Edmund Fitzgerald

Date 8-29-06

The sinking of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald is Michigan's own Titanic. In 1975, the ship was crossing Lake Superior heading to Detroit with a heavy load of iron. A severe storm hit the area and punished the ship with waves as high as 30 feet. The crew of the ship were then subject to horrible misfortune as the ship's two radar systems failed and a back-up generator for signals failed to turn on when power was knocked out at Whitefish Point. While the light was restored at the station later on, the radio beacon remained out of commission. A ship, the Arthur M. Anderson, was eight-to-ten miles behind the Edmund Fitzgerald offering navigational assistance before losing radar and radio contact with the ship. The ship sank, with its 29 crew members, with its iron ore in Lake Superior where it lies in two pieces. In late 1975, Gordon Lightfoot wrote his most famous song, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, as a tribute "to the ship, the sea, and the men who lost their lives that night." Many Michiganders know the lyrics that detail the tragic event:

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