After the Edmund Fitzgerald sank, Arthur M Anderson, Coast Guard Radio Transmissions!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Radio transmissions after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank back on November 10th, 1975. Arthur M. Anderson, Coast Guard, William Clay Ford. At the time of this video remake, It had 234,040 views so far!
I was watching a video of Don Erickson (the captain of the William Clay Ford) and he said that he told the Anderson he was heading out there and captain Cooper said "Don, if you go out there, I'll go out there" that's a true brotherhood right there
It was so bad the coast guard couldn't go out but they ask a civilian ship to do there job for them. The ship captain was almost to safety then he went back into the storm. That is bravery.
“Do you realize the conditions out there?” I still get chills when I hear that.
I'm glad the William Clay Ford got its due here.
She was the smallest of the carriers that did the search. No one would've blinked an eye if her master had chosen not to go out there into a storm that had taken a larger carrier.
It was a bit of sullen news when I learned that the Ford had been scraped a while back... but the Anderson is still out there, doing her thing. The Anderson will be 70 years old next season - that's an incredible lifespan.
I really hope when it is time for the Anderson to be decommisioned, they turn it into a Museum like they did for the Valley Camp. It would be a huge dishonor to scrap it.
Nah. The William Clay Ford was the last of the AAA Class freighters. Same class as the Anderson. In the winter of 1974/75 all the ships of the class (except the J.L.Mauthe) were lengthened to 767 feet. All the ships were originally 647 feet. They were lengthened by 120 feet. So Anderson and Ford were the same size
@John Lewis the Ford was lengthened in 1979:
detroithistorical.org/dossin-great-lakes-museum/exhibitions/signature-exhibitions/william-clay-ford-pilot-house
I'd never use them as a first source, but Wiki also agrees with the 1979 date:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_William_Clay_Ford
@@tuxedotservo oh well thank you for the correction. My mistake
The USCG putting the Anderson's master in that situation was downright shitty. The USCG guy is covering ass by repeating that he isn't ordering the Anderson back into the storm. But he's also telling Cooper that he's the only salvation for potential survivors in the water. That's completely passing the buck to Cooper who was probably thinking: "This storm just ate the Edmund Fitzgerald alive. How much trouble will it have polishing off the Anderson if I go back out there?" So Cooper had two choices. Put himself and crew in an unacceptably dangerous situation or he can live life as the captain who refused to go back and look for The Fitz's survivors. If he puts his vessel first, as any master should, he'll be branded for life.
100% True no Coast Guard Cutters from U.S. or Canada available that Afternoon or Evening...
There was nothing unusual about the USCG's request or the Anderson captain's response; both of them were merely making reference to the international maritime law that requires the master of the nearest vessel to provide assistance to a distress call unless doing so would hazard his/her own ship. Failure to comply could have resulted in a two year prison sentence for the Anderson's captain. The USCG dispatcher is sitting in a dry building far away in Sault Sainte Marie, MI, and can't know how much of a danger it would be for the Anderson to respond, that is left up to the judgment of the Anderson's captain. The USCG didn't have anyone close by, so they made a correctly-worded request to the Anderson. The Anderson's captain made a correctly-worded reply. Even so, it was incredibly brave of him to go out again - he easily could have cited the danger to his own ship and simply declined.
In the U.S., the law is Title 46, Sec. 2304, as follows:
(a)
(1) A master or individual in charge of a vessel shall render assistance to any individual found at sea in danger of being lost, so far as the master or individual in charge can do so without serious danger to the master’s or individual’s vessel or individuals on board.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a vessel of war or a vessel owned by the United States Government appropriated only to a public service.
(b) A master or individual violating this section shall be fined not more than $1,000, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.
Much respect to the William Clay Ford and her crew/captain. They went above and beyond in the face of danger, and they don't get enough recognition imo. Ashamed it was scrapped, it was a good-looking ship.
the william clay ford still sails it's been renamed to lee a tragurtha i think you got it confused with another william clay ford that was built before this william clay ford
@@Rosetrainz The William Clay Ford that was involved in the Fitzgerald search has indeed been scrapped. The Lee A Tregurtha at that time was sailing as the Walter A Sterling.
@@flargmuffin92At least we still have the pilot house of the Clay Ford
anyone else convinced that the two ships on the badge of the Coast Guard Sector Sault St Marie is the Arthur M Anderson and the William Clay Ford
It’s like listening to it happen in real time. RIP to all who perished that night.🙏
This is bone chilling. You can hear in the captains voices both their concern for The Fitz and their own vessels. The fact that they lifted anchor and went back out in it for a search and put their lives back in danger should be held to the highest of praise and regards.
I live in Erie, Pa. I see people asking all the time "how big of a boat do i need?" Well.. i usually just tell them to get what they can afford. Because as you can see.. the Great Lakes will decide if your ship/boat is big enough.
