# The wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald - 50 years ago today **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 10, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727 "2025-11-10T14:24:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/21 "2025-11-10T19:04:02Z")
I’d certainly never heard of the _Edmund Fitzgerald_ sinking until the song came out. Upthread **QTM** mentions the sinking of the Carl D. Bradley. Which I’d never heard of until that post. Admittedly the Bradley was lost 20-ish years before the Fitzgerald. But I bet that, absent the song, both ships’ fates would be equally prominent in current American culture. Which is to say: Unknown to everyone without some kind of connection to Great Lakes shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/22 "2025-11-10T20:10:01Z")
We can toast the crew every November 10th.\* > **[Edmund Fitzgerald® | Great Lakes Brewing Company](https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com/edmund-fitzgerald/)** > > Robust and complex, our Porter is a bittersweet tribute to the legendary freighter’s fallen crew—taken too soon when the gales of November came early. \*along with a song by Fountains of Wayne: _I wanna sink to the bottom with you I wanna sink to the bottom with you (Lake Superior’s) big and blue I wanna sink to the bottom with you_ _Cars on the highway, planes in the air Everyone else is going somewhere But I’m going nowhere, getting there soon I might as well just sink down with you_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/23 "2025-11-10T20:26:35Z")
One thing I read today is that because of safety regulations instituted after the _Edmund Fitzgerald_ sinking, no commercial ship has sunk in the Great Lakes since then. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/24 "2025-11-10T20:40:26Z")
It’s amazing to think that this gigantic ore-carrying freighter was sunk by a **lake** , not an ocean. But those lakes are just huge! At around 563 km in length and 257 km wide, Superior is the biggest of them, but even the smaller ones are gigantic, easily taking you out of sight of land. I’ve sailed both Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, and cruising is serious business. This is not some pond beside a country cottage. Knowing what you’re doing, having the right equipment, and paying attention to weather forecasts are all crucial. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/25 "2025-11-10T20:45:42Z")
It alway shocks me to be reminded of how RECENT this was. The song got a lot of airplay when I was in high school. I had no clue that it was such recent history at the time. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/26 "2025-11-10T20:47:37Z")
I’m not partial to the song. It song was overplayed when it came out. But I hear that Gordon did a fair amount of charitable stuff for the surviving families, so there is that. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/27 "2025-11-10T21:16:18Z")
Ever get to Vermilion? My wife and I tried to visit there 2 years ago, driving over those sandy roads towards it, and made it as far as the bridge just before the park which we found to be underwater. 😧 ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/28 "2025-11-10T21:22:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > no commercial ship has sunk in the Great Lakes since then. No **LARGE** commercial ship has sunk since then. Locally we lost the [Linda E](https://www.milwaukeemag.com/THESINKINGOFTHELINDA_E/) back in 1998. It was a 3 man commercial fishing boat, not unlike the ones my uncle and other family members worked on, back in the day. It was apparently run over over by a barge while the crew was belowdecks dealing with the day’s catch. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/29 "2025-11-10T21:26:39Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s amazing to think that this gigantic ore-carrying freighter was sunk by a **lake** , not an ocean. But those lakes are just huge! At around 563 km in length and 257 km wide, Superior is the biggest of them, but even the smaller ones are gigantic, easily taking you out of sight of land. I’ve sailed both Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, and cruising is serious business. This is not some pond beside a country cottage. Knowing what you’re doing, having the right equipment, and paying attention to weather forecasts are all crucial. Hope @Qadgop_the_Mercotan doesn’t mind linking to this harrowing drama, since these lakes can be dangerous even when you least suspect them: > [@Lake Michigan takes another life](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lake-michigan-takes-another-life/542642): > > [This article](http://www.sheboyganpress.com/article/20100610/SHE0101/6100445/Girl-9-missing-in-Lake-Michigan) The above news article gets it the least wrong, so far, of all the online news reports. Her dad did not make it out to her kayak, as is stated he did in the article. That was me who did that. It was a beautiful but iffy day on the beach, weatherwise. Sun was warm, the water was calm as glass, and in the low 60’s for a temperature. Kids had been splashing in the clear, shallow water between shore and sandbar, a 40-60 foot wide stretch with water no deeper than 2 feet. Some had… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/30 "2025-11-10T21:28:16Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Hope @Qadgop_the_Mercotan doesn’t mind linking to this harrowing drama I don’t mind. I still think about Sofia and wish I’d found her. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/31 "2025-11-10T21:33:05Z")
