Ghostly views of the Edmund Fitzgerald

[Faygo Kid]

The bluish-green beads look like pearls scattered across the floor of Lake Superior.

But this is Great Lakes treasure -- iron ore pellets, discolored by water and age since they
went down with the SS Edmund Fitzgerald 35 years ago Wednesday. . . .

http://www.freep.com/article/20101106/NEWS06/311060003/1318/Ghostly-views-of-the-Edmund-Fitzgerald

Fascinating stuff. The legend lives on.

[elleng]

1. HUGE! Amazing!

and this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0DqPSF2fyo

another version, w pics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvfNuZGb6co&annotation_id=annotation_191011&feature=iv

[wtmusic]

2. Gordon Lightfoot's best song. nt

[Lasher]

3. Does anyone know where the love of God goes

When the waves turn the minutes to hours

[elleng]

4. 'Man' has asked that question from The Beginning.

[Lasher]

6. Well on the bright side...

WVU didn't lose this weekend.

[elleng]

7. Missed it!

At ballet with daughter!

Thx

[Lasher]

8. They didn't play this weekend.

Gallows humor.

[elleng]

9. Oh Gee, TOTALLY missed THAT!

And 'skins 'off' too!

Had a great time at the ballet, tho!

[Jackpine Radical]

5. I lived in Superior when the Fitzgerald went down.

I remember the state of shock that prevailed there all that winter. I didn't know any of the crew, but I must have been about the only person in town who didn't.

I still can't hear the Lightfoot song without chills.

[1monster]

10. Strange how small our world really is. I have known the granddaughter of one of the captains

of the Edmund Fitzgerald. If I remember correctly, he was the captain prior to the one who went down with the ship. I met her in Florida.

THE WRECK OF THE EDMUND FITZGERALD

by Gordon Lightfoot

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 Wisconsin
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 waves turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put 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.


© 1976 Moose Music, Inc.

[tigereye]

11. fascinating - thanks for the link. I knew the ship was large, but I had no idea

how large. The waves must have been incredibly large to sink such a vessel. It's something to see actual photos of the images from the lake floor. Eerie and sad.


Makes me think about The Perfect Storm for some reason. Amazing book and film and a great view of the lives of people who work on the water.

[dbt]

12. Check out pic 11 of 40 at the link

entitled "see rare photos of the Edmund Fitzgerald."

Exclusive: These two burning objects, about the size of golf balls, were encountered by Frederick J. Shannon in the Delta submarine while hovering at the starboard (right) side of the Fitzgerald bow. The water temperature was 43 degrees and the depth was 530 feet.

[midnight]

13. Facinating thought from one the relatives."They shouldn't be down there,"