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Fitzgerald's Storm: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Written by a man who explored the wreck site of the ship itself, Joseph MacInnis explores theories of the sinking, the history of the ship, and tells about his 1994 expedition of the Edmund Fitzgerald in this 144 page book. MacInnis also produced a television documentary about the ship, and was instrumental in research and other expeditions to the Edmund Fitzgerald.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
131 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 27, 2019
Constructed at Detroit's Rouge River shipyard as an investment of the Northwestern Mutual Life insurance company in 1958 and named for the CEO at the time, the Edmund Fitzgerald saw 17 years of record-breaking cargo carrier on Lake Superior before it became a legend.
Due to the amount of research he performed, Dr. MacInnis provided a timeline of the life of this huge cargo ship from the laying of it's keel to the launch. From the accident and results of government investigation. Gordon Lightfoot's song that united the Edmund FitzGerald tragedy with the men who sailed the Great Lakes. The court case between two men who wanted to invade the grave site for commercial opportunities. And anniversary memorial services held to this day. And made the men who worked that last voyage come to life once again.
The storm that crossed Lake Superior November 1975 had many of the hallmarks of a cyclone/hurricane - winds were 40-45 mph, likely gusting higher; waves were recorded by the Arthur M. Anderson at 30-35 feet. There are several theories of what caused the sinking but whatever the reason, the ship tore itself in two.
The more disturbing second part of the book deals with the dives on the wreck and the commercialization and profiting from the tragedy. Even worse - in my opinion - was the removal of the ships' bell, replacing it with a 'commemorate bell' and using the original as the focus point for a museum.
In the end, it's a really good book about the most infamous wreck on the Great Lakes.
2019-30
Due to the amount of research he performed, Dr. MacInnis provided a timeline of the life of this huge cargo ship from the laying of it's keel to the launch. From the accident and results of government investigation. Gordon Lightfoot's song that united the Edmund FitzGerald tragedy with the men who sailed the Great Lakes. The court case between two men who wanted to invade the grave site for commercial opportunities. And anniversary memorial services held to this day. And made the men who worked that last voyage come to life once again.
The storm that crossed Lake Superior November 1975 had many of the hallmarks of a cyclone/hurricane - winds were 40-45 mph, likely gusting higher; waves were recorded by the Arthur M. Anderson at 30-35 feet. There are several theories of what caused the sinking but whatever the reason, the ship tore itself in two.
The more disturbing second part of the book deals with the dives on the wreck and the commercialization and profiting from the tragedy. Even worse - in my opinion - was the removal of the ships' bell, replacing it with a 'commemorate bell' and using the original as the focus point for a museum.
In the end, it's a really good book about the most infamous wreck on the Great Lakes.
2019-30
May 7, 2017
This is a short read and is captivating through about two-thirds of its length. The tragedy of the Edmund Fitzgerald's final voyage is largely recreated through the log and memories of the captian of another vessel that mirrored its course through a truly momentous storm. At its best, the book almost places you in the drama.
The last third recounts the politics and controversy of the exploration of the wreck and raising of the ship's bell. That part now seems trivial and frankly diminishes this book and all involved in the episode. It is a shame for the families. Many storms on the Great Lakes have resulted in the loss of ships - some were almost as notable in their times. This shipwreck is distinguished by the Gordon Lightfoot classic that has made this tragedy almost as well known as the Titanic or the Lusitania. Thus, the profit seekers and gawkers abound. In some measure, I guess we can all be accused of this excess. Still, the merchandising of the loss is unseemly.
One other aspect of the story also confuses me. People seem prone to look for a single explanation for why the ship went down - poor ship maintenance, hatchway failure or rogue wave. It seems to me that most catastrophic events result from multiple causes and failures, any one of which (or even smaller combination) would not have led to the same result. For one thing, I am inclined to place a lot of trust in the quality of the captain and crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald (and other crews of ships in the vicinity who provide special witness to these events). I suspect that the crew carefully and professionaly reacted to the storm and to its impact on their vessel. When the boat began to list, they would have tried to identify the causes and taken appropriate action. Their radio messages give no real indication of issues with the hatches or of water in the cargo holds. Maybe these risks would not have occured to them, but that seems dubious to me. I expect they would have reported it, if they had observed these issues.
