Shipwrecks on the Great Lakes
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- The Great Lakes are the largest body of fresh water in the world, totaling some 95 thousand square miles. They are also among the most dangerous of all navigable waters, largely due to the powerful storms that frequently unleash their fury over these inland seas. SHIPWRECKS OF THE GREAT LAKES examines the forces that makes the lakes so deadly and tells the tragic stories of some of the most famous victims of nature's fury on these waters. Learn the true story of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a freighter which took 29 men with her to the depths, and whose fate was immortalized in a Gordon Lightfoot song. Meteorologists explain the phenomenon known as the "November Witch," which is responsible for many disasters, including a four-day stretch in November 1913 when 273 people perished. And hear from sailors who have been lucky to escape with their lives when the weather turns bad. Expert commentary, stunning footage and testimonials from survivors make it abundantly clear why more than 6,000 ships have slipped beneath the dangerous waters of the Great Lakes.
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Thank you for sharing this video. Those of us who live on the Great Lakes Love, Respect and Fear the beauty and power of these Natural Treasures. Rest in peace all the brave souls lost.
Who is the narrator?
@@difreighterwatcher8603 ww
Beautiful haunting song
My Father in Law Jules N. Boucher was a Captain of a Ship in the Michigan Merchant Marines and was decorated for his service during war time.
I've been on Lake Michigan, in summertime. I've personally seen how quickly the Lakes can turn on you. I was on a charter fishing vessel. A 37ft cabin cruiser. We were 11 miles out from shore. The captain was quietly watching a dark band on the horizon. Moments later, he ordered the 1st mate to get all lines up and stored. We no more than got the last line out, and the captain opened up the throttle and went headed back to shore. Before we reached the safety of the harbor, the waves went from 3 ft to about 7 ft. When we pulled up to the dock the storm let loose and the waves grew to 10+ ft. Later we found out that 17 other small vessels ( some as large as 45 ft) were sank that day. The captain of our vessel was experienced and said the Lakes were not to be messed with, and should be respected always.
Terrifying! We were on a beach at Lake Michigan. We took 15 minutes to set up. Then we saw a funnel cloud pop up and headed right for us..we broke camp in 30 seconds and got the hell out of there……
.
When was this as I have not heard about this and I follow sinkings in the Great Lakes.
@@insertnamehere313 about thirty maybe thirty five years ago.
@@insertnamehere313 we were in Manistee
The crews of the Arthur M. Anderson and the William Clay Ford were absolute heroes for going back out into that storm knowing that it had just taken the Fitzgerald. That was serious bravery.
They also knew the chance to find anyone alive was minimal
@@theodoresmith5272 but they also knew they could be in that situation and it would be good for someone to be looking for them...karma and all that..
The Anderson is always in port here still in Superior WI/ Duluth MN
@@claire33ist My wife and I are going on vacation in Michigan next month. I'm really hoping to get a chance to see the Anderson.
@@curbstomp3126 she’s always on the move! I live in superior wi, Duluth mn, so I always see her☺️
I've always lived by Lake Michigan. but I never knew how rich the Great Lakes maritime history is. Something about it is just fascinating to me. I always forget that they aren't just normal lakes, they're practically freshwater oceans!
Yes...I am from the coast of New Hampshire but moved to Michiana a few years ago...When I first saw lake Michigan I felt like I was back at the Ocean!
There beast. I’m from Ontario, I use to work in Alberta and when I would fly back and forth even when your up 30000 feet when you look out you’d swear you’re over the ocean!
How well do you know the state
I remember back when I was 20, getting pulled out into Lake Michigan by a rip current that nearly killed me. The scariest moment of my life and I've been terrified of water ever since. The Great Lakes are beautiful to look at from land, and that's exactly where I'll stay. Much respect to the mariners who sail on them, especially Superior.
I swim like a rock so I only go on the great Lakes when I can drive my truck out to drill a hole and fish otherwise I fish from shore
The rape outside of Waukegan harbor when I was about 20 me and my buddies in a his father's big boat came as close to the shore as he was willing to go and there was a little stand that sold beer so I volunteered to jump in the water and swim the rest of the way to the shore and get a six pack and the water was so cold that halfway to the shore I was telling them to come get me cuz I was getting hypothermia and my body was shutting down I freaked I remember trying to keep myself calm but my body was shutting down and I was calling for them and they didn't believe me they were laughing and by the time I got to shore which I almost didn't make it I just collapsed on the beach for a while nevertheless I talked them into getting closer because I had the beer laugh out loud so my understanding is well what I remember is that the lake stays cold until like the end of summer and then it starts warming up enough to make it a comfortable swim
I'd rather chance sailing through the Bermuda triangle again than risking the great lakes. I've been ankle deep in Superior, and that was more than enough.
I grew up in Chicago and remember whe seiches happened. People were swept off piers.
