30 Years Since Edmund Fitgerald

"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
. ..

"Skylune" wrote in message
lkaboutaviation.com...
Difficult to decide what was
more frightening: being in the right seat of the Cessna when it got hazy
over Long Island with my VFR friend or suddenly in the soup with 8-10
foot
waves breaking over the bow while trying to find the inlet to Block
Island
Harbor -- with radar gone to s___t with all the turbulence and bilge
pumps
automatically clicking on and off. GPS came to my rescue both times.

8 to 10 feet? Hardeharhar. A mere ripple upon which to play my friend.

Oh, I dunno...I used to get seasick watching McHale's Navy.

by "Matt Barrow" Nov 18, 2005 at 02:23 PM


"Dave Stadt" wrote in message
. ..

"Skylune" wrote in message

lkaboutaviation.com...
Difficult to decide what was
more frightening: being in the right seat of the Cessna when it got
hazy
over Long Island with my VFR friend or suddenly in the soup with 8-10
foot
waves breaking over the bow while trying to find the inlet to Block
Island
Harbor -- with radar gone to s___t with all the turbulence and bilge
pumps
automatically clicking on and off. GPS came to my rescue both times.

8 to 10 feet? Hardeharhar. A mere ripple upon which to play my
friend.

Oh, I dunno...I used to get seasick watching McHale's Navy.

A classic! Nowadays, my sal****er boat (the Double Diamond) sits in a
silly New Hampshire lake. The boaters on that lake are mostly boobs who
are afraid of the ocean. Most don't have radar, GPS, radios, nothing.....
The lake is seriously boring compared to the ocean.

That is why I am considering selling the boat and restarting my flight
training. Anyone interested in buying a boat?? Here she is:

http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...oat_id=1412206

On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 14:15:27 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

It was November of '75 when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down without a
word, taking 29 sailors to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Jay,
I was a 22 y.o. student in Sault Ste. Marie that night and even if the
Fitz hadn't gone down, it was a storm I would still talk about. I
remember the way the clouds met as the two fronts collided overhead -
one set being sucked under the other - I knew it was time to head for
the house. When I came down the hill my housemates were taking the
storm door off the hinges - it had already smashed all of the glass
out.

A close friend works at the Shipwreck Society at Whitefish Point
running the ROV on their dive boat - I've gotten to see several clips
of the sections of the ship from their surveys. I can't write this
without feeling shivers. The sound of the bell may die out, but
memories of that night will never fade. Likewise, I'll never forget
how spooked I was when I first heard the Lightfoot song and how
personal it felt.

Thanks for bringing it up.

jb

That is why I am considering selling the boat and restarting my flight
training. Anyone interested in buying a boat?? Here she is:


Hey, you're not that guy on the Bob and Tom show that's constantly trying to
sell his boat... are you??

Jim

by Jack Brown JBrown@[EMAIL PROTECTED] Nov 18, 2005 at 04:01 PM


On Fri, 18 Nov 2005 14:15:27 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
jjhoneck@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:

It was November of '75 when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down without a

word, taking 29 sailors to the bottom of Lake Superior.

Jay,
I was a 22 y.o. student in Sault Ste. Marie that night and even if the
Fitz hadn't gone down, it was a storm I would still talk about. I
remember the way the clouds met as the two fronts collided overhead -
one set being sucked under the other - I knew it was time to head for
the house. When I came down the hill my housemates were taking the
storm door off the hinges - it had already smashed all of the glass
out.

A close friend works at the Shipwreck Society at Whitefish Point
running the ROV on their dive boat - I've gotten to see several clips
of the sections of the ship from their surveys. I can't write this
without feeling shivers. The sound of the bell may die out, but
memories of that night will never fade. Likewise, I'll never forget
how spooked I was when I first heard the Lightfoot song and how
personal it felt.

Thanks for bringing it up.

jb

Yes, thank you Jay. At the end of the day, mother nature is really in
charge. Pilots and boaters can only try to deal with Her.

"Dave Stadt" wrote

8 to 10 feet? Hardeharhar. A mere ripple upon which to play my friend.

No doubt; that is when sailing is just starting to get really fun! Plus, I
found the harbor breakwater by ded reckoning, using a compass, only!

Yet another tale, bracketing what makes the loser (Skyloone) quiver. Sad,
real sad.
--
Jim in NC

Steven P. McNicoll wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:3mlff.548575$x96.78928@attbi_s72...

It was November of '75 when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down without a
word, taking 29 sailors to the bottom of Lake Superior.


And inspired one of the greatest "make me late for work songs" ever.
Whenever Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" comes on
the radio I have to listen to it all, even if it causes me to be late for
work.

Yep, one of my all time favorites. I simply never tire of hearing that
ballad. Then again, I'm like ballads in general.

Matt

Robert M. Gary wrote:

Didn't they only recently discovered what acutally caused her to go
down? It guess they think that she had a couple hatches not secured and
gained water but that wouldn't have sunk her along. The documentry I
recently saw seemed to think it was bad luck of catching a wave on her
bow and stern at the same time while the middle of the ship was in a
"gully". In otherwords, the middle of the ship was out of water while
the front and back were lifted by giant waves. As a result, she snapped
in two from port to starboard right in the middle. Certainly the
increased weight in the middle due to the flooding hatches contributed
to the snap.

-Robert


That has long been a speculation, but nobody alive today really knows
what happened and even those onboard may have never known.

Matt

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead
When the skies of November turn gloomy.

With a load of iron ore - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true was a bone to be chewed
When the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
Coming back from some mill in Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the Captain well seasoned.

Concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
When they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night when the ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they'd been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T'was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it's too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it's been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd fifteen more miles behind her.

They might have split up or they might have capsized
They may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains is the faces and the names
Of the wives and the sons and the daughters.

Lake Huron rolls, Superior sings
In the ruins of her ice water mansion
Old Michigan steams like a young man's dreams,
The islands and bays are for sportsmen.

And farther below Lake Ontario
Takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go as the mariners all know
With the gales of November remembered.

In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call Gitche Gumee
Superior, they say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

"Matt Whiting" wrote in message
...
Steven P. McNicoll wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message
news:3mlff.548575$x96.78928@attbi_s72...

It was November of '75 when the SS Edmund Fitzgerald went down without a
word, taking 29 sailors to the bottom of Lake Superior.


And inspired one of the greatest "make me late for work songs" ever.
Whenever Gordon Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" comes on
the radio I have to listen to it all, even if it causes me to be late for
work.

Yep, one of my all time favorites. I simply never tire of hearing that
ballad. Then again, I'm like ballads in general.

How about "Dear God" by XTC?

moo