That being said, the crew of the Anderson were absolute Gids among men that day, turning around and heading back to look for their friends. They had to have known what happened as a ship that size doesnt just disappear. And yet.. they went anyway evwn though they knew they could be joining them on the bottom. Im sure they were scared as hell. But since the Coasties didn't want to do anything.. they went.
Yeah. Here is a link to my old youtube channel. My Friend Jim has a late friend that sailed on the Anderson for many years. Including that night the Fitz went down.
th-cam.com/video/cnoZlZU2Mqs/w-d-xo.html
Do you really believe a coast guard cutter would have made it? Too windy to take a chopper up?
It was good that the Arthur M anderson called for help. Long Live the Arthur M. Anderson!
Hop used to see AMA come through Cleveland I still cant believe
God 'a wrath at the witch of November her name is heather Manson barrett she is the witch of November
Still sails through Cleveland
Yup, otherwise it might've been too late.
She's still sailing the great lakes. I hope she sails forever!
The crews and captains of the Anderson and Ford are true heroes.
You q😮😮😮 wwwq
13:30 "You realise what the conditions are out there?"
We live in the straits area . The heavy winds were really blowing on 11-10-75. We had big tree limbs all over our yard in the morning .
Coast Guard guy sounded like the travel agent for a guilt trip.
@@easygoing2479 No kidding. He basically passed the buck onto the Captain of the Anderson. Had the Anderson refused to go the coast guard would then be able to claim that the had asked the Anderson to assist but they refused. Imagine the "Coast Guard" asking another ship to go into that very same position as the Fitz. If they had refused they would be considered as doing the same as the Californian did when the Titanic went down.
The ice in Cooper's voice just about froze the radio frequency. He had just gotten in from one of the worst storms of his life, grateful he's alive, now he realizes the Fitzgerald is missing and probably sunk. And the coast guard asks him to risk his life again? I'd be a little terse on the radio too!
@@liammac5540 The Californian didn't know anything of Titanic until after meeting the Carpathia. Just saying.
What ever happened to the Fitz was quick and catastrophic. There one minute, gone the next. It is a mysterious thing.
I'm of the firm belief she was hit by a wave and the wheelhouse went under, and as this may have happened a couple of times previously, McSorley thought she would come back up, and she didn't. Bow hits the bottom, Fitz splits, and is gone.
Now believed that she was hit from behind by the "three sisters". Each wave bigger then the last. It's believed that she was picked up in the rear and driven straight to the bottom with the bow. The last sister ( 45'+) snapped the stern off and it was flipped over and sank within seconds
Makes sense.
Rest in peace and never forgotten, 47 years ago today ..11-10-1975...,. And I'm 46 years old, and my father told me about it when I was 6... So I have always admired the Edmond Fitzgerald, . The biggest great lakes freighter at the time. And it's legacy,,19 Crewmen were from Ohio, which is where I been born and raised a buckeye!
Sounds like our stories are similar, I heard about this at age 5 because our family hairdresser grew up with Bruce Hudson I'm from northeast Ohio and it's been a huge interest of mine since.
I still remember , the great lakes freighter The Buckeye .I recall when I was around 10 years old , The Buckeye broke lose , while being towed for scrap during a storm and grounded on the beach in Lake Erie just outside of Port Colborne.
Coast guard tug from the Soo didn't get out there until afternoon of the next day.
Not that anyone could have done anything that night.
Bernie Cooper, Don Erickson and their crews should've received medals for the risks they took that night.
Here is a thought.
The Fitz is 729 feet long and rests in 529 feet of water.
If she stood on end there would be 200 feet of her hull sticking out of the water.
That's what I have learned. Some old Coasters from Cleve told me the Fitz probably struck the bottom bow first.
The photos of the wreck make it look smaller in a vast sea, like the Titanic in 3-mile water. The boat lost a good chunk of its midsection when it broke apart.
Edmund Fitzgerald could not radio for help because she sank by the bow where the bridge was
Really?
@@thefrase7884 yes would you like to know more
Not even that, it was said she went under in one big plunge and torpedoed into the lakes bottom and split.
@@thearmoredgeorgian2736 not to mention..when the bow went under it stayed under and the ship went down faster than a submarine..when the back end which was up in the air hit... dont forget its longer than the water was deep....the props still turning torpedoed it to the bottom in seconds...
11:30 timestamp. The Coast Guard mention the Daniel J. Morrell. THAT was eerie.
Crazy thing is that if the Fitz NEVER sank, her sister ship, the Arthur B Homer, and the Fitz would have been scrapped years after the storm because of the Iron ore demand just DROPPED, so the Homer sat (after her collision too) for a few years then she wasn't ever used again, costed too much for the Columbia Transportation Division, and the demand wasn't high enough. And I'm pretty sure the Fitz would have been the biggest ship on the great lakes to be scrapped. then the second biggest would have been the Homer.
