedy on my school board--Texans have no clue about Lake Superior and the brave men who sail it.

Today is the 29th anniversary of the tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald and loss of the 29 men aboard. Lets all take a moment to remember those men and the families they left behind to carry on and many of them are viewers of this site daily. On the Boatnerd.com main page there are now 100 pictures of her under construction in River Rouge, Mich.. My Yooper experiences aboard the FITZ can be read at...http://www.boatnerd.com/fitz/firstseason.htm

This ore boat has a history and a profile of her own. Not many freighters left have WWII ribbons flying and that makes her special. For me, I will always remember her as CCI's Walter A. Sterling. As a teen I used to hang out in the Presque Isle Marina in MQT and answer her call when the LS&I dock wouldn't. Then I'd call on the "land line" and ask them to answer the radio. This got me a full 8-bits tour of the ship on more than one occasion. thanks for a great memory today!

Remember first reading about the Fitz while delivering newspapers as a 14 yo paper boy downstate. Had never been to the UP prior to that and my head was down reading the paper as I made my way along my route. I was fascinated by the tragedy. I still remember the weather that day and even what my mom fixed for dinner. Funny how things become etched in your mind. I will never forget it.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called 'Gitche Gumee'
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty.
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early.

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good captain well seasoned
Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'.
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the Gales of November came slashin'.
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind.

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'.
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya.
At Seven P.M. a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put fifteen more miles behind her.
They might have split up or they might have capsized;
May have broke deep and took water.
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the rooms of her ice-water mansion.
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams;
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.
And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her,
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the Gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed till it rang twenty-nine times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 'Gitche Gumee'.
Superior, they said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early

Fantastic Pic!

Hey folks...with tomorrow being Veteran's Day, how about adopting a soldier? This is one fantastic website!

http://www.anysoldier.com/index.cfm

God Bless!!

Ginny: thanks for that. I wanted to go to Mariners' Church last Sunday, but wasn't able to make it. It must have been a very moving service. Good wishes to all the friends and families of all brave mariners lost.

The Big Lake's rough seas always reminds me of the Fitz and the 11/10 storm. The next day everything was encased in ice, gray and bleak. It was extremely painful learning of the 29 lives lost.

very good ginny,,

maijaMI~ Please don't thank me, I just copied and pasted the lyrics of Mr. Gordon Lightfoot's song as I think it tells the story and one can get a sense of what it was like.

My wife and I were attending da Tech the night the Fitz sank. I remember telling my wife that if there were any ships on the lake that night they were in trouble. I was shocked the following morning to hear one had actually gone down. Something you never forget.

While Gordon Lightfoot's song is a good one and did a lot to turn this wreck into the legend it has become.... it isn't totally accurate. It captures a feeling and has a message, the marks of a good song. But she wasn't going to Cleveland. Nor is it known that the cook ever told anyone he couldn't feed them or that it had been good to know them. Nor is their anything to show any hatches caved in before the sinking. Yes, these are little things but should be pointed out. Still a good song though.

I lost my father,Ransom Cundy on the Edmund Fitzgerald on Nov 10.1975. I had heard the night before that a boat was missing on Lake Sperior. Naturally my first thought was of my Dad. I said a prayer praying that he was safe. The next morning I got my children off to school except my two little ones. I turned on the TV and it was there. THE EDMUND FITZGERALD HAD SANK IN LAKE SUPERIOR. My little boy remembers me screaming.I think I went into a state of shock! It was a terrible rainy mixed with snow and high winds day on Nov 11th in Hubbell,Mi where I lived at the time. I packed up my kids & went to my Aunt's house for the day. We called the priest who tried to give me comfort. He later told my older children of the loss of their grandfather. I went to Superior,Wisconsin for a memorial service on Nov,13th. I shook through the entire service & some man I didn't know came over & held me. I knew right from the start that my Dad was gone. He had told me you can only survive only a few minutes in Lake Superior. And when I was young , I had asked him what he would do if his ship sank. His reply:Cotton(my nickname from him)I'd Go down with the ship, I can't even dogpaddle. I now feel that my Dad is resting in peace. I had met the Captain and Dad's best friend, Freddie Beecher earlier. Since then I have met with almost all of the families & they reflect on this day too. We're in full agreement that the site where the Edmund Fitzgerald lies should be treated as their consercrated gravesite. There is a 7:00 P.M. service at the Whitefish Point Museum near Paraside, Michigan tonight where the 29 men will be remembered & honored. Unforunately I won't be able to go. Please keep these men in your thoughts today. They put up a valent struggle with Mother Nature & eventually lost. Also remember all of our servicemen putting up a valent struggle to win the war that they're fighting.