@@johnhamelin989😂 I would just drink it on the beach
Many years ago I met one of the 2 survivors from the Carl Bradley at a museum in Rogers City Michigan. As we stood by the Bradley display he retold the story of what happened and talked about the type of guys the crew was made up of. I wish I had been able to record him. It was a true honor to met him and hear the tale from someone who lived it.
Don’t you just want to sit at their feet for hours? Greatness!
Wow. What a once in a lifetime opportunity. I could have listened to his stories for hours! Great information, thank you for passing it on.
@@cessaly100 Yes! Absolutely.....
@@cessaly100 not greatness just a survivor who has retained the memory...and the nightmares
Words I live by…alone that is…a woman never let that be
The man who cut the bells name is Bruce Fuoco a close friend of our family. He later had a stroke from diving and retired from diving to work on ocean kayaks for handicapped individuals.
A true hero to bring a sense of closure for the families involved.
An actual stroke or the benz
@@davidwoermansr there is a difference you know.....
"Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours" those words chill me every time I hear the song!
You are not alone in that. Gordon Lightfoot really encapsulates the majesty and terror of a Lake Superior winter storm.
Me too. When minutes turn in to hours. Yes we at sometime have been their. All of us. Thank God I am not alone. I have JESUS CHRIST at my side. Thank you LORD.
Me too. ALL these years later! Life on the Great Lakes aint no joke .
@@thomasayer7511 You know thAt's right. Never has been, never will be.
@@aletaimmonen1371 Amen!
It's no joke that they get incredibly choppy very quickly. I've been out on Erie many times, Ontario many times and Michigan once. Always good fishing, rarely calm. Nothing but respect and admiration for those brave enough to make their living on the GL's
Lake Superior has a soul. She does NOT suffer fools at all. There are over 5000 shipwrecks at the bottom of the Great Lakes all combined. I now live in Manitowoc Wisconsin This area is strewn with sunken ships. While I love the storms in November, I am happy to watch the storms and their power and rage from the warmth of my own home..
I guess that's why they say lake superior doesn't give up her dead
@@1TruNub lake Superiors temperatures are hypothermic......flesh does not decay or bloat to make float because there is no bacteria to make flesh decay. Survival in those temperatures are a few minutes. The lakes does not give up its dead.
Very interesting. I'm from England 🇬🇧 and although my family were mariners I had no idea just how treacherous the Great Lakes are. May those brave men, and women, find peace 🙏 .
I live not far from Superior and it’s upset today
I live on lake Erie in Ohio and the underwater current takes swimmer's away all the time. Young strong swimmer's too
@@boostjunkie2320 Ive seen stories about that current! Taking people out, to never be seen again. Scary!
After the Erie Canal was completed the Lakes were heavily used for shipping goods and raw materials.
The best time to go on the great Lakes is the middle of winter when you can drive to your fishing shack
In March of 1985, I was in Evanston Illinois on business. One of the locals asked if I had ever seen the Great Lakes and I told him no. We walked down to the shore of Lake Michigan and I was truly amazed at what I observed. The weather was freezing and the wind was stout. I was living in Texas at the time and was familiar with local lakes and the Gulf of Mexico waters. I looked at the waves and white caps on Lake Michigan and was in awe of the height and strength of the waves. I remember thinking this is not a lake, it's the ocean. I can only imagine the terrible last hours of Edmund Fitzgerald's crew on that fateful night. The recovery of the ship's bell was very moving and a wonderful comfort to the family members. This is a well-documented story, thanks for sharing.
I grew up in Michigan and going to Lake Michigan regularly and always thought if this is a Lake why would anyone want to go out to sea. I always had a great respect that bordered on fear of the Great Lakes.
The waves in the Gulf of Mexico get 3x bigger than the Great Lakes.
@@krakenwoodfloorservicemcma5975 I've heard the biggest danger of waves in the Great Lakes isn't necessarily the size but how close together they can be combined with size. I can imagine due to the shape of the Gulf of Mexico that something similar could happen in areas there.
The biggest danger of the Great Lakes is that the Midwest is full of kooks.
Superior truly is an ocean it takes over 24 hours to drive around 1 shore of her by land. The weather is fierce,, average temprature in white river ontario - 26 , in the lake superior area with some days as cold as -35 from december thru febuary. Thats before you factor in wind...thats cold, your car wont start in that weather , we put engine block heaters on cars here and diesel trucks are just left idling
I was told horror stories about ships going down in Lake Huron while camping at the beautiful Pinery Provincial Park. Hearing about the shipwrecks scared me so much as a kid especially when my uncle said "seaweed is the fingers of the dead trying to pull you down"
That is spooky.
When I used to crab in the eighties the only time I got nervous was when green water came over the side. A spray is a spray. But green water is the full weight of the ocean letting us know just how small we really are.
It’s even creepier when it hits the wheelhouse and buries every window. I always feared a window blowing out.
