New shipwreck documentary released on anniversary Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking

Thirty-three years ago today after a fierce winter storm sent the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald to the bottom of Lake Superior, a new video has been released that explores the latest theories behind the ship's sinking.

Mark Gumbinger of Kenosha, Wis., who has produced 31 documentaries on shipwrecks and lighthouses, recently released "The Edmund Fitzgerald Controversy."

"The wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is arguably the most famous shipwreck story told around the Great Lakes," Gumbinger said. "Yet the question remains, 'What really happened to the Mighty Fitz that cold November night?' "

The ship sank on Nov. 10, 1975, with a loss of 29 lives as a cyclone-velocity storm swept over Lake Superior.

Gumbinger said since the ship sank 33 years ago, interest in the shipwreck has "grown and grown." He said people are interested in the Edmund Fitzgerald because it happened in their lifetime, unlike the Titanic, which sank in 1912.

Gumbinger's latest documentary explores the various theories as to why the 729-foot-long freighter went down in 530 feet of water -- in particular the possible faulty hatch covers that allowed water to pour into the ship. Gumbinger said this theory is supported by U.S. Coast Guard testing and computer models.

Other theories include the long ship breaking in two because of rough seas or being damaged by ramming into shoals. Others say it was the crew or faulty equipment or an unidentified object. Adding to the mystery is that the ship was considered modern, was piloted by the highly experienced Capt. Ernest McSorley and disappeared without a single communication or SOS.

Gumbinger said he expects his documentary, like his others, to sell well in Michigan, which he says has a tremendous interest in ships and shipping disasters. Gumbinger's video includes underwater footage of the ship as it lies in two sections in 530 feet of water. The program includes pictures of the 729-foot-long freighter in service.

Although he lives in Wisconsin, Gumbinger's documentaries are familiar in West Michigan and can be found at many area libraries. Some of his documentaries have focused on ships of the area, including the car ferry Milwaukee, which sank Oct. 22, 1929, while sailing from Milwaukee to Grand Haven, and the passenger ship S.S. Wisconsin, which sank in 1929.

Gumbinger also has produced a documentary on three Whitefish Bay shipwrecks, the 1956 sinking of the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria, and the sinking of the freighter Daniel J. Morrell.

The new Edmund Fitzgerald sinking documentary by Mark Gumbinger is available for $39.95 plus $6.95 shipping from Southport Video Productions, 9928 32nd Ave., Kenosha, Wis., 53158; or by calling (800) 642-9860; on Internet at www.edmundfizgerald.com.

The wife and I drove up to Whitefish Point 5 years ago when she was “just” the girlfriend at the time. We drove across the Mackinac bridge and stayed in St Ignace for the evening.

That night, there were 105 MPH winds which swept through the lake and there was a steady head of wind when we made our way to Whitefish Point the next morning. As we walked the shores in front of the Fitzgerald memorial, powerful 12’ rollers crashed into the polished rocks lining the beach. Out in the distance, there was a lone freighter making its way through the powerful waves...I will see if I can find a pic of the ship.

Nothing makes a more solemn impact than standing on those shores with powerful weather blowing in your face.

The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald
by Gordon Lightfoot

The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down
Of the big lake they call 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 - 26,000 tons more
Than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
That good ship and true 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 Wisconson
As the big freighters go it was bigger than most
With a crew and the 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 ships bell rang
Could it be the North Wind they’d been feeling.

The wind in the wires made a tattletale sound
And a wave broke over the railing
And every man knew, as the Captain did, too,
T’was the witch of November come stealing.

The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
When the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came it was freezing rain
In the face of a hurricane West Wind

When supper time came the old cook came on deck
Saying fellows it’s too rough to feed ya
At 7PM a main hatchway caved in
He said fellas it’s been good to know ya.

The Captain wired in he had water coming in
And the good ship and crew was in peril
And later that night when his lights went out of sight
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes
When the words turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay
If they’d 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 ruins 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, ‘til it rang 29 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 say, never gives up her dead
When the gales of November come early.

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