The boat was taking on water and evidently had some structural issue that accounts for this and the list. My own view is that the age of the vessel; the resulting wear, including the cumulative effect of large (perhaps excessive loading); the significant load on the final voyage; some hull damage created or exacerbated by an almost unprecedented storm; misfortune in choosing a more dangerous Northern passage across Lake Superior; weather forecasts that underestimated the storm's ferocity; poor or inadequate communications and safety technologies; and the likelihood of some truly enormous "rogue waves" all combined to cause this shipwreck. Truly enormous waves seem the best explanation for the speed of the catastrophe - not allowing time for any SOS. Computer simulations and the final message from the ship seem to corroborate this assessment.
The famed alpinist, George Mallory, used the phrase "margin of strength" to capture the idea of ensuring suffient resources to allow a marginal activity to succced. We sail boats because of proven technology - vessels can be crafted that are dependently buoyant in almost all conditions. In other words, we are able to build a significant margin of strength to meet the potential hostility of great waters. Despite the prevalence of seafaring, tragedies like this one are so fortunately rare that they are highly notable. Nevertheless, losses are most common when the conditions are most dire. Therefore, the best explanation for the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald is the storm itself - and thus the book's apt title.
The tale does not lose its poignancy with time.
The last third recounts the politics and controversy of the exploration of the wreck and raising of the ship's bell. That part now seems trivial and frankly diminishes this book and all involved in the episode. It is a shame for the families. Many storms on the Great Lakes have resulted in the loss of ships - some were almost as notable in their times. This shipwreck is distinguished by the Gordon Lightfoot classic that has made this tragedy almost as well known as the Titanic or the Lusitania. Thus, the profit seekers and gawkers abound. In some measure, I guess we can all be accused of this excess. Still, the merchandising of the loss is unseemly.
One other aspect of the story also confuses me. People seem prone to look for a single explanation for why the ship went down - poor ship maintenance, hatchway failure or rogue wave. It seems to me that most catastrophic events result from multiple causes and failures, any one of which (or even smaller combination) would not have led to the same result. For one thing, I am inclined to place a lot of trust in the quality of the captain and crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald (and other crews of ships in the vicinity who provide special witness to these events). I suspect that the crew carefully and professionaly reacted to the storm and to its impact on their vessel. When the boat began to list, they would have tried to identify the causes and taken appropriate action. Their radio messages give no real indication of issues with the hatches or of water in the cargo holds. Maybe these risks would not have occured to them, but that seems dubious to me. I expect they would have reported it, if they had observed these issues.
The boat was taking on water and evidently had some structural issue that accounts for this and the list. My own view is that the age of the vessel; the resulting wear, including the cumulative effect of large (perhaps excessive loading); the significant load on the final voyage; some hull damage created or exacerbated by an almost unprecedented storm; misfortune in choosing a more dangerous Northern passage across Lake Superior; weather forecasts that underestimated the storm's ferocity; poor or inadequate communications and safety technologies; and the likelihood of some truly enormous "rogue waves" all combined to cause this shipwreck. Truly enormous waves seem the best explanation for the speed of the catastrophe - not allowing time for any SOS. Computer simulations and the final message from the ship seem to corroborate this assessment.
The famed alpinist, George Mallory, used the phrase "margin of strength" to capture the idea of ensuring suffient resources to allow a marginal activity to succced. We sail boats because of proven technology - vessels can be crafted that are dependently buoyant in almost all conditions. In other words, we are able to build a significant margin of strength to meet the potential hostility of great waters. Despite the prevalence of seafaring, tragedies like this one are so fortunately rare that they are highly notable. Nevertheless, losses are most common when the conditions are most dire. Therefore, the best explanation for the loss of the Edmund Fitzgerald is the storm itself - and thus the book's apt title.
The tale does not lose its poignancy with time.
