Topic: Gales of November - A Look at the Storm that Sank the Edmund Fitzgerald 41 Years

[miraculon]

My Dad sent me a link to an interesting article about the meteorological conditions that prevailed during the Edmund Fitzgerald disaster. Here is the link: Gales of November - A Look at the Storm that Sank the Edmund Fitzgerald 41 Years Ago Today – gCaptain

There is also a more detailed AMS paper about the weather conditions during this storm. The data seem to support the rogue wave theory. Here is a direct link to the paper, although there is one at the bottom of the page in the above link.

Greg H.

[PaulMy]

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they called '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 twenty-six thousand tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and crew 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 Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
With a crew and good 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 ship's bell rang
Could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?
The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the captain did too,
T'was the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashin'
When afternoon came it was freezin' rain
In the face of a hurricane west wind
When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
Fellas, it's too rough to feed ya
At seven pm a main hatchway caved in, he said
Fellas, it's been good t'know ya
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went outta sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Does any one know where the love of God goes
When the waves turn the minutes to hours?
The searches all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
If they'd put 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 rooms 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 till it rang twenty-nine 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 said, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early


Songwriters: GORDON LIGHTFOOT
© Moose Music Ltd./Early Morning Music Ltd.
For non-commercial use only.
Data From: LyricFind

I remember that November...
Paul

[DaleReid]

Read about the Daniel Morrell sinking.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/11/30/50-years-ago-just-one-man-survived-the-great-lakes-shipwreck-youve-never-heard-of/

I often wondered how the center portion of big boats, especially aircraft carriers take the stress of the middle sagging while each end is in a wave, or vv. when seas are heavy.  I wonder how thick the hull is. Must be feet of steel in thickness.

[ocala]

I read where several family members of the crew of the EFG were upset with Gordon Lightfoot for embellishing the sinking of the ship.
Great links Greg.
Thanks for posting them.

[CW2274]

Read about the Daniel Morrell sinking.

http://www.twincities.com/2016/11/30/50-years-ago-just-one-man-survived-the-great-lakes-shipwreck-youve-never-heard-of/

I often wondered how the center portion of big boats, especially aircraft carriers take the stress of the middle sagging while each end is in a wave, or vv. when seas are heavy.  I wonder how thick the hull is. Must be feet of steel in thickness.

I was on the JFK (CV-67) for a year and a half. Even in the heaviest seas, it was no more than a rolling motion that might push you into a bulkhead if you weren't watching your gait, as the hull never leaves the water (AFAIK). Destroyers and such, (we called them 'small boys') could get pushed around pretty well, but never was aboard one. As far as hull thickness, I believe it's around 4 inches or so.

[Scalphunter]

 Large ships  have expansion joints in the  and they also have  built in certain amount  of flexibility.  An rigid hull  would   either  Hog or  sag depending if it only on one wave  or  caught between  2 waves.  Some of you might remember those super tankers  that would break  up going around  Cape Hope back in the 70's  and early 80's .  That was  due to sagging  and the keel would  snap.  Ships where  just too rigid. 
 The framing it  what give the hull it strength  not the outer plating  Most ships plating is just 1/4 inch steel.  War ships are built little  thicker and in the armor belt area  steel can be up to 12 inches thick.


John