I’ve sailed many areas of the world, including some of most known for exceedingly rough seas, the North Sea and the Bering sea in particular. I’ve also sailed the lakes through a few November gales and I can tell you without a doubt that when the Witch comes calling, I’d rather be in the Bering or North seas at their worst because they don’t hold a candle to what comes for you on the lakes, Superior in particular.
I’d love to see your videos, if you’ve got any.
I’ve grown up around the Great Lakes & Lake Superior is basically an inland freshwater sea… it’s no joke
It's my understanding the fiercest seas are at the southern tip of South America.
Wow that's crazy to hear.
@@anthonyvcaraccio5820 I camped on Lake Erie once and it looks like the Atlantic Ocean. I live on Long Island so I’ve seen the ocean many times.
And of course, lest we forget, the ships that went down with HUNDREDS of passengers:
- The Lady Elgin - 1860 (300 plus lives lost)
- The Phoenix - 1840's (200 plus lives lost)
- The Eastland - 1915 (800 plus lives lost)
The Eastland was docked at the Chicago River when it rolled.
To me as a kid, any other lake besides Lake Michigan was just a pond. It's vastness both awed and emboldened me. The water, even in summer, was so cold it could curl and cramp your toes. But I challenged myself to walk into it up to my neck. To this day, I love to swim in cold water. The Lake leaves its legacy; it imprints its deadly blue inside your soul.
I’ve lived in Tecumseh, Ontario. I’ve been to the shores of Lake Erie and Lake St Clair more times than I could be bothered to count. I’ve seen bad storms hit Lake Erie. Nothing is more terrifying than watching water go from calm to 10 foot waves in less than 20 minutes.
I agree, grew up on the other side of Lake Erie. Growing up near Cleveland we would always be alarmed by the height of the waves at times. We had 12' waves during superstorm Sandy near Port Clinton, supposedly the shallower end of the lake. 70 years before in 1942, a 15' wave swamped the northeastern Ohio coast from Bay Village to Geneva, drowning 7 people onshore as a result.
@@joshuasmith6439 do you have a link to the story? I'd be interested in reading about it
@@joshuasmith6439 Shallow water is the worst for waves
@@joshuasmith6439no
I too live no more than 2 miles from Lake Erie in northeast Ohio. It's truly scary how angry she gets at the blink of an eye!
Caotain Mcsorley said we don't make money sitting anchored. I say you don't breath or make money being sunk on the bottom of the lake.
Your hindsight is amazingly accurate. 🙄
I was born near the Detroit River and raised near the Great Lakes. They are essentially vast, inland freshwater seas and one ignores their potential fury at their own peril. Especially, as this programme points out, Lake Superior. Thanks for posting!
You're welcome
Thank you for the information. Wow a fresh water sea. That's the amazing thing .as big as the sea. I have never seen them I hope to some day be for I die. I'm 64 now . And I do not drive. Bummer.
@@aletaimmonen1371 I hope that one day you will be able to visit the Great Lakes; They truly are beautiful--and awesome
@@harrietharlow9929 I've seen Superior from the shore of Thunder Bay on a bad day and while I don't know how the city got its name, it could well be from the lake, the waves of which do sound like thunder when the wind drives them into the rocks of the shore. Not something that can be forgotten. I believe you need nerves of steel to challenge that treacherous expanse of water and I respect all who do.
@@aletaimmonen1371 Go to Mackinac Island. A small Island off the coasts of the lower & upper penninsulas of Michigan. It's beautiful there. They have horse drawn carriage rides & bicycles to rent. We walked arounf the perimeter of the island several times over the years.
I’ve lived on 2 of the Great Lakes in my lifetime. They demand respect, and are nothing to take lightly. I’ve also lived at the Atlantic Ocean and the only difference that I see other than the salt is the amount of killer wildlife. The Great Lakes will kill you with sheer power; the ocean can get you many ways.
I was in a 14 foot boat one day in Ontario and the skies were blue and the wind was light. I was leaving a protected bay with an island in front of me. All of a sudden this 14 foot wave hit me and I was airborne. Luckily, I landed flat , picked myself up from the floor and made it to marina at dels fishermen's Bay. The great lakes ain't no joke.
Okay so then the wave was the exact same length of the john boat....
I'm fromMichigan the waves get up to 30 ft@@j_rainsgoat3929
I think this is the finest, most detailed telling of the sinking of the Fitz I’ve ever seen. Thanks for posting.
Whenever I look out on Lake Superior, my brain immediately says: “Death Lies Here”.