November 2, 2022
Dr. Joseph MacInnis has incredible credentials when it comes to diving and shipwrecks. This was a book I could not put down! November 10, 1975 was when the Edmund Fitzgerald, an iron ore tanker, sunk to the bottom of Lake Superior, having been commissioned in 1958.
All of the 29 sailors aboard died. The Edmund Fitzgerald was as big as a 72-story skyscraper. She moved at the speed of 18 knots.
The lake was almost 400 miles from west to east and at one point was 160 miles from north to south.
There were 21 rectangular hatch openings Each hatch cover weighed 7 tons. Each hatch was filled with taconite, a low-grade iron ore; each holding 300 tons of taconite pellets. In total she held 26,116 tons of iron ore.
In November, tankers usually stop shipping because of the possibility of horrendous storms/gales/hurricanes. Fog makes visibility almost impossible, as well as ice, rain, sleet, and waves of water that completely engulf the ship. The Edmund Fitzgerald ran into one of these storms. It was the last trip she ever took.
You will find out about the history of shipwrecks and the history of the Edmund Fitzgerald from the first renditions of her on paper to her final journey. You will meet the sailors of various ranks, the storm, and the families waiting for them to come home. You will find out about the many legal issues that faced different people involved with the ship. You will remember Gordon Lightfoot's song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
All of the 29 sailors aboard died. The Edmund Fitzgerald was as big as a 72-story skyscraper. She moved at the speed of 18 knots.
The lake was almost 400 miles from west to east and at one point was 160 miles from north to south.
There were 21 rectangular hatch openings Each hatch cover weighed 7 tons. Each hatch was filled with taconite, a low-grade iron ore; each holding 300 tons of taconite pellets. In total she held 26,116 tons of iron ore.
In November, tankers usually stop shipping because of the possibility of horrendous storms/gales/hurricanes. Fog makes visibility almost impossible, as well as ice, rain, sleet, and waves of water that completely engulf the ship. The Edmund Fitzgerald ran into one of these storms. It was the last trip she ever took.
You will find out about the history of shipwrecks and the history of the Edmund Fitzgerald from the first renditions of her on paper to her final journey. You will meet the sailors of various ranks, the storm, and the families waiting for them to come home. You will find out about the many legal issues that faced different people involved with the ship. You will remember Gordon Lightfoot's song, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".
February 6, 2019
Short little read. MacInnis is a surprisingly decent writer, but does get a little overly dramatic with his imagery. He also gets carried away describing pretty mundane activities. Could have benefited from a little more editing. The most striking aspect of this book, though, is MacInnis's overwhelming disdain for both Fred Shannon and Tom Farnquist, two shipwreck divers who have used the tragedy of the Fitzgerald sinking to cash in. Selling everything from cheap merchandise like coffee mugs and key chains to, DVDs, public talks and presentations, and tickets to museum exhibits featuring artifacts recovered (some argue stolen) from the wreckage; most notably, the Fitzgerald's bell.
July 22, 2025
While I found it occasionally got a bit unfocused around the end and could have done with a bit more attention to the various families of the dead, this is a very well-written book that succinctly explores the sinking and legacy of the Fitzgerald in an engaging and often surprisingly intimate way. A brisk read that absorbed me to the point that I finished it in a much shorter time than anticipated.
November 28, 2015
"Fitzgerald's Storm", MacInnis's Rant
I had high hopes for this book. Dr. Joseph MacInnis led two expeditions to the wreck of the ore freighter "Edmund Fitzgerald", one in 1994, the other in 1995. The latter of which recovered the ship's bell, which became a memorial at Whitefish Point, Michigan. What insights could his book offer about this expeditions, and the wreck itself? Sadly, he offers very little.
MacInnis tells the story of the "Fitzgerald" well up until chapter thirteen, entitled "For Sale: The Soul of a Ship." From that point on, MacInnis decries the recovery of the very bell he helped bring back to the surface. He also laces his text with dismissive attacks on Frederick J. Shannon, Tom Farnquist, and Emory Kirstoff. The latter two men were involved with the bell recovery expedition, while Shannon led his own expedition to the "Fitzgerald" in 1994 and later sued Farnquist to stop the bell from being recovered. MacInnis paints Farnquist and Shannon as friends turned rivals who hated each other, and Kristoff as a supreme egotist (whenever he mentions him at all, which is very briefly). In essence, apart from a moving closing chapter, and an interesting chapter discussing the recovery of the ship's bell, "Fitzgerald's Storm" dissolves into a rant on MacInnis's part from chapter thirteen on.
