The wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald - 50 years ago today

[John_DiFool]

@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

This article 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…