The Edmund Fitzgerald’s Fateful Voyage Began 40 Years Ago Today

The ill-fated Edmund Fitzgerald set sail for the final time forty years ago today in the afternoon of November 9th, 1975. The ship, loaded with taconite pellets and a crew of 29, left Superior headed east for a steel mill near Detroit, but was caught in a severe storm and sank the next day in Lake Superior killing all aboard.

The storm produced hurricane strength winds and 35-foot waves -- eventually taking the Edmund Fitzgerald under at 7:10 PM in Canadian waters of eastern Lake Superior. Although the captain indicated that the ship was in some distress earlier, his last report was that they were, "Holding their own." No emergency signal was sent before the ship sank.

All 29 aboard perished, and no bodies were ever recovered. The ship finally came to rest in one of the deepest lakes in the world under 535 feet of water.

The Split Rock lighthouse now shines it's beacon only one day a year, and that happens to be tomorrow -- November 10th, to commemorate the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and the loss of the 29 lives.

An estimated 30,000 lives have been lost in 10,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes in the past 300 years.