Yep~that was a mighty fine video.
Exactly the same for me. When the song came out, I was convinced it was some 19th-century shipwreck.
It struck me at the time because I had spent two summers as a deckhand on similarly sized boats just three years earlier and had seen the Fitz on several occasions.
(Don’t give me a hard time about “boats,” that’s what they were called at the time–maybe still.)
They’re definitely still ore boats. I’m impressed you were a deckhand; it’s been my dream to win the ore boat cruise lottery and actually sail on one, without having to work!
Growing up on Lake Michigan’s western shore, I watched a LOT of ore boats sail by (and still do). When I was young and daring I’d take a power boat out to get a closer look, making sure to stay out of their way. Damn things are BIG!
Boatnerd.com has stats on all the big ore boats along with other ships sailing the Great Lakes, and other fun info like current vessel positions and headings. The site tells me that the Philip R. Clarke was the freighter that cruised past my place less than an hour ago.
They also generally keep track of the contests which offer winners a free cruise.
All you really have to do is become friends with someone high up in the company and get invited for a week. We had guests on both the Sherwin (since retired) and the Beeghly (since renamed to James R Oberstar).
I got my job because my dad worked with someone from Youngstown Sheet and Tube who had me submit an application that was noted “Recommended E. Hoyt.” One of the fleet was named Elton Hoyt; I think the recommender was his son, a friend of the man my dad worked with. A couple of years later, the union had cracked down on those practices and my brother had to go through the union hall.
The visitors were not all wealthy, just folks who knew someone. I never heard of sailing contests in my day (50 years ago). I wonder if the contests are limited to a couple of fleets or if you can get aboard, now, with invitations?
Thanks for your perspective. It’s very interesting to me.
I only know that the lotteries have been going on for the last 20 years, no idea if I could schmooze/befriend my way on. Not too many freighters stop in the small ports near me (Sheboygan and Port Washington) for me to rub elbows with crew or captain. While I know a lot of charter fishing captains and retired commercial fishermen, I don’t crave that sort of lake voyage!
I watched the Edmund Fitz sail by my home more than once. It sank when I was away at my first year of college, but I was quite aware of the news and its impact in my home region.
I did see the Arthur M Anderson (the last ship to see the Edmund Fitz) go by this past summer.
So was I. Then I saw an article in the National Geographic magazine that mentioned the wreck. I went “Huh?”
Mentioning seeing a famous vessel going by reminds me of an elderly woman I once knew. She lived near the shore of New Jersey and when a girl she and her family lived under the flight path of the zeppelins. They would be low enough that folks above and below would wave to each other. She saw the Hindenburg on it’s last flight, but the airfield was past where they could see it. Family learned about it on the radio not long after.
Don’t look for captains or crew, find someone in a company that owns the freighters or a company that uses their services.
Interlake Steamship (my fleet) was privately owned but had contracts with Youngstown Sheet and Tube where my dad had a customer.
The Fitz sailed as part of Columbia Transportation that was owned by Oglebay Norton.
Ford Motor Company has a fleet.
US Steel has the biggest fleet.
I had thought that Cleveland Cliffs sold their fleet, but I may have been thinking of Republic Steel.
Bethlehem Steel has a fleet.
Inland Steel has a fleet.
(All of the preceding are based on ancient memories, not known facts.)
If you tracked down the owners of those fleets, you may find offices in Sheboygan (or Manitowoc, Green Bay, etc.) where you might find someone to shmooze. 
In all the threads you have mentioned where you live, it sounds like a fucking awesome place.
The view from my place in November. Not real rough, but not a good day for sailing. The Carl D. Bradley sank on the other side of the lake in a storm almost 64 years ago.
I can feel the peace.
I love the sound of the water. Permanence in motion.
From gentle lap to raging storm…so primal.
Around here there’s the Mather, an ore freighter that’s been converted to a museum ship (a little smaller than the Fitz, though). They close at the end of October, but I’ve said for a while that they should stay open until Edmund Fitzgerald day.
The Mather, at least, had a few passenger cabins, and as I understand it, when they weren’t being used by Somebody who Knows Somebody, you could just straight-up buy tickets for them.
I’ll definitely visit there if I find myself around Cleveland, if at all possible. The Valley Camp which I did visit was definitely older (built in 1917) and smaller than the Mather, and I’d love to see what a larger ore boat looks like.