Lake superiour has its own weather system. I live in the u.p. it has worse storms than the oceans do sometimes. Its essentialy a fresh water ocean.

@vikingmike8139

6 ай бұрын

Well said. Lake Superior is a more furious and compressed 'mini ocean'. Not to be underestimated in any regard. Cheers!

@sroevukasroevuka

5 ай бұрын

@@vikingmike8139 lots of shipwrecks and loss of life to verify that.

@upchu005

4 ай бұрын

I’m from a small town in west Alabama, and I had a jr high science teacher that played basketball at Lake Superior State. She drove me and another kid to a science fair once, and she told me all about the U.P. and I’ve wanted to visit ever since then. The pictures of towns and countryside I’ve seen appear beautiful, and I bet the residents would get a kick out of my southern accent since they probably don’t see many southerners up there.

@sroevukasroevuka

4 ай бұрын

@@upchu005 wait till you hear our yooper accent.

@richardstever3242

3 ай бұрын

Rebound waves pushing up a shoal can collide with prevailing waves creating some real monsters. My friends face turned white while describing his experience on Georgian Bay. So funny to watch when you know in your soul exactly what he is talking about. I still get the chills.

I've had family that made their living on the water they had their mishaps and accidents but luckily they always made it home safely and I have watched many many documentaries and movies and i have always loved watching them it feels like a small tribute to all the families and friends of those who never made it home again and I have to say to the families of the Edmund Fitzgerald i am so tremendously sorry for your loss and i don't know why but fr some reason the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald touches me way deep in my heart and soul and I dont know why but every time I hear the song or watch a documentary it literally shatters me inside and out may the 29 men who lost their lives in the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.....,.R.I.P !!!!!!!!;

Never underestimate the depravity of corporate greed. RIP to the sailors of the "Ftiz", and may God grant the grace to the families of the crew.

Great lakes storm seas are so different... Grew on Lake Erie, that shallow little lake has teeth. Storm Waves, we called them Cross-Chop... Just like the Coast Guard Capt. During a storm, you have three different seas all at once

I remember the night the EF was reported missing and the day I’d was confirmed lost. It left a hollow sick feeling in my gut. I was hundreds of miles from Superior, but it felt like I’d lost part of my family. I was almost 19 years old.

Thoughts and and prayers to the families, Thank you for your sacrifice❤

There were problems with the ship's keel ,it had no business being out there in November,but money being our God they didn't care,the whole entire tragedy is Unacceptable!

Thank you for posting this great documentary!

Know how many times I watch this video I ALWAYS fill sad.

Has pbs done a show on this ship they need to tell everyone about this I enjoyed this myself thanks for sharing this video

@wordenentertainment1997

5 ай бұрын

You are very welcome

“We found all kinds of them loose”…buddy…the ship got beat up and torn apart on the surface during a violent storm, and then sank within minutes in 530’ of water. I guarantee some of the hatch clamps that you “found loose” came loose between getting ripped in half and plunging to the bottom. Complacency is a bit of a coward’s motive to take when none of those guys are able to defend themselves.

@wordenentertainment1997

5 ай бұрын

I do not agree at all with the coast guards findings. Imo the clamps very likely came loose when the ship hit bottom, which would've caused the hull to compress and break in two, not to mention the taconite shifting. The crew of the Fitz were among the best sailors and did everything they could. Imo the ship accidentally got too close to the Caribou shoal and scraped on her starboard side like the Titanic did with the iceberg, which was where the ship was listing and that was the direction Caribou was to the Fitz. From there she took on more water than she could pump out and got nose heavy and dove to the bottom from a huge wave from her stern and once she hit, the ship compressed, hatches popped, and broke in two. No mayday or distress call, she just dove in at a fast rate. Basically the coast guard and Oglebay Norton were trying to avoid wrongdoing and put the blame on the crew, which was not the case. Oglebay ran her hard and the coast guard approved her condition at the time.

@TillerG7

5 ай бұрын

⁠@@wordenentertainment1997I agree with that scenario as well. I think it was a stress fracture more so than a puncture in her hull since McSorely reported a fence rail down, the ship bowed more than usual in the rough seas.

@BType13X2

5 ай бұрын

@@wordenentertainment1997 I don't see why it is necessary for the ship to have struck bottom on Caribou Shoal for it to sink in those sea's. The Fitz was known to push for load totals at the end of the year so everytime it went out it went out fully loaded and then some. Former crew members said the captain cheated by underfueling the ship as in taking just enough to get to its destination with very little in reserve during the summer months so it could get even more onboard. That is a hard way for a ship to lead its service life so I am in the crowd of, the boat didn't hit bottom, and the crew also secured all the hatchcovers but it didn't matter because the hull was fatigued and it was out in a storm it had no right to be out in. There's a reason why there are no heavy weather captains currently captaining these ships on the great lakes today, because they have all seen the results.

