| On November 10th, 1975 the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank with
all 29 crew members aboard. There were unusually large waves
at the time of the sinking due to an impending storm. |
During the winter time the
SS Edmund Fitzgerald carried more load to allow it to sit
lower in the water. This forced more water to come on deck
as the waves grew larger. Compounding the increased load was
damage to the hatch covers. The damage had been noticed in
an earlier maintenance check and was due to be fixed at the
end of the season. Since the boat was sitting lower in the
water, more water was able to enter the cargo hold through
the holes in the hatch. Once the water was in the ship it
could propogate throughout the cargo hold and build up. |
The combination of these
factors ultimately led to a quick sinking with little time
for the crew to react. |
