Posted by Derek White on November 17, 1999 at 15:21:05:
In Reply to: Re: edmond fitzgerald posted by Brian Rogers on October 25, 1999 at 22:01:34:
: Have read Anthony Strublic's comments and would like to add a fact or two. First, grounding off of Six Fathom Shoals may certainly be a factor. The "Authur M. Anderson" tracked the "Edmund Fitzgerald" on her radar and reported that she was much too close. Second, the "Edmund Fitzgerald" reported th have sustained top side damage. Now I don't know what sort of damage they were refering to, but I do know that she had damage to some of her top hatches. If one or more of these had been blown off, it could have caused a lot of water to enter the cargo area. Third, I read that sometime around 1969 or '70, that she had been run aground causing major structural damage. She also had a problem with hull cracks. Granted this was all repaired. But, if anything was overlooked, combined with five years of further stress, and the fact that by 1975 she was allowed to legally carry more load than she was originally designed to carry. Not to mention the severity if the storm and high seas, it is no wonder that her structural integrity failed under these extreme conditions. I also don't know if her pumps were fully operational. It is my belief that the "Edmund Fitzgerald" took on so much water that she became unstable. If she did encounter any freakish waves she may have capsized. Or she may have broken apart bridging the valley between two large waves as were reported by the "Arthur M. Anderson", which was following 10 miles aft of her. It is only my intention to point out possible structural problems that could have contributed to her sinking. If you have any comments or information let me know.
There are no positively known cause of the wreck however that said the most popular opinion is that it struck a shoal
causing a leak that coupled with the 30-40 foot waves and likely caused a split
and catatrophic failure (ie near instantanious)
forgive my spelling. There is a excellent book written by Dr. Joe McGuiness (again check the spelling) on the wreck and the history of the ship
he is one of the worlds premier wreck divers and researches. Having dove the titanic
including the Imax filming. Check out his book it's quite short and very good