There's a bar I used to frequent a few years ago here on Capitol Hill, the Capitol Lounge, "Where America Drinks." I used to go in on Thursdays to catch Brazilian soccer on the TV. They had a fantastic juke box, kept in constant motion by all the young men and women from Senate and House offices who jammed the place. Every night, without fail, someone would punch up Gordon Lightfoot and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald." The power of Lake Superior reaches across space, time and generations.

We visited this museum in Whitefish Point on our last trip to the UP. Very moving. They have the original Fitz bell on display that was brought up a few years ago.

http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/

We also bought a stained glass hanging of the Fitz at the museum's giftshop. It hangs in our kitchen window and we think of the men who died everyday.

Cheryl, MI, thank you for sharing your pain that is still raw after 29 years.

I was at the Lilly pond watching the Armco tie up that fateful evening/night.

Cheryl, Pam and all those who lost loved ones on the Fitz...you are each in my thoughts and prayers today. May each of us keep those who sail the Great Lakes in our prayers today and always. Hold your memories close and may God bless you and hold you close in His love and care.

Hey! My nephew is on the Tregurtha! He called last night as they were on their way to St. Claire to unload.

May God keep all the crew safe on their journeys.

singer songwriter Dan Hall also has recorded several songs of the Fitz.
http://www.danhall.com

On his It's Quiet where they sleep CD

McSorley and the Lady of the Storm
Cooper of the Anderson
Deep Superior

Is Peter on the Herbert C Jackson?

My brother in law Bill Giddens sails
on the Jackson.

And was on the Lee A just before that, how
strange those two boats are pictured today!

the Arthur Anderson was behind the Edmund Fitzgerald when it sank. They had the last radio transmission from the Fitzgerald ." We're holdin our own" was it.

One more note, Last week when the high wind warnings
were posted on thursday, Bill called me as he often does off the boat.

They were 30 miles off the tip of the keweenaw heading for Superior Wisconsin and already experiencing 15 foot seas.

I hesitated to tell my wife when i picked her up from work knowing how upset she gets on these days knowing her brother is out there, but I eventually told her on the way home.

Not 3 minutes later the Lightfoot song came on the radio.....

They arrived safe and sound and returned to MQT with a load of coal on Saturday and My oldest son and 2 of his friends visited Bill on the boat before the MTU NMU game.

I have 3,000 slides from my wife's mother after they passed away that I am scanning from 1950's on from DeTour Village on the St mary's river. Many great old Boat shots that I will post when I finish them this winter.

Remember those sailors who have passed and pray for the safety of those out there now.

Cheryl mi:
I always think of you on this day. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family on this day and every day.

Bless our soldiers fighting over in Iraq.

If I remember right, there are 2 boats called Tregurtha. Lee and Paul? Used to see one of them a lot when I did contract work at the St Clair Power Plant. The boats would come in with a frosting of ice in November and December.
I also remember the night the Fitzgerald went down. Friends in Wyoming called to ask me to send a photo of an oreboat because nobody out there realized how big those ships are.