OMG, what a story! Thanks for linking to it. I had not seen that as it was a few years before I joined. My greatest respect to @Qadgop_the_Mercotan for what he did. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/32 "2025-11-10T21:40:21Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > One thing I read today is that because of safety regulations instituted after the _Edmund Fitzgerald_ sinking, no commercial ship has sunk in the Great Lakes since then. And according to the guest on _Morning Edition_ this morning, a shocking number of them sank in the century before then: > “From 1875 to 1975, there were at least [6,000 commercial shipwrecks](https://www.npr.org/2025/09/08/nx-s1-5525837/a-record-number-of-shipwrecks-have-been-discovered-in-the-great-lakes-in-recent-years) 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](https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5518215/edmund-fitzgerald-shipwreck) > [@wolfpup](#): > > It’s amazing to think that this gigantic ore-carrying freighter was sunk by a **lake** , not an ocean. We call it a “lake”, but really Superior is more like an inland sea. ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/33 "2025-11-10T21:49:59Z")
I just recently finished reading [The Gales of November](https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324094647), a recently published book on the ship, its sinking and the aftermath; as well as some historical background on Great Lakes shipping (as well as the song). Sounds like the author was the one interviewed on NPR this morning. I enjoyed it quite a bit and learned a lot. The author John U. Bacon’s book on the Halifax Explosion is also a good read. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/34 "2025-11-10T22:08:39Z")
Live lighting of Split Rock beacon lighting: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BDoUehYBg1I/maxresdefault.jpg "Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial and Beacon Lighting 50th Anniversary Commemoration") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDoUehYBg1I) Brian ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/35 "2025-11-11T00:06:38Z")
Live stream of ceremony at shipwreck museum: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NSqGuA30VhM/maxresdefault.jpg "50th Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Ceremony") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSqGuA30VhM) Brian ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/36 "2025-11-11T01:05:17Z")
A solemn anniversary,to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/37 "2025-11-11T02:11:48Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/ZDA8nF02Xy0/maxresdefault.jpg "Arthur M Anderson Master Salute to the Edmund Fitzgerald 11/10/2020") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDA8nF02Xy0) A masters salute to the EF from the Arthur M Anderson coming in at midnight 11/10/2020. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/38 "2025-11-11T04:38:48Z")
I was on Vermillion road yesterday and this morning. One potential campsite would have been the Widewaters further down Vermillion road, but I didn’t want to risk a bigger snow storm that far back on an unmaintained road. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/39 "2025-11-11T13:47:54Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > But those lakes are just huge! At around 563 km in length and 257 km wide, Superior is the biggest of them, but even the smaller ones are gigantic, easily taking you out of sight of land. This past Summer my wife and I took the SS Badger ferry across Lake Michigan for a Wisconsin road trip. Four hours from shore to shore. Probably a good two middle hours with no sight of land whatsoever. During the voyage we hit some bad weather-- a lot of rain and wind. Big waves. The boat was rocking so bad it was difficult to walk on deck. Everybody who tried were staggering around like a bunch of drunks. I wasn’t _scared_, but I won’t lie and say that thoughts of the Edmund Fitzgerald did not cross my mind 😏 ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727/40 "2025-11-11T21:52:17Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > At around 563 km in length and 257 km wide, Superior is the biggest of them, but even the smaller ones are gigantic, easily taking you out of sight of land. I’ve sailed both Lake Huron and Lake Ontario, and cruising is serious business When I used to report into the London office, I had (and still have) a lot of British friends. I took great joy in this bit of trivia that truly made their heads explode (messy business, that): The Great Lakes are, collectively, almost exactly the same area as the UK Oh, and that song is great. I’m not particularly a Lightfoot fan, but that’s well done. I love the bit about the chef saying “it’s too rough to feed you” and later “It’s sure been nice to know you” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wreck-of-the-ss-edmund-fitzgerald-50-years-ago-today/1024727.md?page=3)