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The Edmund Fitzgerald was caught in a savage storm with hurricane-force winds around 100-mile-an-hour and waves up to 60 feet, crashing down on the freighter every four to eight seconds
Keep in mind she only had 15 feet of freeboard, so the waves would be 45 feet above deck
That's nowhere near enough freebird
Storm waves on Lake Superior are about 100ft apart, and the Edmund Fitzgerald was 725 feet long, so at any moment they were being pummeled by about 6 waves simultaneously. The waves twisted the stern about 90-180 degrees from the bow without detaching it. The waves on the Great Lakes are absolutely brutal
I went to the service at the Old Mariners Church in Detroit yesterday morning. Midwestern guys are all obsessed with the Edmund Fitzgerald, but it was something to sit through the service and listen to the surving family meembers ring the bell 29 times. My grandpa was an old English sailor and i grew up on the great lakes so i have been looking to make a trip for the 50th for years. It was wet snow that turned to slush all day which felt fitting.
Take a moment to remember all the workers who have died in service of capital, especially those who have died on the seas.
i gotta ask momma but I'm pretty sure superior is where my great-grandpa rests. he didn't die in this wreck but another one. he was a merchant Marine, and if i remember the story right, when his ship sank there was one survivor
this post was submitted on 10 Nov 2025
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Chapotraphouse
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