Nevertheless, MacInnis raised one accusation that I felt merited further investigation. MacInnis claimed Tom Farnquist recovered some taconite pellets from the "Fitzgerald" in 1995. Further investigation on my part revealed that taconite pellets came to the surface on MacInnis's 1994 expedition (which Farnquist was present for as an observer) but, despite a youtube video allegedly showing the crew of the sub "Celia" scooping up some taconite for souvenirs with the sub's robotic arm, whatever the video showed, the pellets in question actually were inadvertently picked up by the "Celia"'s runners. The Ontario Ministry, which oversees the wreck due to the "Fitzgerald" sinking in the Canadian side of Lake Superior, was informed of this but were not unduly dismayed, since such disturbances of the wreck site were bound to happen with 26,000 tons of taconite pellets scattered about the "Fitzgerald"'s wreck site due to the ship breaking in two when she was lost. (Source: James E. Spurr, letter to author, November 4th, 2008.) Therefore, MacInnis's claim regarding Farnquist and the taconite pellets in 1995 is a gross exaggeration of an event which took place in 1994, which means one must read "Fitzgerald's Storm" with the proverbial pinch of salt once its thirteenth chapter is reached.
I had high hopes for this book. Dr. Joseph MacInnis led two expeditions to the wreck of the ore freighter "Edmund Fitzgerald", one in 1994, the other in 1995. The latter of which recovered the ship's bell, which became a memorial at Whitefish Point, Michigan. What insights could his book offer about this expeditions, and the wreck itself? Sadly, he offers very little.
MacInnis tells the story of the "Fitzgerald" well up until chapter thirteen, entitled "For Sale: The Soul of a Ship." From that point on, MacInnis decries the recovery of the very bell he helped bring back to the surface. He also laces his text with dismissive attacks on Frederick J. Shannon, Tom Farnquist, and Emory Kirstoff. The latter two men were involved with the bell recovery expedition, while Shannon led his own expedition to the "Fitzgerald" in 1994 and later sued Farnquist to stop the bell from being recovered. MacInnis paints Farnquist and Shannon as friends turned rivals who hated each other, and Kristoff as a supreme egotist (whenever he mentions him at all, which is very briefly). In essence, apart from a moving closing chapter, and an interesting chapter discussing the recovery of the ship's bell, "Fitzgerald's Storm" dissolves into a rant on MacInnis's part from chapter thirteen on.
Nevertheless, MacInnis raised one accusation that I felt merited further investigation. MacInnis claimed Tom Farnquist recovered some taconite pellets from the "Fitzgerald" in 1995. Further investigation on my part revealed that taconite pellets came to the surface on MacInnis's 1994 expedition (which Farnquist was present for as an observer) but, despite a youtube video allegedly showing the crew of the sub "Celia" scooping up some taconite for souvenirs with the sub's robotic arm, whatever the video showed, the pellets in question actually were inadvertently picked up by the "Celia"'s runners. The Ontario Ministry, which oversees the wreck due to the "Fitzgerald" sinking in the Canadian side of Lake Superior, was informed of this but were not unduly dismayed, since such disturbances of the wreck site were bound to happen with 26,000 tons of taconite pellets scattered about the "Fitzgerald"'s wreck site due to the ship breaking in two when she was lost. (Source: James E. Spurr, letter to author, November 4th, 2008.) Therefore, MacInnis's claim regarding Farnquist and the taconite pellets in 1995 is a gross exaggeration of an event which took place in 1994, which means one must read "Fitzgerald's Storm" with the proverbial pinch of salt once its thirteenth chapter is reached.
July 11, 2016
It was an interesting read. It gave a little background of the crew and lots of specifics on the ship. The writing was fine. I didn't learn much more than I already knew from the song.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews