The Wrecks of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Francisco Morazan & Michigan
UPDATE November 9, 2007: Well, that cool YouTube video I linked to below has been pulled. The good news is that I found an even cooler video of the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald! (seriously, go watch this)
There's a feature on Absolute Michigan today called The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald & more Michigan Shipwrecks that includes probably the coolest YouTube video I've seen. This Friday is the anniversary of the November 10, 1975 sinking of the Fitz. I can still remember the wind of that day tearing the roof off our barn.
There are also links to other shipwreck tales including the far more destructive Armistice Day Storm of November 11, 1940.
The Francisco Morazan (pictured right), is a freighter that ran aground during a December 1960 snowstorm. The wreck is a few hundred yards offshore from the south end of South Manitou Island and as it lies in just 15' of water, it is the most accessible wreck in the Manitou Passage Underwater Preserve. It's a testament to just how hazardous the Manitou Passage was as a shipping lane that just a few hundred yards to the south of the Morazan is the wreck of the Walter L Frost, a wooden steamer that ran aground in 1905. The Frost is broken up because the Morazan literally ran over the wreck during the disaster of 1960. (Sleeping Bear Dunes NL scuba diving page). If you have Google Earth, you can go to this page and scroll down to fly to the wreck of the Morazan!
Photo credit: The Wreck of the Francisco Morazon off South Manitou Island by Paul Masck
50 Year Anniversary -
PLANNED DETROIT LAUNCHED CELEBRATIONS
JUNE 7th, 8th 2008
Comment by Edmund Fitzgerald — February 22, 2008 @ 5:10 pm
June 7th 2008
Gibraltar Historical Museum
Lake Erie Metropark
11 am to 4pm
Free History Event
The Lake Erie Metropark will be hosting a Downriver Historical Event and Celebration featuring the 50th Anniversary of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. This will also include workshops on shipbuilders, ships built in Gibraltar and downriver in the last 200 years. There will be a Salute to Excellence Award, Meet the Designers and Ship Builders Launch Commemoration and lots of Art and Artists. This historical event will be hosted at the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center and the Gibraltar Historical Museum will also be a part of this celebration day with Special Hours of 11am to 4pm Saturday.
Please contact Roscoe Clark at (810)955-4305, Debbie Davenport at (734)692-8901 or check website http://www.ssEdmundFitzgerald.com for more information.
Comment by Edmund Fitzgerald — May 24, 2008 @ 10:51 pm
Launching Whistle 12:38 PM LIVE
I also have the launching whistle I blew to clear my crew from under the ship prior to launching. I will bring it with me for the meeting and will blow it at 12:38 - believe that was the time the fitz was launched.
See it LIVE click here - June 7, 2008
By work worker that was there that day 50 years ago.
Ernie Brewer.
The first to receive the 2008 Official Certificate Of Excellence award. He was a welder from Great Lakes Engineering Works.
Only at the 50 Year Anniversary. June 7, 2008
Get yours too at the 50 Year Anniversary.
Comment by Roscoe Clark — May 26, 2008 @ 5:57 pm
"Celebrating the launch of the S. S. Edmund Fitzgerald"
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon on June 7th, 1958, as more than 10,000 people lined the banks of the Detroit River. They had come to witness the launching of Hull 301 at the Great Lakes Engineering Works of River Rouge, Michigan.
Mrs. Edmund Fitzgerald, wife of the president of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company for which the ship was named, christened the brand new ship and at 12:34 p.m. the 729 ft. "Edmund Fitzgerald" slid gracefully into the basin amid cheers, salutes, and well wishers.
For many of those in attendance, it was a spectacle that they would never forget.
The shipyard workers who constructed "Big Fitz" felt a deep sense of satisfaction as they anxiously watched the launch of this marvelous vessel. Being a prideful lot, they often endured long hours and harsh conditions. This was their "crowning achievement" and the beauty of their craftsmanship was truly evident to all those present.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of that memorable event. It is an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate a joyous time in our lives. It is also a chance to recall the great pride and cherished memories experienced by the ship workers, the community, and all who had the opportunity to witness the launching of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
On this historic occasion, let us joyously share our personal stories, renew old friendships, and fondly remember the day when the "Queen Of The Lakes" was born.
Comment by Roscoe Clark — May 26, 2008 @ 5:59 pm
LOCAL ARTIST AND PASTOR TO UNVEIL GREAT LAKES MARITIME ART
Northern Michigan artist and Pastor of Manistee Assembly of God, Patrick B. Pointer, will be unveiling his most recent Great Lakes Maritime Art Carvings as the Official Carvings of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Launching of the Edmund Fitzgerald being held at the Lake Erie Metro Park in Gibraltar, Michigan on Saturday, June 7, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.
“The first piece is entitled “Fare Thee Well,” to honor those who had anything to do with the ship, from the building to her final hours and to us today who remember those who have come before us,” said Pointer. You will see the “Fitz” passing the Great Lakes Engineering Works, where she was built and launched as Hull #301. The record breaking “Mighty Fitz” was the largest ship on the Great Lakes when she was launched and one of the most well known ships of the past fifty years. The second piece is entitled “Farewell,” an original carving of the Edmund Fitzgerald on that tragic night in November of 1975.
