I just read an article on Wikipedia about it a few seconds ago. At 19:10 the final transmission was sent saying "we are holding our own", but by 19:20 a near by ship couldn't find the Fitzgerald on radar.
Eerie.
It really is amazing that something that large could disappear so quickly
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During my active duty days (1981-85), on a rather small Navy Frigate, I went through four Typoons/Hurricains, two in or near port, and two at sea. One went directly over us (e.g. "eye of the storm"), but had "skipped" off an island before it hit us, so we didn't get a direct hit. We also went to "general quarters" for fire or flooding casualties at least four times.
There were times when I couldn't stay in my rack - the ship was listing at nearly 40 degrees. My roommate came off the bridge one night after his OOD watch white as a sheet - and he was a black guy! I've been on the bridge watching while the ship "surfed" waves that where twice as tall as the ship.
Yeah .. eerie, scary, and totally understandable. After you've been in severe storms at sea, nothing surprises you. Having observed the architecture of the Fitzgerald (long, narrow), it did not appear odd that such a ship could break apart in a severe storm. I don't think that ship was designed to be "ocean going", and it definitely hit severe seas that night.
God Bless the men and families of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
SFS
No, Superior.