Here is a letter that was posted on Boatnerd.com this morning..
Herewith is a letter I wrote to my young son when the Fitz sank on Lake Superior on this day in 1975...my memory of that night is still vivid in my memory on my 79th year. Dear Ralph...here is my account of what I was doing on the night of the Fitzgerald sinking. I wrote it on my 75th birthday..I hope it will give you some insight on that event and the significance of it's meaning to me as a sailor and some of the things they endure to follow a profession that is a most dangerous and lonely one at best sometimes. Even Jesus knew of their plight...and, he chose them as HIS Apostles. .From A Sailor's Log....by Duane Bartlett On his 75th Birthday...Reminiscing. Nov. 7, 2000....Today I celebrate 3/4 of a Century on this earth. Some thoughts of this "Old Lonesome Sailor" as I was sometime known among my fellow shipmates. I sailed on the Great Lakes for 35 years without missing a days work for the Columbia Transportation Company. As I observe my birthday I am reminded of a journey I began on another birthday in 1975. My ship, the M/V Joseph H. Frantz, had departed Toledo. Ohio with a cargo of coal for Ashland, Wisconsin, which is on the West end of Lake Superior. We entered Lake Superior on the morning of Nov. 10th. At approx. 1600 we pass abeam of Eagle Harbor, the middle of Lake Superior. As the sun set I was aware of a strange phenomenon...the sky was an odd, strange, peculiar color and the water was a glassy slate gray...as if brooding. Indeed it was. By the midnight watch the wind had reached hurricane strength and the waves looked like mountains...we were struggling to reach the lee of Madaline Island in the Appostle Islands where we could find safe anchorage. We finally managed to come around under the island and drop two anchors to hold us until the storm abated. I have never rolled a ship as hard as we did that night. In another part of the Big Lake Gitchee Gumee the Steamer Edmund Fitzgerald, the Columbia Fleet's Flagship, and the pride of the Fleet had sailed from Superior, Wis. Radio communication between ships on the Lakes is limited to about 50 miles so we had heard nothing from the Fitz. We did not even know of her problems until we went to anchor and someone caught a message from the Coast Guard about the Fitz being missing. By morning we had made contact with our fleet dispatchers and they informed us of the nights events. The Fitz was missing somewhere near Whitefish Point. The storm was so severe that the Coast Guard was unable to send search vessels out for some hours. The ship was eventually found under 500 feet of water 15 miles from the safety of the lee of Whitefish Point. The only things that was ever found was a wrecked lifeboat and some other debris from on the decks. No bodies were ever found. Lake Superior never gives up her dead. The Fitz went down without a warning..no distress call...no nothing...she simply just disappeared from the lake. A ship following behind radioed the Coast Guard that the Fitz had dropped off his radar and vanished. The Pride of the Great Lakes Fleet had gone to the bottom in a wild storm of such force that the she had no opportunity to send a May Day. The sinking of the Fitz was a deep blow to me...I had the privilage of working with and knowing all the men on the Fitz. I had worked with Captain McSorley for 9 years and with First Mate Jack McCarthy for 12 years. I loved them dearly. I knew all of the other crew members and had worked with most of them at one time or another. I was very saddened by this turn of events as was all the other seamen of the Great Lakes. On this occasion of my 75 birthday I think of that November Gale that took the lives of my friends. I am reminded how sweet life is and how short it can be in reality. I listen to the tribute of Gordon Lightfoot and his rendition of his song The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald and my eyes well with tears and I relive all the misery of that fateful night in that Hurricane West Wind of November 10, 1975. I am grateful to have survived to relate this story to you. It is etched in my memory forever. I salute the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald. ....The Old Lonesome Sailor....Duane Bartlett sailorb@perigee.net

The evening of Nov. 10, 1975 found our family at the Mackinac Bridge trying to convince the toll booth attendant that our car with cartop carrier was aerodynamic enough to safely transit the bridge. The bridge authorities were holding all empty semis and recreational vehicles at the entrance due to the high winds. We finally convinced him, and as I started to get into the car he said that he had been receiving strange radio transmissions from boats on the lakes, and that they (the other boats) were afraid that one was missing. I have never seen the winds so high as when we crossed the bridge that night and can imagine what they were like on Whitefish Bay. After a night in Gaylord, we awoke to find that the Edmund Fitzgerald was missing. The image of that night refuses to go away, and whenever I hear the song, I still shiver remembering the force of the winds that night, and the penetrating cold.