Further info. The Fitz was 729 feet long. Lake Superior would have a depth of 530 feet with 35 foot waves in the area of the sinking. The two front cargo hatches were blown into the ship. The ship hatches were made to withstand the weight of ten feet of water. The three sisters were the equivalent of at least three times the design weight that the cargo hatches could withstand. Combine this information with everything else and you can see how the Fitz died.
How did you hear about the hatch covers blowing off outta curiosity? I’ve kind of been in the camp of she bottomed out after being hit by the same rogue wave that Capt Cooper of the Anderson was hit with before. And due to the size of the wave, she bottomed out causing a stress fracture, especially with Capt McSorely reporting he had a fence rail down.
@@TillerG7 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald The hatch covers were inside the cargo hold. This means that there was enough pressure, from the waves, to push the hatch covers into the ship. Reading wikipedia will give you all the theories. I believe it was a documentary on one of the dives that talked about the discovery of the hatch covers and their positions. The proof is in the video footage but I cannot remember what documentary I saw it in.
Are there any recorded radio communications available from Ernest McSorley Edmond Fitzgerald?
There was. But they were for some reason taken down. I remember listening to a video with them talking back and forth from the Fitz & the Anderson.
Unbelievable that the USCG asked a loaded freighter to go out in that storm🙄
I mean they kind of had to cause when you think about it the USCG just wanted to save anyone on the Edmund Fitzgerald If there was anyone left and yea there wasn't anyone left but still there brave men
Also Capt. Erickson the Capt. of the William
Clay Ford
Yes, very true. Captain Earikson was somewhat reluctant to take action, thought it out, gave the order to pull anchor and join in on the search and participate in rescue maneuvers. It is said though that while serving on these giant ore freighters, you stay your far distant and away from the ship's masters as the gravity of responsibly they have commanding their ships as well as keeping the ship and it's crew safe at all times. In this case, you simply obey what orders are given to you and mind your own business. Those guys have a lot of weight responsibility on their minds and shoulders.
@@danbasta3677 Nowadays I suspect the ship owners would stop them from going out.
"Your primary responsibility is to the stockholders! I wont allow you to risk their equipment. Let the Coast Guard deal with it, that's what they get paid for."
@@1978garfield I should say so. After the Edmund Fitzgerald tragedy, these owners of the ore freighters have grown more cautious than ever before as they don't want to loose both a working vessel, and it's crew along with law suits from family members if the ship goes down in dangerous waters when they shouldn't even be out there in the first place.
I never noticed they discussed if the Fitzgerald could’ve split apart like the Morrell did, they were half right
Are USCG dispatchers always this passive aggressive?
I think they were all in disbelief
It was a horrible position for all parties involved.
When that storm occured I was 13 the news came on that it sank! Terrible storm...
Lt Commander Millradt was my skipper 1967=1968 Acacia
Ace of the Lakes!
Who was the unknown ships I barely heard the other ships names I know the Anderson and the Clay ford was out there but what was the other ones close to the Fitz sinking area
Radar in 1975 lol. The Arthur M Anderson went back out.
Seems pretty obvious that the fitz with it’s questionable service history, especially the sister ship, on top of carrying a more than full load, coupled with 35 foot swells, is almost a recipe for being sunk after breaking in two. The amount of force on the center of the hull from 35ft swells would be absolutely immense, especially with a ship that long. They talk about shadowing, then it disappeared. Once the ship broke in half at the surface, with all of that iron ore, and swells, it probably sunk faster than a rock.
How people can even logically think she broke a part on the surface is absurd. If she broke apart on the surface there would have been time for a mayday call.
@@aaronzahorik8084 whether it was damaged on the bottom and broke in half, or just broke in half in general, it would take all of about 2 seconds for that ship to sink in swells that big with that kind of load, which is pretty much what the Arthur Anderson noted as the lights just disappeared.
@@Jeffcatbuckeye well how about the carl d Bradley or the Daniel j Morrell. Both broke at the surface and was able to send a mayday. The Morrell's stern went another 4 miles before it sank.
@@Adamu98 30ft waves eat that ship likely from what I thing is that it bottomed out inside of two waves and when it tired to go up that wave all the weight just pushed it straight under
Also, these, like others before them, had riveted hulls. The Fitzgerald had a welded hull and could better handle these stresses. I agree that it's very unlikely that the Fitzgerald broke in two before sinking. It should also be pointed out that the Fitzgerald reported a list sometime around midafternoon, and McSorley stated that he had "both" pumps going. Sadly, the Fitzgerald was already foundering.
Survival suits were required after this tragedy. I wonder if anyone’s lives have been saved since that time, because of that requirement. Also, freighters couldn’t operate in the winter with summer load lines anymore. Fitzgerald was 3 feet lower in the water that day than she should have been allowed to leave port at.