Even in the hottest time of the year, the water is FREEZING…
(Inspired by "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot)
'Neath the wind and waves
Are many mariners' graves
Where lost souls forever are buried
On board that great ship
Till the sea loosed each man's grip
Not one of them even seemed worried
But November's tempest
That great vessel did test
None of its crew were survivors
By waves men were tossed
And all hands on deck lost
Their graves found by deep sea divers
Not many prevail
'gainst a furious gale
That keeps all the sailors a fearing
Save for a sturdy cape
There could be no escape
From sailors and ships disappearing
She listed to port
And then she came up short
As the lake sought right then to claim her
The crew fought all night
To set the ship right
From the unwelcome waters to drain her
But no matter how they fought
Their efforts were for naught
As there could be only one winner
The bow soon was full
Drawn down by gravity's pull
That spared neither saint nor sinner
It was already too late
When The Anderson's first mate
Phoned the captain of the vessel now sinking
"We're holding our own"
But his fate was unknown
As his ship the sea water was drinking
Brave men met their doom
With their great ship now entombed
On the cruel lake's rocky bottom
Sailors nine and one score
Suddenly were no more
For the witch of November had got 'em
I'm not sure if they prayed
Or what price they would have paid
To see another day dawning
But for them the bell did toll
As they sank in the shoal
While the angry sea was still yawning
It's been forty-six years
And an ocean of tears
Since that stormy night in November
To those brave men who are gone
We sing this mournful song
But in our hearts we shall always remember
© 2017 - 2021
Thank you for commenting. This is awesome
@@titanicfilmsbymark Thank you so much. And many thanks for creating and posting this amazing documentary. It's definitely one of the very best out there!
Hello from a fellow poet. Thanks for posting.
Very good very good indeed. Cheers.
@@patriciaramsey5294 Thank you kindly.
I’ve grown up on Lake Superior. I’ve lived beside her for three decades. I know how quickly things can change. I’ve been on a single fishing boat where waves were nearly capsizing us. We went from calm waters to near disaster in minutes…. Never estimate Mother Nature, especially on superior!
My dad was in the Coast Guard. He served on the great lakes and in the South Pacific during WWII. He always said the great lakes were worse when weather got bad.
The Edmund Fitzgerald. May god rest the souls of the 29 men who perished that fateful night
So grateful I made it off the ship that day. Rip to my sailor Brothers. 1913 was a pip of a year.
Well said Mike.
@@JohnnyLaps thank you
The Edmond Fitzgerald is my favorite ship. May they all rest in piece🙏God bless their families🙏
Did u hear recently a new study into her wreck was done and might of been proven that the "sisters" is what took her down.
Gordon Lightfoot, gave the money from that song to the families of the Edmund Fitzgerald
He also set up scholarships for the children of fallen mariners in Canada and the USA
I was born in Michigan one year to the day of the loss of this great ship and its brave crew. Fair winds and following seas men.
Took a ferry on Lake Huron in November 1979 . I was positive we were going down . The bow of the ferry wouldn’t lock and it was shaking the ship . Terrifying
We lived in Georgia and I still remember exactly where we were when news of the Edmund Fitzgerald aired. TV and the papers talked of little else, yet it was too impossible, too alien to imagine. After all, we put on parkas when it dipped to 50 - and that's barely exaggerating. Our very notions of cold and even lakes paled beside the reality of November on Superior.
To those of you from Michigan, Canada, etc, - if you wonder if anyone cared so far away,...our hearts broke with you.
Rest in peace to the men and extra angels of comfort to their families.
I have been a sailor since 1989. That is the scariest feeling when you are taking on water. Sailors know you may die with the crew, but you are still dying alone. I remember this as well.
I was born in Duluth Minnesota. Spent many summers swimming in lake superior.(or trying too) Couldn't stay in the water more than just a few minutes. It was like jumping into ice. I've seen storms come up over the lake and you would want to run as far away as possible. Very eerie feeling. I would watch many iron ore ships go through the channel as a kid and wave to the crew. Fun memories as a kid.
This narrator is excellent.Really enjoyed,a lesson how we can be humbled quickly by nature.
I notice in the crew-manifest list shown at around 5:00 that the "Regina" had a crew-member named "C.J. McSorely"; I wonder if this was a relative of Captain Ernest McSorely of the Edmund Fitzgerald, maybe his father or an uncle?
I have a suspicion that the Captain of the Fitzgerald knew that he wasn't going to make it but didnt want to alarm the nearby ship so they wouldn't risk going under as well. That's what that last message meant to me
I thought abt that. I agree with your theory.
Huron
Ontario
Michigan
Erie
Superior
H.O.M.E.S
That's a fact! Love my little hometown!
Lol. Michigander here - this is the acronym we are all taught to remember the names of the Great Lakes. 🙂
I grew up in Wisconsin, playing on Lake Michigan's beaches and enjoying all the summer Lakefront festivals in Milwaukee and Racine.
I'm surprised I never learned this helpful acronym.
Rip to all sailors who died on the Great Lakes.
Never heard the story about the Anderson and Bernie Cooper. He (they) didn't want to go back out but they did anyway. True heroes.
...a boat doesn't need to sink to kill someone...my Unc fell down a companionway on his freighter during a storm on L.Superior, died 10 days later in hospital...
Iììììòòò
In my youth I worked on Ise Royal on Lack Superior, I had taken with me a 16 ft out rigger canoe, and when my job there was done I sailed the canoe back to Copper harbor in Upper Michigan. .... I will never do that again!
