On November 10, 1975—exactly 50 years ago this coming Sunday—the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, a 729-foot American freighter known as the “Queen of the Lakes,” vanished during a ferocious Lake Superior gale with all 29 crew members aboard. No distress call was ever received. The wreck was discovered three days later, broken in two, lying 530 feet beneath the surface near Whitefish Point, Michigan.
Why It Still Matters
- Maritime Safety Reforms
The disaster exposed critical gaps in Great Lakes shipping:
- Mandatory survival suits for cold-water operations.
- Upgraded lifeboats and EPIRBs (emergency beacons).
- Stricter hatch-cover inspections—investigators believe leaking hatches contributed to flooding.
- Two-crew requirement on large lakers (ended the risky single-crew practice).
- Cultural Immortality
Gordon Lightfoot’s 1976 ballad “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” turned tragedy into folklore. The song hit #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is played annually at Split Rock Lighthouse’s memorial beacon lighting. - Annual Remembrance
Every November 10, the bell at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Michigan, is rung 29 times—once for each lost sailor. The original ship’s 200-pound bell, recovered in 1995, is now displayed there with the crew’s names engraved. - Ongoing Mystery
Despite NOAA’s 3D scans and dive expeditions, the exact cause remains debated:
- Three “sisters” rogue waves (documented by nearby ships).
- Structural failure from years of heavy ore loads.
- Grounding on Six Fathom Shoal (disputed by bathymetric data).
Crew Names (Never Forgotten)
Ronald Smith, John McCarthy, Eugene O’Brien, Karl Peckol, Bruce Hudson, Fred Beetcher, Thomas Bentsen, Edward Bindon, Thomas Borgeson, Oliver Champeau, Nolan Church, Ransom Cundy, George Holl, Russell Haskell, Joseph Mazes, John Poviach, James Pratt, Robert Rafferty, Paul Riipa, John Simmons, William Spengler, Mark Thompson, Ralph Walton, David Weiss, Gordon MacLellan, Blaine Wilhelm, George McGhee, Ernest McSorley (Captain), Jack McCarthy (First Mate), Michael Armagost (Third Mate).
Today, the Fitzgerald’s legacy is safety, memory, and the raw power of the inland seas. If you’re near the Great Lakes this weekend, catch the beacon at Split Rock or stream Lightfoot’s song—50 years on, the “Big Fitz” still sails in collective memory.