It was a Monday.
Specifically, November 10, 1975. That is the day the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank.
If you grew up around the Great Lakes, that date isn’t just a trivia answer; it’s a scar. People still get chills when the "Gales of November" start howling across the water, and for good reason. The "Mighty Fitz" wasn't some rickety old tub. She was the largest ship on the Great Lakes for much of her life, a flagship, a titan that everyone thought was basically invincible until the moment she disappeared from a radar screen.
She went down in Canadian waters, about 17 miles from the safety of Whitefish Point. No distress call. No "Mayday." Just gone.
The Final Voyage of a Legend
The ship left Superior, Wisconsin, on November 9, 1975. She was carrying about 26,000 tons of taconite pellets—basically concentrated iron ore—and heading for Detroit. Captain Ernest M. McSorley was at the helm. He was a veteran, a "heavy weather" captain who knew these lakes like the back of his hand.
By the afternoon of November 10, things got ugly.
The weather service had underestimated the storm. Winds were screaming at 50 knots, with gusts hitting 70 or 80. Waves were reaching heights of 25 to 35 feet. That’s not a boat ride; that’s a nightmare. The Fitzgerald was being shadowed by another freighter, the Arthur M. Anderson, and the two captains stayed in radio contact as the visibility dropped to zero in the blinding snow.
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Around 3:30 PM, McSorley radioed the Anderson. He told them the ship had taken some damage. A fence rail was down, and two ballast tank vent covers were lost. He said the ship had a list—it was leaning. He started his pumps to get the water out. He sounded concerned, but not panicked. He was a pro.
What Really Happened in Those Final Minutes?
The mystery of what day did the Edmund Fitzgerald sink is solved by the calendar, but the why is still debated in bars from Duluth to Sault Ste. Marie.
The last communication came at 7:10 PM. The Anderson radioed to tell McSorley about another ship in the area. They asked how the Fitzgerald was doing with her problems. McSorley’s final words were: "We are holding our own."
Ten minutes later, the radar blip was gone.
There are three main theories about why she went down so fast. Some experts, including the original Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation, believe the cargo hold covers failed. They think the "Three Sisters"—a legendary series of three massive waves—swamped the deck, pushed water into the holds, and the ship simply lost buoyancy.
Others, like many members of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, think the ship "shoaled." They believe she hit a reef near Six Fathom Shoal, which ripped open the hull. As she took on water, she dived into a massive wave and never came back up.
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Then there’s the structural failure theory. Some sailors believe the ship literally snapped in half on the surface because of the intense stress of the waves. When the wreck was found, it was in two pieces, but they are very close together, which suggests she hit the bottom before breaking.
The Human Toll and the Bell
All 29 men on board perished. No bodies were ever recovered.
It’s a heavy thought. The wreck sits in 530 feet of water. Because the water at the bottom of Lake Superior is so cold—basically a refrigerator—the ship is eerily well-preserved. In 1994, a diving expedition actually spotted a body near the wreck, which led to a massive outcry from the families. They wanted their loved ones to rest in peace.
Eventually, the Canadian government stepped in and declared the site a maritime grave. You can’t just go down there anymore.
However, in 1995, one piece of the ship was brought to the surface: the bell. It was recovered at the request of the families to serve as a memorial. They replaced it with a new bell engraved with the names of the 29 crew members. Today, the original bell sits at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point. Every year on November 10, they ring it 30 times—once for each man on the Fitzgerald, and one final time for all sailors lost on the Great Lakes.
Why We Still Talk About November 10
Honestly, a big part of why we remember what day did the Edmund Fitzgerald sink is because of Gordon Lightfoot. His 1976 song "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" turned a local tragedy into a global legend.
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But beyond the music, the sinking changed everything for Great Lakes shipping.
Before the Fitzgerald, there were some pretty loose rules about when ships had to stay in port. After 1975, the regulations got much stricter. Ships are now required to have survival suits for every crew member. Depth finders became mandatory. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs) became standard so that if a ship sinks, its location is broadcast immediately.
We learned the hard way that Lake Superior doesn't care how big your ship is.
Understanding the Gales of November
To understand the tragedy, you have to understand the weather. November is the deadliest month on the lakes. You have warm air from the Gulf of Mexico colliding with Arctic air from Canada, right over the relatively warm waters of the Great Lakes. This creates "bombs"—low-pressure systems that pack the punch of a hurricane.
The storm that took the Fitzgerald was a monster. The barometric pressure dropped to levels usually seen in Category 2 hurricanes. When people ask what day the ship sank, they are asking about the peak of one of the most violent storms in North American history.
Actionable Steps for History and Maritime Buffs
If you want to truly honor the memory of the crew or dive deeper into the history of the Great Lakes, don't just read a Wikipedia page. Here is how you can engage with the history of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald:
- Visit Whitefish Point, Michigan: This is the closest point of land to the wreck site. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum there houses the actual bell of the Fitzgerald. Standing on that beach in November will give you a terrifying perspective on the power of the water.
- Study the Marine Board Reports: If you're into the technical side, the 1977 Coast Guard report and the subsequent NTSB reports are available online. They offer a fascinating (and sometimes controversial) look at the physics of the sinking.
- Support the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society: They are the primary caretakers of the ship's legacy and work to preserve the history of all "ghost ships" on the lakes.
- Check the Weather Logs: For a real sense of the scale, look up the meteorological data from the 1975 storm. Comparing the wave height estimates to the size of the ship—729 feet—helps you visualize how a titan could be swallowed whole.
The sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975, remains the most famous shipwreck in the history of the Great Lakes. It serves as a permanent reminder of the thin line between human engineering and the raw, untamable power of nature.