The great lakes are no joke and not to be taken lightly. I've been 7 miles out on lake Erie on a small fishing boat when it gets angry for no good reason. Mighty brave Men and Women making a living on these big vessels. Gods blessings to those who have lost loved ones out there. Always attracted to stories like these for some reason and the power of mother nature. Thanks for sharing.
i doubt anything is different in a submarine
Dude I have been looking for this vid for 15 years since my Music teacher showed us this in 4th grade. Thank you.
You're welcome
My wife and 2 kids were on a snorkeling excursion in Mexico 4 years ago and ran into a short but powerful storm on the way back to our cruise ship port...our boat was about 35ft long with several other college kids on spring break aboard. We were hitting 6-8ft waves on the way back during the downpours and my family and I were hanging on for dear life...while the tough college kids sat balling with no fricken life jacket on (in fact I think my family was the only peeps with life jackets on). Very scary ordeal and to be honest I thought we were done for...never want to experience that again! The only thing that kept my wife and I calm was the fact we were all together and if we went in and didn't make it we would at the very least be together on the other side...
Being a michigander, and loving the Great lakes, I really enjoyed this video. I watch a diver who visits many of the shipwrecks in the Great lakes and have always wanted to take that dive myself. I love this history. You've gained a new subscriber! I look forward to viewing future videos of the lost and forgotten.
6000 Ships? Does anyone know what there doin'? Hey I got an idea....Lets not go in November huh?
Loved the story! Thanks for uploading. There is something very fascinating about the surprising, awesome, power of the Great Lakes, and the ships that sail them, and those that were lost with their crews.
Who came here because of the gordon lightfoot song but stayed to understand and appreciate how precious life is
Is anyone else here because they like Gordon Lightfoot?
Why do they send the ships out in November if the storms get that bad, I was on an aircraft carrier in typhoons, but no way would I go onto the Great Lakes in November!!
Ultimately, I think it's up to each Captain to decide to go or not. I don't even believe the Coast Guard can order them to drop anchor for bad weather. I could be wrong though. I do know they can prevent it from sailing if they do an inspection and deem it as unsafe for navigation.
It's unfortunate that this ever happened because both ships should have dropped anchor on the western side of the lake that day. Other ships had already done so because they knew the storm was coming.
Could an aircraft carrier survive a storm of that magnitude hypothetically?
Dudley Paquette was the caption of the Sykes. He loaded right across from the fitzgerald. He was renound as a master and a weather hawk. His ship was a weather ship. It had more weather equipment than most other freighters. Dudley knew what he was doing. He says that there was a big storm co.ing out of the panhandle of ok. And he was watching it with great trepidation. He was on the lake that night. He choose a differant route. No where do you heR about his account of the storm or McSorleys prowess. His book The night the Fitz went down. Pretty much sums up his take. Its a good read. Dudley doesn t mince words . It has a differant twist to what happened that night.
Thanks for the info. I might have to check that book out.
I've heard that story. I believe had warned the Fitz of the impending weather conditions expected...
I think that's the book I read.
Fitzgerald went down 17 miles from whitefish point. I grew up 35 miles from there. The whitefish point ship wreck museum at whitefish point is pretty interesting. Check it out if you every get a chance. They have pieces of the Fitz there
I visited there several years ago while on a motorcycle trip that spanned from my home in Kentucky to the Canadian border. Nothing about that trip has stayed with me quite like our time in Michigan. The beauty of the UP was stunning. After a full day on Mackinaw Island and the next day mesmerized by the Sault Ste Marie locks, our final day was spent at Whitefish Point. Looking out across the waves followed by seeing so many names in the museum of those lost was a humbling and somber experience, yet was incredibly interesting and kept us captivated for hours. Highly recommend it to those considering visiting the area!
I grew up on southern Lake Michigan. I was amazed how quickly the weather could change for the worse. Great video, thanks.
I grew up in sterling hts Michigan. Graduated in 75. Thr wreck was like we lost our own family member. That's what I felt at the time... rip e f crew.. your never forgotten..
Good documentary. I would recommend reading the book Shipwrecks to the Great lakes by Gibbs for those who enjoy kicking back for as long as it takes to read a good medium sized book..
🤠🖖 Thank you, I'll do just that .
They’re really more like inland seas rather than lakes. I think the word “lake” gives a feeling of innocence to them. The Great Lakes make their own weather, that’s not an innocent thing.
Make their own weather!!!!!!
@@karenwilson712 Yes they make their own weather. I live in West Michigan have witnessed many lake effect weather systems move through
I've heard of the story over and over by different narrators and it's just horrific at the loss of life our lakes have taken. My curiosity however, is why did the Fitz go so close to Caribou Island? Being so shallow where she had scraped her bottom. Some time ago Jacque Cousteau even remarked that he would never dive Lake Superior again. That she was more treacherous than any of the seas he has been in.
