> I think the Edmund Fitzgerald sunk -- or should I say "sank" -- in
> the Great Lakes many years ago.
November 10, 1975. I remember that storm very distinctly. The
entire upper-Great Lakes got blasted by it. We lost a lot of
shoreline that night because the sandbars hadn't formed yet. (long
story). I think we even lost power.
Those of you on the east coast may remember the 1991 "Perfect Storm"
when two low-pressure systems combined. This was exactly what
happened here. The weather forcasts had predicted the merging, but
were off in the intensity and timing. The first low struck and was a
decent storm in its own right. Then a lull occured. This lull fooled
some into thinking the storm was over. Others knew the big blast was
coming, but thought that it would come a few hours later. By the
time the NWS had updated their maps and forcasts these ships were
already committed.
The storm stirred things up so severely on Lake Michigan that an area
over by the Dorr peninsula where there is a limestone base had
churned the water white. It remained white with suspended
particulate for months. It also tore apart multiple causeways
connecting little islands and spits of land in northern Lake Michigan
and changed the contours greatly. It was essentially a Category II
hurricane that covered a vast area. When the lows combined, the
barameters fluctuated wildly and then plummeted so quickly as to
cause most people to misjudge them or miss the drop. We had numerous
trees down in our town and people lost chimneys.
My parents remember two other such storms in their childhood--both of
which were notorious for the number of ships lost.
The ship was most likely lost as a result of being battered by rogue
waves. They reported two (one of which knocked out the radar--think
about that for a minute) and the third possibly may have sent the
ship instantly under. The coast guard was unable to respond as the
waves were averaging 35' with an occasional one estimated at 50'.
And they weren't able to go anywhere near where the ship sunk because
that is where there is a funnelling of the waves, water and wind. If
the ship could have made it even five miles farther...
> Damn shame some of Lightfoot's original tapes got destroyed by
> accident. I've always kinda liked him.
Lightfoot is one of those rare storytellers. He would have thrived
and been successful in any period of history.
AG
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