Opening imàge to this video:Mount Adams,Cascade Range in Washington State.
You are correct Barbara. Up until this year. I head out to Washington to hike and climb Mt. Adams and St. Helens regions. I love Mt. Adams! 😁
I had guessed Rainier, I was stationed on JBLM.
About what time did the Fitzgerald radio to the Anderson and about what time did she disappear from the radar and about what time did the Anderson call the Coast guard? Thank you to any who can answer these
At 7:10 pm Ernest McSorley radioed to the Anderson "We are holding our own."
Not too long after that the Fitzgerald vanished from radar. The exact minute is not known.
Captain Cooper contacted the Coast Guard at 8:32 pm after trying to contact the Fitzgerald a few times.
@@RavenclawFtW3295 thank you. Why did he wait so long? I have heard since that she went missing about 7:20-7:30. Did they wait to ensure their own safety?
@@jamesmccarthy5086 I have read that there was a cloud of snow that moved across the radar of the Anderson, and it obscured their image of the Fitz. When that cloud cleared off the radar, that's when the Anderson saw the Fitz had disappeared. Captain Cooper did try to contact the Fitz a few times in case she was still out there, and even radioed other ships in the area asking if they could find the Fitz on their radar. It was after he did that that he called the Coast Guard.
She was never lost
They sach did but then would you's go back out there to see if you could find them .coast guard new better could have lost more people
Wonder why USCG was sitting on their butts , gosh you think they get a ship to go out and do their job .
They tried. The condition was too rough for their cutters. That's why the Andersen and Ford did the initial search.
The Fitzgerald sunk out there, you think that a small clutter could survive
Well, they did get the USCGC Woodrush underway within hours of her reported sinking, but being in Duluth, she was not really in any position to help.
It's to bad the Edmund Fitzgerald became famous for sinking in lake Superior
I couldn't agree more it goes without saying she sank due to corporate greed.
She was famous before that... once she sank she became legend.
@@PereMarquette1223 i seen her at the soo locks in early 1970s the captain was on a bullhorn talking about the Fitz. I went up to the soo locks last year we waited a couple of hours for a freighter to come in. In the early 1970s they were lined up to lock though
Peter Pulcer, longest serving master of the Fitzgerald iirc.
According to fjb trump was responsible for sinking the fritz
Sink Anderson
Your comments sound like something from a crazy person….
You have issues
@@crustyc1387 Just a troll.
Shove it, Karen, you insensitive witch.
AT LEAST NO DOGS OR CATS WERE HARMED
I realize that the Anderson felt obligated to go back out. But man the coast guard really put them in a difficult position.
Sure was! And Captain Donald Erickson, ships master of the William Clay Ford was somewhat reluctant, however felt that someone has to go back out in dangerous waters and join in the search as well as rescue maneuvers. So he gave the order to pull the ships anchor and go out there. Here again, even the most bravest of these ships Captains were fearful of what and how the weather itself can bring even these mighty ore ships down to destruction just as it did to the Big Fitz.
Copy
Coast Guard vacated their duty.
@@WesFanMan Nothing was available. Sad but true.
Yes, exactly my thoughts! The coast guard was caught totally unprepared & was now asking a captain to take his vessel and crew, who had barely made it out of the storm alive themselves to go back into the storm to do the coast guard’s dirty work. What a request considering the CG wasn’t putting themselves in harm’s way. What if, in the process, the Anderson had sunk too? Then what? Unbelievable!😡
IAs a Navy vet, if these were naval vessels those guys that went back out would get a metric ton of medals.
Ship masters, Captain Bernie Jesse Cooper and Captain Donald Erickson, the Arther Anderson and the William Clay Ford vessels they were in command of. Yes, they both do deserve a great deal of extensive credit for their bravery going back out in a treacherous storm that may still even take one or both of their massive vessels down to the bottom of the lake itself, YET, they STILL went out there! That says a heck of a awful lot for both these ship's masters and their crews.
This is chilling. It's like listening to the radio transmissions of the Challenger and Columbia disasters.
"Challenger go with throttle up"
You pictured the footage in your mind when you read that, didn't you?
That beautiful blue sky when it happened. I was teaching in Miami. Stunned barely covers how we all felt.
@@1978garfield , "Roger, go with throttle up."
Agreed. Another couple extremely chilling radio transmission videos you can listen to on youtube are the one of the FDNY Manhattan dispatch with all the units responding to the WTC on 9/11, and one of a recon team (MACV-SOG) in SE Asia declaring they're being overrun by NVA forces, and coordinating with the helicopters for support/ retrieval in the late 60's.
@@aceckrot then..... boom
It's 46 years ago today the mighty Fitz went down. Lived in the U.P. of Michigan my whole life and was 9 when she went down. RIP all on board.