Heard that the maps were off
The maps the Fitzgerald's captain had to work with were inaccurate as mentioned before (which could have led to the Fitz grounding on a shoal; that ship was damaged somehow even before it snapped when it was pounded by the high waves north of Whitefish Point) AND the Fitzgerald did NOT have sonar. Sonar was not required for ships operating on the Lakes back then. Mind-boggling, I know!
A lot of the regulations back then were out of date with reality and the ships were poorly designed and built, too. Things don't change until you have enough accidents and the public wakes up out of its sleep. They had multiple shipwrecks almost exactly like the Fitzgerald except in at least 2 cases there were survivors! Even with those survivors (3 men), they did very little to change procedures and shipbuilding until after 1975.
The problem with radar (which was inoperable onboard the Fitz the day she was lost!) is that it can't penetrate the water well and give accurate underwater readings. Sonar is good for detecting underwater reefs and undersea mountains but not radar. Radar is good for sea-level upward but not for below the waves; the frequencies it operates at gets absorbed by the water.
Born and raised In Michigan.
My theory is that the mighty fitz likely suffered damage from 6 fathom shoal. I heard another mariner familiar with the ship say that Anderson had two more bulkheads inside which added a great deal of strength compared to the fitz and also that the bilge pumps move water out of the ballast tanks, not out of the cargo hold. The pumps were apparently moving lots of water, leading him to believe there was a hole in the ship.
My theory is that fitz sank lower into the water and the large waves were breaking over the pilot house, until what the crew thought was the final wave was actually the pilot house sinking below the surface and that’s why there was no distress call.
Not likely although that’s a cool theory we actually know what happened with the fitz it had unsecured hatches and filled with water as the ship breached its final wave the ship was to heavy with its cargo and full of water so it broke it half and was swallowed almost instantly
McSorley mentioned he had lost a guard rail, and that doesn't normally happen. My bet is on a combination of factors. Fitz probably did hit, or get hit by (rogue waves are a thing, and they don't appear to be purely wind driven, so they can come from a different angle than the rest of the waves) something that damaged her, but to an extent that McSorely couldn't fully see or gauge. Could have been enough to lower her in the water to where the waves just pounded open one of the cargo hatches even of they had been secured (people forget how heavy water is. The stuff is one metric ton per cubic meter, and when its moving with force and at-speed in a storm, given time, it could absolutely make a hatch cover implode through sheer brute force, especially if she was riding low in the water already). With her bridge up at the front, and in those weather conditions, McSorely would not be able to see something like that happening, and once one of those hatches blew in, no amount of bilge pumps could have *ever* hoped to compensate. It would have been all over in less than sixty seconds more than likely.
The official inquiry found the hatches weren't secure and she took on water. Since then the 6th fathom shoal theory and the theory she wasn't structural sound and seaworthy and had structural failure have emerged. 28 people are dead, arguing about it won't bring them back and I suspect that with the passing of time there is not much to be done legally.
@@noahshort5298 Nobody "knows" what happened, there are no living witnesses so it impossible to "know"
I think she got hit from behind by rouge waves and took a nosedive. Hit the ground and the stern was still out of the water and broke off
I love this narrator, he also did two docu-style articles on tornadoes. One is the March 1925 Tri-state tornado, the other is more tornadoes in general.
He also narrated skits for chappelle's show
All three of those documentaries (including this one) are part of a series called "The Wrath of God: Disasters in America". Would be great to see more episodes from this series posted.
@@joshuasmith6439 I used to watch all of the WOG docs and then they canceled a whole bunch of them on Blizzards NOREASTERS Fires Tornados and even Hurricanes. Too bad.
30+ foot waves and 100 MPH winds...Nasty!
The William Clay Ford and Arthur M Anderson were both apart of the AAA class of freighters. They were a class of 8 ships
I remember the first time I saw lake Michigan during HM "a" school at great lakes, Illinois, I thought it was the ocean but then said to myself, it can't be, we are in Illinois. I asked someone and they said, that's lake Michigan, I was amazed.
There have been a few myths dispelled about the wreck of the Fitz since this was made. Check out Ric Mixter and his presentations on the subject. 2 things come to mind: the EF was bound for Cleveland, not Detroit. The ship’s bell was actually painstakingly restored with dull gray paint to match its appearance at the time of the wreck. The museum that got it, thought it was a goof, and or they just didn’t like it, so they stripped it and polished it to a bright sheen. The original research/restoration team was miffed to say the least. But dull- looking bells do not attract visitors.
She was bound for Zug Island, near Detroit. Not Cleveland.
😮 I didn't know, Thank you for that info.
🤠🖖
Seems like you shouldn't do that last trip in November.
The Great Lakes are not lakes at all. They are island seas.
The 1st ship was called Re-gi-na!
I don't Understand what's it matter? Nobody on the Fitz cares.. Your Loved ones are not there anymore. I think People just like the idea of Controlling what other People can and cannot do..
