"The gales of November..."

[cheeseczar]

We lost the Fitz 30 years ago today. Up here it's a big deal.

Lightfoot's song is haunting.

[Hardscrabble]

Pretty windy the past few days down in Chicago. Not sure I'd want to be on the Great Lakes right about now.

[HopHead]

They were showing some footage of huge waves on Lake Superior last night on the news and mentioned the Edmund Fitzgerald anniversary. Check out the video. It is pretty haunting:

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=110945

[stretch51]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.

They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.

And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

[cheeseczar]

Seems like I saw a show where they speculated the boat was actually caught up on two waves (one at the bow, and again at the stern) and broke downward in the middle.

There was simply no time for those poor guys. They have the ship's bell up here at a maritime museum in Duluth.

[Media Boy]

Cool link. Thanks for sharing some history with us. I honestly didn't take the time to figure out what that song was all about.

[cheeseczar]

https://www.ssefo.com

Nice site.

[Jamski]

Seems like I saw a show where they speculated the boat was actually caught up on two waves (one at the bow, and again at the stern) and broke downward in the middle.

There was simply no time for those poor guys. They have the ship's bell up here at a maritime museum in Duluth.

I saw that program, and they showed where they dove down to the wreck and recovered the bell, just so they could take it to port and ring it, ceremonially, to mark that the Edmund Fitzgerald had finally come home...

It's quite a popular dive spot, I understand.

[rockawaygirl]

We lost the Fitz 30 years ago today. Up here it's a big deal.

Lightfoot's song is haunting.

It is a very haunting song, but still one of Lightfoot's best. The part that has always sent chills down my neck is the part of the song that says,
"All that remains is the faces and the names, of the wives and the sons and the daughters."

[Davydd]

They were showing some footage of huge waves on Lake Superior last night on the news and mentioned the Edmund Fitzgerald anniversary. Check out the video. It is pretty haunting:

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_arti...storyid=110945

With that I think I will put my kayak away for the winter.

[Frank Capua]

Gale who?

[roadracer]

That is a good website. I always assumed that it broke in half on the surface, since it's definitely in two pieces now. The theory about striking the bow and then breaking is interesting...

Six Fathom Shoals? That's only 36 feet deep - huh. You could bottom out on that for sure.

[Media Boy]

Gale who?

Any relation to "Gail" from Alice Cooper?

[Micki]

That was my Dad's favorite song.

[nanook177]

That is a good website. I always assumed that it broke in half on the surface, since it's definitely in two pieces now. The theory about striking the bow and then breaking is interesting...
Six Fathom Shoals? That's only 36 feet deep - huh. You could bottom out on that for sure.

Remember, she is essentially in three pieces. The bow (which is right side up), the stern (which is capsized) and the approximately 200 feet of the middle which is broken up all around the wreck site. From what I have read about Great Lakes shipwrecks, a wreck of this type is very unique. She may be the only one that sank like that.