Ron used to live in Christmas MI. My family goes to college in the UP was working in Detroit when on my lunch break when the Fitz went down seen it on the Detroit River many times going to Ohio
Being a young tradesman
Just could not believe it talked to people who said it was unsinkable HELLO titanic. Still tears when I go to that area.I 😢 ........
Ron how are u doing got another notification about the Fitz from you must be a old text. Text me nick from Christmas MI I am so over Florida and scared about storms down here but they are building a steel factory in Frost proof
Florida need info about the UP was there 3 years ago things change so fast if u want to chat I am an older dude and was 20 or so when the Fitz went down. Get back to me. ☆☆☆.
I was 9 as well. Born and raised in Soo, Ont. The next day, Nov. 11, is Remembrance Day in Canada. It was strange going to the arena for a wreath-laying ceremony with phone lines and trees knocked down the city and a search for a missing ship going on.
To me this is the most amazing part of the story the heroic nature of ordinary men risking it all for their fellow tradesmen.
They admitted it was the last thing they wanted to do. I'm certain I would have failed that test.
Man, you gotta hand it to the masters and crews of the Anderson and Ford. One huge iron boat sank in those conditions, so two more knowingly go back into those deadly conditions, knowing they are no safer. You can hear it in Cooper's voice. When he realizes the situation and how few resources they had, he never looked back. He just went. I wonder if he or the Ford put ashore non-essential personnel first?
No they did not send crew or esentials on shore before going back out. My buddy has a late friend who was on the Anderson on that evening. Another little know fact. There was a US coast guardsmen onboard the Anderson during this trip. He was in training.
@@ExploringAmerica I didn't think the Anderson would have had time to dock before being asked to go right back out. Since there must have been non-essential personnel aboard (like the cook), it's all the more wonderful that both vessels made it home safely. As for the trainee - Welcome to "As Bad As It Gets!" What a trial by fire. Maybe after that night he was pretty hard to scare. "You call this rough seas? I was on the Arthur Anderson that night! This ain't nothin!"
The word "hero" gets thrown around a lot. Cooper and his crew are true heroes. The Anderson took a tremendous beating when she went back out, and the crew went without sleep or rest for over 48 hours.
The roger blough turned around the next morning because her crew was on shore
That brotherhood strong, no man would of want to abandon fellow seamates. My granfather sailed for Reiss Steamship Co. 1925-65. They would do anythimg they could to help rescue them.
The Coast Guard was totally unprepared for this, everything they had at the time was either down for repairs or too far away…pitiful
They vacated their duty.
The only thing the Coast Guard did wrong was to ask for other boats/crews to go out in those conditions and search. Nobody should have been out or gone out in those conditions.
Such incredible repect for these men and women that work in these industries, and live up there. 🇺🇸🇨🇦
Unless you were alive back then and experienced even the fringes of this storm, there's no way you can really understand just how terrible it was. Even on shore, it was scary as hell - with the gusts literally shaking the house to the point where I thought it was going to collapse! And as scary as THAT was, what was worse was when all the ship horns/whistles - then the siren at the firehouse - started sounding! :O
I recall this storm ,The Welland Canal in Port Colborne flooded up to the street level, also our basement flooded in our home in Port Colborne , oh what a mess .
And here in mich, this past nov 10th the weather during the day the temp was in the mid 70s, at night a strong storm system swept through just like the night the fitz went down...I do remember the announcement about the Fitzgerald sinking on the radio, I was 7
@@jameswillis1742 Yes, she started out on a beautiful unusually warm day, and as the hours passed, two volatile air masses were passing over lake Superior that took this great ship, its crew and ships master down to their destination, forever never to be seen again. Very sad, very unfortunate. A little to late though, as after this tragic occurrence and event, the shipping industry had changed the rules of shipping, especially when these lakes go from extremely mild in one minute to extremely violent, aggressive and dangerous the next minute. All these guys who sail across these waters need to be shown deep respect for all that they do and undergo while doing their jobs on the great lakes, because, from one minute to the other, you don't know for sure you'll see the very next hour as well as the very next day.
Another nasty storm tonight. Sitting 100 feet from the shore in my car now watching 7-foot waves. Supposed to be 11 foot by tomorrow afternoon
@@jameswillis1742 Yes, a very tragic time, now 46 years past. Here in Western Pennsylvania 2021, the 10th of November it was a perfectly clear blue sky outside with tempretures up to 60 to 64 degrees. Yesterday now was up to 68 or 69 and that was the 11 day of November. Now we are in the new day of Friday morning, the tempretures are in the 40's as rain and gusty winds along with a cold front has passed through the area, tommorrow, colder still with the prediction of snow in the forecast. So, with all of that and much more in mind, this draws a picture of what the Big Fitz, it's ships master Captain McSorley and his crew of 29 men were going through many years ago on that lake, Lake Superior that tragic night when those two volatile air masses descended upon the lake that took the Big Fitz and her crew down to the bottom of the itself, broken, totally and completely destroyed/damaged with no survivors or even a mayday call for help when she went down. So sad of this tragic ending of a good ship and crew and as was written a very good ship's master Captain Earnest McSorley who was well seasoned, yet that storm, delt him and his crew a raw hand.