My Family lived 24 miles South of Lake Erie! Yes! I've been caught in storms that just pop up out of nowhere! Scary place when the sun drops and dark storm clouds with Thunder n Lighting! Ugh* now in FL on the Gulf of Mexico it's nothing lol
Mark, thank you so much for this upload. I grew up on Lake Erie and we all heard stories of the big storms, the Edmund Fitzgerald and the others. Lake Erie is still dangerous we had a storm in 2019 where a boater died on the lake.
I remeber that one. A few miles east of Sandusky in Huron, a teenager drowned trying to save a paddle boarder. I had seen a few swimmers in the dangerous water but thought nothing of it. A few hours later I saw coast guard boats searching only to realize that one of the swimmer succumbed to the waves
Born and raised on the north shore of Lake Superior, it was very beautiful that would go from calm and quiet to hurricane force winds, lost a lot of friends drowning on the lake..
Thank you for this great documentary..
Thanks Mark. I enjoyed watching the film.
One thing i ask myself...is sailing on freshwater much different from sailling on seawater? In terms of handling, amount of cargo...specially in a storm.
Greetings from a mountain guy..
I know that one problem in the great lakes is ice buildup. Depending on the temperature, all the spray from the storm can freeze on contact with a ship and keep adding more weight until it sinks.
Salt water offers more buoyancy. I've no experience with big ships, but I have a few different boats that I've taken into both fresh and salt water. The difference in how they handle in one or the other is definitely noticeable.
Waves (seas) on the lakes often come one after the other with no time for the ships to recover between them. It doesn't happen that way on the ocean for some reason.
@@butchs.4239 interesting,ty.
That Guy said that Ship, the FITZGERALD, Won't Leave Him Alone. Decades Pass, & the Ghost's Are Still Crying And Drowning.
I live at the mouth of the st Clair river. Sarnia/port Huron. It’s amazing how fast some storms can come out of nowhere especially in summer with hot hazy weather. Always check forecast!
In the early 70s when the Fitz was docked in Cleveland my Dad pumped out water off the ship with one of his oil trucks, and had his lunch and coffee in the galley with some of the crew. So sad what ended up happening just a couple years later.
Thank you for your story.Yes,sad.These lakes are dangerous and not to be taken lightly.
I live in Saginaw Michigan and I never knew anything about the Great Lakes shipping history. This story is fascinating and heart breakingly moving.
I don't care how many times I have watched this story there are parts within it that makes me chock up and shed a tear, Rest in peace all those that have gone to their makers home within the Great Lakes.
Chock up? Like the wheels on your car?
Never traveled further nw than Tennessee took trip in 93 to pick up my girlfriend, from her home in Michigan. We rode past a geat lake i think Michigan. Biggest ships id ever seen. I said im not the sharpest but how in the hell are we at an ocean?😮
Drove along Lake Superior this summer on a road trip to the Porcupine Mountains. The visibility was low and you could see that from the shore. My friends made jokes, I could not. The respect I hold for that lake specifically has no bounds. You couldn’t pay me a thing to go on that lake in the summer, much less in the fall. To the ones who don’t live near them. They. Are. Oceans.
Lake superior is not a place to be taken lightly i have seen more then a few times it change faster then you can blink 🙏 may all those lost souls rest in peace
THAT I can believe & I’m not even from that region but Mother Nature can definitely change very quickly. Growing-up in the central Midwest, the weather can change quicker than you bat an eyelash & it’s no joke if you’re caught on the wrong side of it.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was always my favorite freighter cause my dad sadly lost a friend on that boat and he told me what happened and I was sad to hear what happened he couldn’t even talk to me about it
I have a cottage about 2 hours north of superior. Sometimes storm that come off od superior make there way to us. It has gone from bight and sunny to 6 ft waves on a relatively small lake in minutes from those storms. Always watch the clouds and when in doubt don't risk it. And if you feel like anything might go wrong it's time to go back now. I've ran from a few storms where I've hit the lake tied up the boat and got inside and 5 minutes later the storm hit. Those are fun stories to think back on but in the moment they are terrifying. And this is a small lake I can't imagine what the great lakes are like.
All the great lakes are amazing and wonderful but the storms they have can get really bad , lake supioror is the biggest of the great lake's
Edmund Fitzgerald was only the largest when it was made.
Whitefish Point. I live on Michigan's Gold Coast. There is no way you get me out there on any of those 5 Great Lakes in any kind of ship after Halloween. For any amount of 💰.
I've been out on Lake Huron when the weather started to change and it's one of the most frightening things I have experienced.
Been in the north Atlantic in 30, 40ft seas on a ship that was only 437 ft long.
Talk about a ride. But I was bullet proof then. Didn't bother me a bit to walk on the walls. I found it mostly annoying that I had to tie myself to my rack so I wouldn't slide out. It was a incredible experience. If it was today, I would be terrified.
No one knows what these storms are like unless you have survived one! I have survived many of them!
