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CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – The Titanic was an unsinkable ship. Yet she struck and iceberg and went down on her maiden voyage in 1912.
Today is the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitsgerald, another ship that was thought to be unsinkable.
If you look at pictures of her, the big ore carrier almost looks fragile – as if she is too long and could snap in the middle. The distance from her front wheelhouse to her back deck seems elongated. That’s also exaggerated by whatever angle the photograph is taken from.
There’s still a great deal of mystery as to why she sank. There are still unproven theories. One is the three sisters – a series of rogue waves in the 57 mile-per-hour winds that night. The third wave may have crashed onto her deck before the water from the 35-foot wave just before had cleared.
She may have also hit a reef. In the storm The Fitz lost her radar, and may have raked the Six Fathom Shoal near Carribu Island. That would account for the ship listing, which the captain reported before contact was lost.
Some say the hatches weren’t properly sealed, and as water flowed into the cargo hold the ship became too heavy. Other theories say the waves caused several of the hatch covers to buckle and take on tremendous amounts of water.
There is also the human factor. Master Captain Ernest McSorlry thought the big storm was pass to the north. So he kept the regular course on Lake Superior. Another captain, Dudley Pauquette of the Wilfred Skyes, saw the same weather information and thought the storm would be a direct hit. He departed two hours ahead of the Fitz, and took a longer route, closer to shore. His ship made it. The Edmund Fitzgeralld did not.
Are there lessons for us, today? Of course. The Edmund Fitzgerald was the largest, strongest ship of her kind. She delivered cargo through storms for 17 years. The sailing on this day would be difficult, but nothing that she hadn’t encountered before. So of course she could withstand rogue waves. Of course she would navigate clear of reefs and shoals. Of course not all of the cargo hatches had to be sealed and inspected. And of course the captain was right about the weather. What’s the lesson? Complacency can have deadly consequences.
whatChris Conley
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