I never got to meet my uncle. My parents would tell me how my uncle Gordon Maclellan went down on the Edmund Fitzgerald. I now live in Sault Sainte Marie and I visit the Locks I remember story’s. How people would flock to see the Fitz. How music was always playing on the over head speakers when she pulled through. I often wish I could have seen it for myself.
Bernie trying so hard to find the Fitz... He just cant believe the Fitzgerald disappeared... God speed for helping out boys the best you could. 🙏❤
GodSpeed Jessie Bernie Cooper, you were a Saving Grace on a Horrific Night on Lake Superior that will never be forgotten ✝
One ship on the bottom and the Coast Guard trying hard to make it two.
So chilling, if you know the whole story, even more so!
Just imagine while they are talking the crew of the edmund probably just hit the floor of the great lakes with the crew inside
Scary and depressing to imagine, tbh
@@AaronDanieltenni right?
I'm a native Michigander and know the power of the Great Lakes--thank the Great Manitou I'm finally back home after years of living in other states!! I've lived in other parts of the country and people DO NOT understand the Great Lakes' capabilities.
People outside the Great Lakes region hear the term "lake" and think of a smaller body of water...what they can't seem to comprehend is the vastness of the Great Lakes to the point they actually create the weather.
A few years back, we were at the Soo locks and the Arthur M. Anderson came through---I didn't realize then that the Anderson was THE ship trailing the Big Fitz that fateful night. What an honor to see it go through the locks that day! RIP to the men of the Fitz and all that have perished on the magnificent Great Lakes.
We live in the tip of the mitt . I remember the wind howling that night . Then it came on the late news that the Fitz may be missing . RIP crew .
I no her power
Knowing that the Anderson was "near-by" had to be somewhat of a comforting factor for the boys on the Fitz. At least they knew they weren't alone in the malstrom. Just the same, as a line from another Gordon Lightfoot song goes, "when you reach the part, where the heartaches comes, the hero would be me, but heroes often fail." To all of you seamen out there this fall, thanks for your service and keep safety first in mind.
I was thinking about the "Perfect Storm" movie this morning. Decided to look up a few "Long Liner" fishing videos. Found a few and bookmarked them. Then saw a few about the Edmond Fitzgerald. I live in New Brunswick Canada, and was born in 1958 the year she was launched. I still remember seeing the news on the TV when she went down. And of course that great tune by our own Gordon Lightfoot who is now 84 and still going strong! I had seen documentary's on it through the years. But just taking a trip down memory lane. The other song you referred to I know very well also. And as you probably know the movie associated with it. Another of my favorite Films. I am 64 and worked on a commercial poultry farm for 40 years. Can't imagine working surrounded by nothing but green water waves, and untold depths. Risking your life every day to support your family and loved ones. I realize storms usually give you warning. But not always.
The Anderson went right over the top of the Frizgerald during thier search but had no way of knowing it.
One can really hear the desparation on the voices of the radio operators. This is tragic. The coast guard really pressured Captain Cooper and the Author M. Anderson to search for survivors. One can hear the fear in Captain Cooper's voice when asked to search.
This is harrowing listening. The Skipper/CO of the Arthur M Anderson knew the conditions were atrocious. Damn hard call for anyone...
Was Living North of Lake Superior when this took place,Ill never forget that night or the storm.What is so Ironic 7-10,days ago we just had a Storm here in Manitoba Canada that equaled the velocity and conditions of 1974.(officially 79 knots at our location freezing rain ice pellets)
I told my oldest boy this is just like the night the Fitzgerald went down on Superior.Some things just stick in your mind,I was 33 years old then,seems like yesterday.
Is it just me, or is anyone else starting to tear up
Not tearing up, but my heart is racing. It’s terrible to listen to this and pray for a different outcome. 🥲
You are entitled. Yes, it is a very tearful situation, emotional situation that causes a great deal of sadness and emotional breakdown. I'm with you on this.
It’s just you. Why would you he tearing up if you really were.
Hello . You have amazing channel . Great upload . Thank you for sharing . One more red button pushed! Thumbs up! I hope to see you again soon returning the friendship too. Have a great day:)
A few years ago I met a gentleman up in N. Rustico, Prince Edward Island, Canada named Edward Ayers. He worked for Algoma Central for many years and, prior to that, worked the Lakes. He was on the Arthur Anderson the night the Edmund Fitzgerald sank and said that he was amazed that THEY made it in safely.
He knew Ronnie Roman then.
He was onboard in the Anderson in engine room that night.