It must have been a bad experience
Thank you for this tribute to the shipwrecks of the Great Lakes ,that would normally go unnoticed simply because they lack celebrity; everyday men working and risking their lives for a living. Four Great Lakes that act like oceans.
Five Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, & Superior. Lake St. Clair is part of the Great Lakes system, & were once considered as a 6th Great Lake...
Young and dumb , born and raised in Michigan's great lakes and what we did as kids was plain stupid, I had many sad days because of doing stupid things ? lost a good friend, him and his brother went swimming just after finishing high school, he never missed a day of school from K, to 12th and two weeks later he drowned on St.Clair and his brother almost went to trying to save him. My cuz went down ice fishing, myself and some friends used to go camping on the shores of lake Michigan just under the Mac bridge in the summertime and go snow sliding on frozen lake Michigan in the winter. Talk about frighting, 5 miles out on ice with Mac in sights, but growing up in Michigan in the 60s and 70s was the best place on earth, my home was east Detroit, 8 mile Rd . I moved to the Arizona , Mexican border in 79, went from north border to south border. Water world to desert world....
A fantastic documentary
Thanks, Mark. I live in the middle of the Great Lakes, in the Lower Peninsula of MI. I have always had an incredible thirst for knowledge for the lakes and this explained a lot of the questions I've always wanted to learn.
I remember this happening. It was the morning of my 7th birthday and my Dad turned on the TV and this was the news report that was on.😰
Excellent stuff,very brave are those mariners?😢😢😢😢
39:23u have a theory, but it is only a theory: the Fitz impacted the shoals, right? But not enough to pierce the hull completely. But, the impact would be hard enough to possibly jolt maybe two of the hatches open; causing seawater to fill in. This makes the ship heavy in the middle, and she breaks apart.
I believe the ships front end went up high when the back end of the ship was forced down like a teeter tottering whn one jumps off he high side ad it lammed down so hard to superiors sand bottom and the ship snapped in half.
I saw this great video while camping n sitting next to a warm campfire.sipping on hot chocolate...what an amazing time..
What a wonderful time.
Camping? For Pete’s sake, put down your phone.
@@549RR ..why put the phone down?..i watch movies while camping
I quite liked the idea of travelling internationally as a passenger on very large container vessels.
Many companies offer this service, and the passenger gets to live with the Crew for the duration of their travel.
I then began to learn of some of the horrendous ses states that these vessels encountered, and to be honest, it scared me!
Whilst the vessels were indeed enormous, the sea was ever greater, and some of the footage recorded by Crewmembers was nothing short of horrific.
Whatever it is that enables these people to travel through such horrendous conditions is something that I don't have.
To say that I'd be gravely concerned is an understatement, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near those seas, and my only method of coping would be to ensure that I was never in the position to encounter them!
Professional Mariners have far better methods of dealing with their fears of such awful conditions than I could ever come up with.
@Bobb Grimley Having a fear of being caught in sea states that have ripped apart one of the largest vessels afloat and sunk countless others is something considered to be perfectly normal.
In your ludicrous post you assume some terrified, hermit like creature terrified of everything.
Clearly, reading comprehension isn't your strongest point as I was somewhat specific.
Having survived sniper fire, a high speed motorcycle crash, knife attacks and a building fire (thankfully not all on the same day!) there's not a lot that I fear, including my inevitable future paralysis!
But being caught in sea states that kills gigantic ships if definitely something that I do fear.
@Bobb Grimley Gosh, thanks bob for granting your permission for me to be allowed to be afraid of something fearful.
The only adult it concerns is me, and at no time have I ever asked anyone to "buy into it", whatever you mean by that ludicrous statement.
Somewhere, the underside of a rock awaits its inhabitant...
@@felixcat9318 dude, I agree, those seas would terrify me. You dont walk home from a shipwreck. Deep, dark, cold. Not how I wanna go.
So close to Whitefish Bay, but yet so far, I wonder would the radar have made a difference? Or a more direct route to the safety of Whitefish Bay? And the captain of the ship that went back to search, deserves to be recognized for his bravery, as well as the crew. Truly a remarkable display of humans trying to save others, knowing thaf it was a futile effort, but they went anyway. To Mrs.Hudson,, and other families of the 29 men who lost their lives, I'm sorry for the loss of those you loved, i am truly sorry, and I agree that the ship is their sacred resting place, and should be off limits, enough investigating.....God bless all yall
Very often disasters come not from one reason, but by a succession.
Cold november
Very high wind, hence waves
Fitz lost radar
2 failing lighthouse
No matter the reasons, if Fitz went aground or leaky cover hatchs
The captain and crew try the best they could. Sure they did it. It was their own life they tryied to save.
Fitz was strongly builted
But....when too much is too much....
Congrats to following vessel that guide her, showing courage to jump back foolishly in that storm in search
If only a single element in that listing that sink her would have been missing. They probably have made it safely
Sadly odds were against.