“I am honored to have my artwork as the Official Carvings of the 50th Anniversary of the Launching of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” This event has been brought together to honor those who designed, engineered, and built the ship and launched it in 1958. There will be many of these men and their families on hand as well as family members of those who served on the “Fitz.”
“This type of artwork is different from most,” Pointer explained. “It is like painting with wood… just as an oil or acrylic painter would paint in their medium yet instead of using brushes, paint, and canvas, I use chisels, knives and solid wood to create an almost photographic image.” “Like Thomas Kinkade, I use light as my source to emulate the entire piece, drawing the viewer into an experience for themselves.” From start to finish, light is important to these pieces. Unlike a painting however, these three dimensional carvings completely change from whatever angle you look at them.
Pointer, an accomplished artist carved professionally in the 80’s and 90’s before becoming a full time pastor. His accomplished works have shown across the United States and Canada in waterfowl carving competitions and in automotive artwork in places such as the Ward Foundation World Competition in Ocean City, Maryland to the REO Oldsmobile Museum in Lansing Michigan.
“Due to raising a family and pasturing in churches, I have been too busy to carve professionally until now, carving for me has always been a stress outlet and I am blessed to be able to start carving again and honored to be involved in these upcoming events and more.”
Pointer, was himself inspired at a young age by artwork throughout our country’s museums, from Mystic Seaport in Massachusetts, to the Dossin Great Lakes Museum on Belle Isle in Detroit and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, to name just a few. “It is my desire to inspire those of all generations young and old to preserve our heritage and understand our history and where we have come from, lest we forget.” His art will draw you into the scene to experience a moment in time for yourself.
For more information you may contact him at revpdog@hotmail.com or (231) 233-6621
Comment by Patrick B. Pointer — May 29, 2008 @ 11:51 am
New up date of a ship yard worker's memories .
Loge here
Almost fifty year's worth of memories are stored up in my mind since June 1958
the date the Edmund Fitzgerald launching . This is a few word's first of all to say
that Iam so sorry that 29 sailor's lost their lives on that beautiful ship that I had a part of helping build and to the families of those sailor's I would like to say I share
the sadness with you for your loss , I too lost a son but-- not on the Fitzgerald .
SO I pray god will give you strength and heal your sadness and give you peace .
The thing I want to say is that I hope that you believe me when I say that the day in 1975 when I read about the Fitzgerald my heart was sad for each of you .
but I also would like to say that I never welded on the Edmund Fitzgerald ! I WAS A WELDER HELPER and I saw as much or more of the welder's workmanship on her
and quality, pride, and love that the welder's and other's put into their job's as the the foremen did . I myself felt pride in my part of helping build such a magnificent
ship as the big Fitz . I heard everyone at Great Lakes ENGINEERING Works SAYING what
a great and beautiful ship it would be, it was as if everyone felt that this was going to be the most famous ship ever to sail on the great lakes and everyone seemed to take great pride in building it as good and safe as could be possible . I never saw any bad workmanship but-- pride in doing the our best on the ship . I over heard men talking about the beauty of the ship as a whole . like the galley ( all stainless
steel ) and as the work progressed I saw for myself how right they were !
7 hundred 29 foot long designed to not only be safe but-- to be beautiful.
I marveled at such a grand ship that I was privileged to be a part of helping in building her .
I know that the ship yard took great lengths to insure that the welding was done
right, ( example ) they X-rayed not only the hull weld's but the deck weld's . Now
imagine the strength or power of such ray's as it took to X-ray through thick steel !!! There was so much radiation that we were told that we weren't able to
work near the X-rayed sites for hour's !
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT the gathering's that have been at River Rouge
the last few year's has ment a lot to me in remembrance of keeping the memories
alive of not only the time I helped build this ship -but it also meant a lot to be reminded of my co workers and there are many men iam sure that although a lot of us sacrificed our time and our health in the working on the ship's . My father died at 69 year's of age with bad lung's , myself iam 68 years old now with bad lungs
and I have talked to other's about our exposure to the asbestos ,the exposure to the cold in winter and the extreme heat in the inner bottom's of the Fitz and other ship's was almost unbearable . I wish I had taken a thermometer and read the actual temperature ! still-- I feel a pride in the time I worked there ( I do feel a sadness that the ship sank but no ship is in UN sinkable , even though they said the titanic was ) it proved to not be so ! what iam trying to say is the tragic end of the
ship ( in my honest opinion was not due to faulty workmen ship at Great Lakes Engineering Works.) Also I want to say that I hope there will be another gathering this year so worker's such as myself may be able to meet after 50 years if possible in June . also I feel the families who are survivor's need this event to attend to listen
with an open mind as theories as to the cause of the Fitzgerald sinking ( and that is what it amounts to is theories for now ) I do hope in my lifetime that they determine the exact cause of the sinking because as of now , only god knows .
Comment by 50 th anniversary — May 30, 2008 @ 11:17 pm