Here is a video that I had made for my old TH-cam channel.
Have you seen tjis one yet?
Tugboat Jim had a goid Friend who was on the Abmnderson that night.
Jim shares a story about that night that Ronnie shared with him.
th-cam.com/video/cnoZlZU2Mqs/w-d-xo.html
I see the Anderson occasionally in Duluth or Superior harbor driving through and when I see it I immediately recall this terrible event!!!
They were torn between going out at great risk to themselves and their crews or staying put. They were truly brave men who deserve eternal respect.
It comes down to 1 ship has sunk, do you want to sink a second ship, at great loss of life? Then you have lost 2 ships, Aganyzing choices.
The danger present in simply "coming about" to go back and look for them would chill you. It is no small matter to expose either port or starboard sides to the waves and reverse direction in a storm such as that one.
The legend of the Fitzgerald and Anderson has been with me since I first heard the story at age 5, since then I have been into the great lakes, the story was told to me by my hairdresser my parents have known for years and she grew up with Bruce Hudson who went down on the Fitzgerald. Superior thought it could sink any ship that night, the Anderson and the Ford said " Hold my beer "
Going back constituted an imminent threat to vessel and crew was under no obligation to do so.
That sinking feeling down in your gut leaves you with no options Capt. and crew of the Anderson knew that they had to, if the tables were turned they couldn't live with themselves had they not.
But they did anyway.
@@Chasred-ml4hm Thank You and very correct.
@@danbasta3677 Still in service too.
10:12 time stamp. Coast guard asks Captain Cooper if he can turn his ship around, the Arthur M Anderson, and look for the Edmund Fitzgerald. Captain Cooper is hesitant, but goes anyway. Brave men on both the Edmund Fitzgerald and the Arthur M Anderson...
Hard to listen knowing the outcome. God's rest to Captain McSorley and the other precious twenty-eight souls.
So, the Arthur Anderson was following initially, far enough behind so that the Edmund Fitzgerald slowed up to let her catch up... then the Arthur A is asked to 'turn back' and look for Fitz. Had they sailed right over the wreck?
Certainly within a couple miles of it
The Fitz left Minnesota 14 miles behind the Andersen but passed it and put 10 miles between them before it sank.
So yea the Andersen sailed over the Fitz.
The Anderson took shelter in a Michigan bay and was still behind the Fitz. If she could only make 3-4mph when the CG asked her to pull anchor and go back out, she wouldn’t have sailed over the Fitz for upwards of 5hrs.
@@jerryfrederick6610also, the Fitz left Superior, WI. The Anderson left Two Harbors, MN.
The Anderson is still an active ship to this day.
Edmund Fitzgerald you will never be forgotten
Something about this ship makes me emotional, especially sense visiting the Great Lakes
Captain Cooper and his crew were very brave for going back out into those seas.
Never forget the mighty fitz
If you have been in a North Atlantic Storm, then you will know what they went through.
Yep and freshwater seas can be even more violent, with ‘confused seas’ going in every direction with tight frequency, like a big washing machine. Not to mention fresh water has less buoyancy.
We should remember the Edmund Fitzgerald went down like a stone. The Arthur Anderson was talking to the Fitzgerald giving it updates of its positions due to both of the Fitzgerald's radars inoperable. The Fitzgerald went down rapidly probably in less than a minute during a big wave over 30 feet or more. The Fitz was leaking water, probably from defective cargo hatches, with its pumps unable to keep up with the water coming into the hull. So the Fitz was listing, I think to portside if memory serves me correctly from other things I have heard about it. But the radar had the Fitzgerald on screen in one revolution and the next circular radar scan the Fitzgerald disappeared.
The captain on the Arthur M. Anderson said essentially the captain of the Fitzgerald told him, he was "listing to port but holding his own" or words to this effect. This transmission was the last anyone heard of the Edmund Fitzgerald because just a few moments later the Fitzgerald was gone. Scary stuff indeed to think such a modern ship with all the modern technology with an experienced crew and captain could have disappeared so quickly. We must remember the brave men on this ship and their families. The danger of the sea does not go away because our technology and modern engineering seems puny against the fury of Nature during a storm on the Great Lakes. The Coast Guard report says leaking hatches were a possible culprit. I generally subscribe to official reports because I was on active duty for 20 years and appreciate the expertise of the officers doing these reports. However, many experienced Great Lakes merchant sailors say the Fitzgerald bottomed out in shallow shoals. Others say the Fitzgerald had hull defects that needed serious engineering attention in a dry dock refit. It would be nice to get a definitive answer why this disaster happened as recently as 1975.
