Edmund Fitzgerald
The Edmund Fitzgerald was built in River Rouge, Michigan in 1958 with the hull number 301 (McCall) . The job was completed with the help of one thousand men. The Fitzgerald was seven hundred twenty nine feet long and was the largest freighter on the Great Lakes at the time. Mrs. Edmund Fitzgerald christened it on June 8, 1958 before sliding into the Detroit River (Nolan) . The Fitzgerald set numerous shipping records before its last voyage. In 1964 it became the first Great Lakes vessel to carry more than a million gross tons of ore through the Soo Locks. It then broke its own record by hauling 1.2 million tons through the Locks (Stonehouse 13) . This is why the Fitzgerald was labeled "The Pride of the American Flag" (Stonehouse 13) .Over the years people have speculated what actually happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald. Nobody witnessed the Fitzgerald actually sink so there are many theories of what people think happened. Studies of the wreckage and the sight of where it went down disproved all the theories. Based on the weather conditions, the boats condition, its last voyage, and the Marine Casualty Report an answer of the cause was concluded. The storm was generated over the Oklah
Another problem was the sheer strake, which extended the length of the vessel and was 15 3/8 inches above the weather deck ("Marine Casualty Report" 4) . While on this new course around 3:30 the Fitzgerald radio to the Anderson reporting "Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. When this happened from the weight of the freighter cargo would make the boat buckle and split in half. The Fitzgerald was rigged with four electric 7000 gallon per minute ballast pumps and two electric 2000 per minute auxiliary pumps. A second theory is based upon the course change and the lose of the boats radar. Adding additional stiffening to the keelsons quickly solved the problem. After this warning the Fitzgerald discussed with the Anderson, another freighter which was following at approximately 10 miles, to change their designated course (McCall) . The damage sustained from the bottoming out would have caused the boat to sink. The cargo would tend to clog the pump and make it useless causing the cargo hold to fill up. Since the Fitzgerald was already three feet deeper in the water then normally more water would enter the vessel. Have you checked down?" "Yes we have. Eastern Lake Superior with Northwest winds 38 to 52 knots with gusts to 60 knots with waves eight to sixteen feet. In the rough seas from the November storm the cargo would have shifted.
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Acceptance Essays