@wordenentertainment1997

5 ай бұрын

@@BType13X2 That's another good explanation. Keep in mind McSorley was dealing with a lot of pressure from Oglebay Norton, the company that owned the ship so he had to fulfill their orders of how much tonnage the ship could carry at that time. One big reason why the ship may have hit the shoal was a number of factors. The ships radars were not functioning correctly, the tonnage in the cargo, and the charts they were supplied were outdated, which put the shoal further toward the island than where it was. Captain Cooper reported that the Fitz was in fact too close and it's very likely she hit bottom, as well as suffering fatigue stress in the hull. McSorley while at times a rough Captain was very well experienced and did everything he could given the circumstances.

@BType13X2

5 ай бұрын

@@wordenentertainment1997 The issue with that theory is that when they dove the shoal after the ship sunk there was no evidence that it had been impacted by a ship. Further as you stated the charts were inaccurate and modern surveys show that the shoal is closer in to caribou island and the Fitz would not have come close to its actual location. Finally there is no indication of grounding of either the propeller, rudder, stern or bow on the fitz. If it had struck a shoal there would be damage indicators in those area's. The grounding theory is just that a theory. The ship breaking up on the surface due to years of hard service and overloading is much more likely because it is widely known how hard the fitz was ran. And that isn't a jab at the captain in any degree it is just what the boat owners expected as you said. I do not understand the desire to mythologized or give further reason as to why the Fitz sunk other than, horrible storm, and stress fatigued hull ='s boat sinks. We have seen 2 other large lake freighter have that exact same thing occur without hitting a shoal.

Has Hollywood made a movie about the edmund Fitzgerald someone should tell them

@wordenentertainment1997

5 ай бұрын

I'm in the process of writing a screenplay for a film about the Edmund Fitzgerald. I wish I knew someone in Hollywood to get it noticed.

@wordenentertainment1997

5 ай бұрын

The footage in the documentary was originally intended for a movie back in 78 and 79, but the project fell through and the footage was supplied to NOVA for this documentary.

@stargazer5784

5 ай бұрын

​@@wordenentertainment1997Sadly, it would probably be over dramatized with some quasi soap opera elements thrown in. Directors and producers would site artistic license while turning into a totally unrealistic fantasy.

@myroselle6987

3 ай бұрын

@@stargazer5784Like Cameron’s “Titanic”. Peyton Place meets the Poseidon Adventure. 😢

@jcollins1305

2 ай бұрын

Too many white guys for Hollywood!

Good job piecing these all together. I've been wanting to do that for a while myself. Is there anything that can be done with the glitchy audio though?

@wordenentertainment1997

4 ай бұрын

Sorry I can't fix the audio issue. I would like to fix it, but unfortunately I can't.

I Believe A Stress Fracture Of The Hull Caused The Big Fitzgerald To Sink. Especially With The Type Of Damage That Captain Mcsorley Reported. A Broken Fence Rail And Missing Vents. Rest In Peace To The Crew. 🙏🙏

@wordenentertainment1997

24 күн бұрын

I agree, although I feel it was a combination of factors that led to the ship taking on water. I believe that the overloading of the ore, keel problems, possible shoaling on Caribou, and possible hogging led to the starboard ballast tank rupturing and weighed the ship down until it nose dived into Lake Superior suddenly.

@mikebrady6904

24 күн бұрын

@@wordenentertainment1997 I also agree with you on this too.

My late husband loaded the iron ore on the good ship Edmund Fitzgerald

R.I.P The crew aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10 1975. May God Almighty rest there soul's i hope there familes find peace.

Ever gone swimming in the Great Lakes Nikolas?

@wordenentertainment1997

8 ай бұрын

Yes

@sroevukasroevuka

6 ай бұрын

Lake superiour and lake michigan.

I have a Canada $20 silver coloured coin of the Edmund Fitzgerald in my private collection.

@wordenentertainment1997

19 күн бұрын

@@abrahammorrison6374 Nice. I have an original Columbia Transportation cup that was likely on the Fitz on a previous corporate voyage. They were given to families of corporate clients as souvenirs.

@abrahammorrison6374

19 күн бұрын

@@wordenentertainment1997 Every penny made from the song, Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald was given to the families of the 29 hands that were lost.

Why do you keep reuploading Nikolas?

@wordenentertainment1997

8 ай бұрын

There were a few errors made with the last upload, as some of the footage was cut from a different airing of this documentary. I left it up until today as it was the anniversary a few days ago. This is the fully fixed and perfect version and is staying. Sorry for the inconvenience.

@TK42100

6 ай бұрын

I’m grateful for it. First saw this as a kid when it debuted on GlobalTV (Canada) not long after the bell was raised and it’s surprising to see that so much was cut. I suspect it was so networks could squeeze it into a certain amount of time (much like how some stations “trim” a movie’s run time).

@myroselle6987

3 ай бұрын

@@wordenentertainment1997I think it’s wonderful that you’ve gone to so much effort to tell the story…. This is very well done and I thank you for it!

They will return

Wasn't it "the Fitz" rather than "big Fitz"? I used to jump off "the Dunn".

@wordenentertainment1997

3 ай бұрын

It was called many nicknames. Many referred to it as The Fitz, Big Fitz, Toledo Express, and even Titanic of the Great Lakes.