I don't think it was defective cargo hatches. I think that she took a nose dive and a big wave came and slammed into the back of the Fitzgerald, causing her to split in half. But that's just what i think happened
We dont know how the Fitzgerald sank its still a mystery how it sank
I still subscribe to Capt. Cooper's assertion that the Fitzgerald either bottomed out or stress fractured over Six Fathom Shoal. Combined with the extraordinary seas they encountered, plus the recent revelations by former shipyard workers that her keel was compromised at her last inspection, hasty work performed with the understanding that more extensive work was required at the next lay-up....that the ship held together as long as it did before succumbing is a miracle.
THANK YOU. And very well written and said. You are quite correct in all that you had said and surmised about this tragic event.
@@bowslap
Especially when it was found that the shoals expanded a mile more than the maps displayed. I think she definitely bottomed out.
That was a gooð thing to do. Bearney. Good man
Super sad day and i doubt a lifeboat wpuld last 5 seconds in 35 ft waves. It was pointless going back out to search .cooper was a badass tho
They kept pushing and pushing the fritz, and she just got tired of it
exactly
The Fitz was on the Fritz.
Mother nature snap that ship in half as easy as we do a toothpick. Man doesn't hold a candle to mother nature. RIP crew of the FITZ.
I feel like I'm connected with the Edmund Fitzgerald. It sank the day before was born, but years ago. I have seen the Anderson many times. But, I have never seen the powerful gales. (At least in my memory)
I was six weeks old in Sault Ste. Marie MI. I have always had a fascination with it.
Same
Bernie Cooper and the crew of the Arthur m. Anderson were the heroes in this tragedy qcoast guard should've acted quicker.
The Coast Guard officer (Captain of the Port) speaking to Captain Cooper and others during these radio transmissions, is Captain Charles Millradt. Captain Millradt asks Captain Cooper if he can bring the Anderson about and head back out into the monster seas of Lake Superior to look for survivors.
Millradt was negligent asking anyone to go out in those conditions…
@@gator83261 Wrong. He ASKED them. He did not order them. They did not have to go. There were no other Coast Guard vessels in the area at that time. Mariners help other mariners if they possibly can. The ones that went back out knew they would want someone out looking for them if they were in trouble. Everyone always points fingers these days. 🤦🏻♂️🙄
Thank you for sharing this. With the anniversary of the Fitzgerald's sinking approaching, it's a poignant reminder of the perils that inland mariners face, and shows the unselfishness of these mariners to put their ships and their crews in harm's way. It didn't matter that each boat was operated by a different company, these men did what they could.
There was somebody talking over USCG during their transmission, I'm intellectually curious about who that was and what they said
I get chills every time i listen to this chills right up my back the captains of the Anderson and ford must of had PTSD after this event bless them for going back out
Grew up in the deep south where weather like this was completely alien. Until a blizzard in Winnipeg, I never got close to it, but even then it didn't have that bone-chilling lake cold.
Rest in peace to the 29 men. Godspeed.
It gets wicked up here bud. I’ve lived in NE MN my whole life, right next to Lake Superior and she gets violent in the late Oct-Nov when the conditions call for it. I know down south has their share of bad weather too with hurricanes and tornadoes.
It gave me chills!
Today is the 46th anniversary of the sinking of this ship
46 years ago today 25 foot waves I've seen 14 footers at whitefish point!
Like other ships in the Great Lakes in massive storms, I truly believe it broke apart at the surface!!!
I think that too... it's in 2 prices on the bottom, it must have broken on the surface.
@@Kshep84 Yes, the captain said his fence rails were down, possibly the ship was slowly cracking from the constant up and down in the waves!!
The fitz had been previously damaged in two mishaps the vessel should never have left dry dock to sail this last voyage. It did not help that she was way overloaded the poor vessel and crew were no match for that storm.
@@kimberlyodowd1003 So true!!!
Captain Bernie Jesse Cooper also was quoted as saying that Captain Earnest McSorley thought that ship was going to get him and his crew through all of this. And as history has shown, the storm of November 10th 1975, dealt Captain McSorley a raw hand.
@ 1:35: "I thought we were picking them up on radar when I came up to the wheel house and talked to the mate. Ahhh the signal was real bad but we thought we had the target, but uh I don't know.. now I wonder.
The coast guard hit the A.M Anderson with a big ask that day.. wow sobering.
While listening to this exchange I think about the men who were on these Ships and how the Anderson tried to help. I think about how brave men are. I'm sorry about this terrible accident. How brave these men were. Every last one of them.
👍
I would not have gone back out. The Anderson was out there in the same storm, and survived....heroes
24:14 the unknown was probably the Canadian coast guard
Yeah
May our Lord God grant everlasting life. 🙏
We shall not forget.
🇺🇸🌷
A couple days ago when i was at grandhaven i saw the anderson
The Capt. of the Fitz. had said he was missing hatch covers,,,,how can that be if they were locked down ?? maybe they were just laid on top on a few,,not expecting this storm,,,,maybe it happened before with the covers.....................who knows...............
He's not talking about the cargo hatches, those were dogged down.