On November 10, 1975, The SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank. All 29 crew members died in the wreck.
The ships maiden voyage was on September 24, 1958. The boat could hold 26,600 tons. It would be loaded through 21 watertight hatches. It was originally a coal-fired ship, but was converted to oil later. Until 1959, it was the largest ship on the Great Lakes.
During it's 17 year career, it carried taconite around the great lakes. Taconite is an iron bearing rock. Until World War II, it wasn't used for iron production, as there was higher quality ore's available. Afterward, most of that ore was consumed, so taconite was turned to as a source of iron.
On it's final voyage, the ship left Superior, Wisconsin on November 9, and was headed to a steel mill on Zug Island, near Detroit, it was full of taconite. The ship met up with another headed for Gary, Indiana, and they followed one another for some time, with the Fitzgerald in the lead. As the boats crossed Lake Superior, they encountered a winter storm and reported wins more than 58 MPH with waves as high as 35 feet. The ships changed their course trying to get out and headed for the Canadian coast.
By late afternoon November 10, there were sustained winds of 50 knots (58 mph). At 3:30 p.m. the Fitzgerald radioed the other ship to report a list and loss of radar. Visibility was poor, due to snow. At 5:45 p.m. the captain radioed to say he had a bad list, lost it's radars and had seas washing over the decks. At 7:10 p.m. the last communication from the Edmund Fitzgerald occured. Captain Earnest McSorley replied to the question of how they were doing "We are holding our own." A few minutes later, the ship sank.
It is assumed that the ship sank because water had gotten into the ore holds. As the water came over the top from the massive waves that day, it slowly filled the ore holds leading to stress on the ship's hull which lead to the hull snapping.
As to the beer:
Great Lakes Brewing is out of Cleveland, Ohio. They opened in 1988. Edmund Fitzgerald is their award winning porter. It is currently listed as #84 on the Beer Advocate top 100 beers of the world.
So, for the 29 members of the crew, who lost their lives on November 10, 1975, have a beer named in their honor, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.
A complex, roasty porter with a bittersweet, chocolate-coffee taste and bold hop presence.
Named after the ship that frequently docked in Cleveland and sunk in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975 with many Northeast Ohioans on board.
Sadly, I only have one bottle of this in my basement :(
I don't know anywhere in CU that has it available.
If you want the Simon Barr Sinister version, it's available on Emusic.
the moment I read the title, Gordon Lightfoot started playing in my head. It will take multiple beers to get out of my head.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the version by Simon Bar Sinister, which came out in '97. It's a little more my style of music.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amazon.com/Wreck-of-the-Edmund-Fitzgerald/dp/B0014CZYQ8
Guess you had to be there.
ReplyDeleteIt's Lighfoot's song. While I appreciate the rendition (Simon Bar Sinister), the original version hits me in the gut. I remain amazed by Lightfoot's ability to weave in so many intricasies, and such detail. More folk than rock the song is legend.
Truth be known "the searchers all say she'd a made Witefish bay if she put 15 more miles behind her", remains questionable as the the Coast Guard didn't make it out of the lower harbor that day. Had they made it, I don't think it would have mattered.