I lived in Eagle River when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down and remember how far up the water was. It was almost impossible to get to the hotel, and the things that showed up on the beach afterward was unbelievable. I can't seem to find my pictures though. I have them somewhere.

Funny how everyone remembers certain dramatic events, Pearl Harbor, 9/11,the Challenger tradegy(sp), and the loss of the Fitz. My family was wandering around in a cloud after a horrible family loss. So the dates of June 29 and November 10 are engraved in my mind together til the day I die. God be with all the souls lost!

Thank you for the WOW pictures!

I have a memory of 11/10 that stirs my heart. On the tenth anniversary of the sinking, I attended a ceremony on the shore of Grand Traverse Bay, at The Great Lakes Maritime Accademy, in Traverse City. A number of the sailors on the Fitz were graduated from GLMA.
I didn't know anyone who was lost, personally, I just wanted to show respect.
It was a grey, cloudy, cold day and the wind was roaring so that you could hardly hear the man calling out the names. The croud was huddled close together and as they rang the bell (29 times) you could feel the cold sadness cutting through you. That may have been the single saddest thing I ever witnessed.
As the croud broke and made their way back to the conference room, for hot coffee, I realized that the man who had been standing next to me was, Gordon Lightfoot. He was just one of the croud. He came to show respect,too.

I don't think anyone who remembers the Fitzgerald going down can have a dry eye when listening to Gordon Lightfoot sing " The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald " The picture it brings to your mind will move anyone to tears. Even today.

I suppose I can't let this discussion go without a picture of the EF bell.


Took the pic a few years ago. I've got a bunch of new pics from the museum, but my lazy but hasn't gotten them developed yet.:p

ps. the Northern Lights were excellent here in Houghton Lake last night.

Kathleen:

If your Nephew is on the Tregurtha and is going to unload in St. Clair he would be on the Paul R. Tregurtha. The Lee A. Tregurtha is the vessel pictured above. The two boats are owned by the same company and named for Husband and Wife. I was a corporate guest on the Paul R. back in 1993 and then worked on her in the summer of 1999. Your nephew is on the best boat on the lakes, today's "pride of the american side".

The LEE A. TREGURTHA was anchored in Bete Grise from 9:31 PM Nov.5th, to 7:15 AM Nov 8th., riding out the gale winds on the windward side - Next stop, per BOATNERD.com, was Marquette, then later to Toledo.

Ironic that My brother-in-law Bill just called.

They are at the docks in Marquette taking on
a load of iron ore for the steel plants
at river rouge.

Scot,

I may be wrong on this (I was only 12 at the time), but wasn't one of the first theories of why the Fitz went down because a hatch caved in? Hence the line in the song..

I believe that it is now accepted that they went bow down and the engines drove her to the bottom and she broke up as a result of her hitting the bottom. I know there are other very real possible theories of how she broke up and sank, but the only people who know are aboard her....and of God.

I may be off base on the above statements, so please feel free to correct me.

I remember that day, only because we (a friend and I) watched a "tree house" (actually more of just a platform) we built come crashing down from the tree...

On the night the Edmund Fitzgerald went down, our family
also lost someone. Many fishermen and their small craft
were taken as well, including my cousin's husband who was
from L'Anse. I believe he left out of Keweenaw Bay.

I was only 11 months old when the Fitzgerald went down yet every year I am overcome with grief for the crew and the families who lost a piece of themselves that day. Growing up on the shores of Lake Superior and having witnessed her fury, it is impossible to imagine what those men must have gone through that night. Not a year goes by that I don't take a moment on this morning to remember those 29 men and their families.
God Bless them all.

