Posted on 11/09/2008 8:44:08 PM PST by Joe 6-pack
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.
That's not funny
I thought that was Celine Dion.
lol!
sundown’s more interesting.
what did she do?
After Hurricane Katrina she let looters into her home to touch her big screen TV.
Good one LL
now that’s phunny!
i like that.
Argh!
I tried to like the song but it is SO darned repetitive, it gets in my brain and just won't leave.
any of you guys hear tony rice cover the song - a bit more going on in the guitar part.
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I didn’t know that they’d salvaged her bell.
What a story.
If you have ever been through a bad storm at sea, you do wonder where the love of God has gone.
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Obama Says A Baby Is A Punishment
Obama: If they make a mistake, I dont want them punished with a baby.
I saw those waves as I was coming out of Marquette with a friend of mine as we headed back to base. I've never seen the waves that high.
I believe the Fitz also lost their radar, and the radio direction beacon also went out at Whitefish Point.
McSorely had radioed the Arthur Anderson (which was trailing the Fitgerald) and told the ship's captain, Jessie Cooper, that he was had a fence rail laid down, two vents lost or damaged and a starboard list.
I saw the Arthur Anderson moored in the harbor in Duluth about 7 years ago as I was heading out to the Boundary Waters.
interesting.
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