The Detroit District, established in 1841, covers 82,000 square miles of land inhabited by about 14 million people and includes the state of Michigan and portions of the states of Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota with 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline.
I like his knowledge, but him critiquing Gordon Lightfoot is a bit much. I don't think Gordon said Wisconsin and Cleveland to be accurate, those fit the song better. Saying coming from some mill in Minnesota, or fully loaded for Toledo, just don't fit the song as much.
The Song is for the normies. The song serves it's purpose to introduce people to the Fitzgerald story. While shipwreck enthusiasts and historians tell people the actual facts.
Who is your intended audience? If its the general public, you probably lost a lot of people when you started using so many 50 cent words (Academese). Your vocab is most suited for mid level college students and above.
Wow, three years and no comments ! I have questions. Did you become qualified on steam and diesel at the same time ? Does the Lea still use the same Bunker c ? I worked in engine rooms on the Cdn. side in the 60 s. It was all steam experience. I varied from hand firing coal, to oiler, to fourth engineer. Oldest ship was built in 1906 and newest was built in the 60 s. Vast differences but as you know principle is the same. The old manual jobs are good teachers because you are aware of everything that is happening. So I worked with triple expansion, skinner unaflow and turbine. Enjoyed your conversation. Henry
Anybody that says they know what happened is a LIAR! THE ONLY SOULS THAT KNOW WHAT HAPPENED SAIL THE FITZGERALD FOR ETERNITY1 No one else was there and there weren’t any survivors!
Thing that gives me pause on the Shoaling theory is Canadas coast guard dove the popular spot Fitzgerald supposedly hit not long after sinking and found no red paint skid markets or broken rocks indicating a collision. (Of course they could have just missed something, or even could be lying) The rocks west of Michipicoten island around Chummy bank north of Caribou Island should been dove too but weren't. Also the testimony from former Fitzgerald crewmen Richard Orgel and Red Bergner about the unusual flexing of the Fitzgerald during bad weather, McSorely himself supposedly calling it the "Wiggling thing". And the fact the keel was worked hard, McSorely never anchored in bad weather, and Fitzgerald was occasionally taking loads in the 70s that were more than what was intended in the design
I like that Ric ruffles people's feathers. Seems they tend to be the casuals and people who mostly know Fitzgerald from the song. While shipwreck enthusiasts and researchers in general arent as ruffled by him.
In 2016 my girlfriend was lucky enough to win round trip tickets on the Great Lakes Fleet. We went from Two Harbors and Gary. First choice was the Roger Blough, unfortunately that was the year she ran aground, So the second choice was the Gott, once again bad luck struck, Gott was repainting the guest quarters and they were unavailable, so Edgar Speer was our trip. It was a cool trip, I really enjoyed it. At the time I was near retirement for the Canadian National Railroad and shipping was something I already enjoyed. I had bought tickets for several years before this happened. I give those guys credit for that work. Very nice video, enjoyed it.
Wow thank you so much for sharing this. It is nice to put a face with the ship and hear about his journey. Very informative. Thank you Captain Alfson for taking time out to talk to us. Can't wait for the new season to start.
Captain Scott Hein is an absolute beast with his Philip R. Clarke. He is a great ambassador for Great Lakes shipping. He never hesitates to let off a salute and play to the crowd in Duluth or at the Soo. His wife, Mary, is another awesome human being. I hope Philip R. Clarke is having a good offseason and the engineers at the Locks are keeping warm. Essayons!
The US Navy constructed two warship classes by modular design in the '70 & '80s. Both classes were plagued with cracking of superstructures, hull plates & fuel tanks throughout their careers. The Fitz had her max load increased three times. She carried very heavy loads and her hull did a lot of flexing throughout her career, by loading & offloading and of course the wave action (30 foot waves on her last trip & 26,000 tons of load). She lasted only 16 years. No one should discount the stresses on that hull which very plausibly caused her loss.
I've always been fascinated by this story and the history of the great lakes. I tend to lean towards the idea that the EF did a nose dive and one thing that comes to mind is the condition of the 2 lifeboats. I can only see one reason why the steel on those lifeboats being ripped apart like that is due to them being drawn towards and making contact with the propeller
Kind of a stretch, but I'll go with it. What about the lock tour vessel? She hauls cargo in the form of people. No doubt had the greatest number of passages. @@usacedetroit975
i was on a pier way out during the white hurricane storm and i got hit by giant waves for hours but i licked a pole so i didnt get washed off cause my tongue was stuck......i dont mind cold water cause i have an uncle thats a leopard seal so im immune
We watch Soo Locks Today every day and are very interested in the progress of the construction for the new lock. What we are seeing is into stage 3, making the coffer dams but also seeing great heights and lengths of steel scaffolding. How is this going to be used. Your video and commentary is excellent and very informative.
Since they seem disinclined to answer, the new lock is apparently identical to the largest of the old locks (the one that doesn't get touched in this video). The two locks being replaced weren't used much because they were too small for newer lakers. While this is upping capacity, I agree with you: they should have gone bigger. My guess is that they figure that infrastructure limitations on the rest of the Great Lakes will prevent the ships themselves from ever getting much larger, so there's no need to future-proof.
@@princessofthecape2078 check your attitude at the door princess. There is no reason to build bigger than the Poe. No ships will ever be built larger for the shallow harbors on the lakes.
I’ve been watching Ships go thru the Soo Locks for 63 years (all summer time & fall). First time to see one in freezing weather. I wish my Dad was here to see this 😃. He’s the reason I love “up North Mi “. We come from Lenawee Co down State . Thank You for posting ❤️❤️❤️❤️