Cheryl,
My dad was also sailing on Lake Superior the night the Edmund Fitzgerald sank. He was on the Middletown and told me as they headed into port to ride out the storm he saw the Fitzgerald sail past them. He knew your father well and to this day he gets tears in his eyes when he talks about him. My dad is 91-years-old now and often talks about the many years he sailed on the great lakes. He said that night was the worst storm he ever saw.

God's peace to you Cheryl and all the other family memebers who lost loved ones that terrible night.

Love the bow shot of the Herbert T! Closest thrill to being on it for sure! Also another close 2nd is the pilot house of a former carrier named for a Ford I think. It is part of the maritime museum on Belle Isle in Detroit. Sadly many have not been there. It is a jewel and pays homage to all sailors.

As far as this being the anniversary of the sinking of the Fitz.. I too will never forget it nor the time I saw Gordon Lighfoot perform the song for the first time at Pine Knob. When he finished you could hear a pin drop which for that place was rare indeed. May God bless all our sailors, civilian & military, alive & dead.

Anita from UP. Who is your father? Could his name be Emil? My Dad sailed with alot of people. I'd really lke to talk to you about our father's friendships.I'm interested in all that I can learn about my Dad & his friends. Please contact me .And give your Dad my regards.

Those waters sure look cold this time of the year.
Not the best time to take a dip, I suppose.

Peace to all those who lost loved ones on the Edmund Fitzgerald. Take comfort in knowing that even those who live below the bridge as well as those above it, and who did not know them or you, mourn with you and pray for our Lord's peace to fill the empty spaces left behind. He will wipe every tear...

Peace to Frank Benham and his loved ones of Laingsburg Michigan. A farmer, a father, a wonderful uncle who died in his sleep Monday night, peacefully, like his mother and on a night when the skys were full of the Northern Lights.

Sarah K

There is something truly special about the
Northern Lights. They danced the night before
my grandmother's funeral. The extended
family had a chance to watch them dance over
Keweenaw Bay. Though this happened more
than a decade ago on a cold night early in
November, we all thought that the heavens
were rejoicing in a life that had been lived
simply, but with integrity. Many of her
grandchildren and great grandchildren did not
speak enough Finnish to use words to
communicate with her, but there are other
ways--special meals, candies , hugs and
broken phrases said a lot. Remembrance
Day. So many ways to serve--on air, on land
and sea.

Jon M;

The theory of the USCG was that the hatch covers leaked. They did tests to see how much water it would take to cave in one of those hatch covers. I don't remember what they found out with that. I have a hard time accepting those hatches could leak enough to sink a boat. The kind of hatches on the boats today (including the ones i've sailed on) are the same and nothing has happened.

Anita;

Tell Fritz Hello from Bruce's son Scott. I still cherish those LCA newsletters he gave me.

Cheryl,

Thank you for sharing such a personal story with us all! I wasn't even born when the Edmund sank nor did I even know much about Great Lake ships until 1998. However I appreciate the history of Lake Superior and the stories of The Edmund Fitzgerald. Thanks again and may God Bless you on this day of rememberance.

Scott,
I will be sure to call my dad tonight and tell him you send your regards! He will be thrilled.
Anita

Anita,

Tell him that i know two people currently sailing on his old boat, the Middletown. When they were in the shipyard a couple weeks ago they took a bunch of old rivits out of her. One of the people i know on her saved a bunch of them. I'll see if i can get my hands on one for him. With any luck she hasn't given them all way yet.

Scott

Cheryl: I remember that day also like it was yesterday. My dad (your Uncle Irving Dulong) called me at home to tell me and he was crying so hard that I hung up the phone and ran to his house up the street. We all then went to your Grandma's. It was something I will never forget. It was the saddest thing I ever saw. Her grief was uncontrollable. God Bless you and your family Cheryl. Love Mary Jean