Great Lakes Shipwrecks Disasters Including the Edmund Fitzgerald 

I hope that you enjoy the film and thank you for watching. Please check out my Dailymotion Channel at www.dailymotion.com/TitanicDocsbyMark Please subscribe, like, and comment. God bless you and Blessings Mark.

“We are holding our own.” The last words ever heard from Capt. McSorely and The Big Fitz. Two minutes later she disappeared from the Arthur M. Anderson’s radar who was only 10 miles behind The Big Fitz. 😢

Growing up in Australia, I was always confused as to how all of these wrecks occurred on ‘lakes’. Further research and videos like these have since made me appreciate that these ‘lakes’ are actually inland seas, and that they can be much more ferocious than those bodies of water actually called ‘seas’. Fantastic work with all of your videos - I have learned so much ❤️ Big love!

Saw the Fitz as a kid fishing on the Detroit river. Never realized the size of freighters' until I was in the Navy as an adult and great lakes freighters are massive.

Human greed brought down a few as well… that one last trip in November before the season closed, knowing these ships were overdue to be serviced

I know how quickly the weather can change! My daughter and I visited the States from Australia in 2015 (April through May)...we were keen to experience a few theme parks. It was while we were at Cedar Point, during the afternoon on a rather warm day, that a sudden drop in temperature occurred prompting us to buy hoodies. When exiting the shop we noticed everyone running towards the entrance of the park so naturally, we ran too, not knowing what was going on. By the time we reached the car park, not only was it was incredibly dark, the wind was so furious we had to crouch between parked cars to avoid being bowled over. We initially couldn't find our hire car...the wind had whipped up so much sand we couldn't see properly. When we finally got back to our motel after the ordeal was over, we noticed that each others faces were bright red from being sand blasted! We read the following day that a small tornado had run through Sandusky from Lake Erie.

Couple things I should point out about the loss of the Fitzgerald. As she rounded Caribou Island something happened, grounding and floating debris being the most common theories, but something. At 3:30 Fitzgerald radioed the Anderson saying they had two vent covers lost or damaged, a fence rail down and a list. The rail being down seems to indicate that the hull had flexed badly, it would take a lot of force to break the rail. The Fitzgerald went down fast. The damage was similar to that suffered by one of her sisters the Arthur B Homer after the collision that saw her scrapped. If you examine the wreck, you can see how much mud she pushed up when she hit. That is not caused by sinking slowly. Finally not only were there no survivors, there were no bodies recovered. The ship went down so fast the crew did not even have time to get out of the ship. In the wheelhouse that is a single door, this would indicate that the first sign they had that the ship wasn't going to recover was the windows breaking in. There was a recent example of a vessel being lost to failed hatch covers, the Henry Steinbrenner, however she used a different style of hatch covers, but after they failed it took hours to go down. Finally in regards to the Fitzgerald's sister ships, they were the Arthur B Homer, scrapped following a collision in 1980 and the Herbert C Jackson, still sailing the lakes today. One other thing, at no point in her career was the Anderson 730 feet. She was launched with a length of 649 feet but was lengthened to 767 feet, the length she still has today.

I read an article within the last year that researchers believe the Fitzgerald obviously had taken on water, but was also probably hit by a “rogue wave,” as has been seen in the Atlantic, but was recently documented on Lake Superior. I don’t remember how high it was estimated to be, but it would have been a huge solid wall of water. That makes sense to me.

I went up to white fish point on my honeymoon, and there are over 6500 ships on the bottom of Superior alone. People that don't live in that area of the country don't realize that The Great Lakes are small Oceans.

I'm intensely interested in Great Lakes shipping disasters. I think they underestimate the Great Lakes but in essence they are inland seas and as big as the ocean, relatively.

I live on the south shore of Lake Ontario. These documentaries on the Great Lakes are very interesting, something very mysterious about them.

Very well made and produced, it’s sad the price we pay, and for everything we take for granted God bless all those souls.

0:35 6,000 wrecks in 20 years - Thats 300 wrecks per year. That's insane. That's 1 wreck every 29 hours.

As a Michigander I am very interested in this subject and the Great Lakes on general (Lake Superior is my favorite). I've been lucky enough to dive some of the shipwreck preserves in both Lake Michigan and Lake Superior, and I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys a nice dive!! Please come to our state and see these wrecks up close. Its very safe and controlled. Fantastic video, thank you for posting this!!

Love these old school documentaries - thanks for sharing!

Cpt Cooper at on point said as soon as McSorly said rail down, lost vent, and listing, he knew it had touched bottom.

Thank you so much for your knowledge and input, I've always been fascinated with the great lakes and you really done your homework as far as the disaster goes

Great video..thanks!

Thank You very much. Great documentry :)

Thank you for this epic documentary; I subscribed

Nothing in the world is better than "going to anchor behind Beaver Island."!🤗

Great video thank you!

Thanks for the content

Great video Mark 😺🐾👋

To the guy saying the Fitz had to break apart on the surface. OK, like yea your reasoning is sound. The problem is no mayday call. The captain last said "we are holding our own" and then that's it, ships gone. If broke on the surface, well radio is right there in arms reach. There is no way there was not enough time to issue a mayday. This is why people think she torpedo'd and went down rapidly.

10000 sunken ships? What! Thanks for this interesting share!

I found this video to be very interesting and informative. Thank you!

When I hear “set tonnage records” what I really hear is overloaded. These ships simply weren’t made for rough seas and when you add to that age and years of overloading and deferred maintenance then you try and squeeze in “one more trip”….

The funny thing about those unsinkable ships is that they always seem to sink

There is a RU-vid video of Ed Kanabe, a very old man who had been the wheelman on the William Hawgood who visually witnessed the Regina go down. He said “She tried to turn around and tipped over “.

John on wives computer.Was the corpsman on Coast Guard Cutter Bramble and was on the bridge when the Daniel J Morrell disappeared off our radar in November of 1966.

Well done.

Thoughts - New info from CG about water in the hold required to lose buoyancy. Not addressed anywhere I have found - she was listing INTO the green water direction, did that impact the amount of boarding water that could have gotten into the hold? Also not addressed - she was 729 feet, the depth was 530 feet, but unless she went down vertically (unlikely), you have a triangle situation and it is doubtful the stern was above the water line when the bow impacted the bottom. This leads me to believe she succumbed to the tremendous load on or near the surface, possibly after the bow buried into a wave. And she didn't necessarily have to be negative buoyancy for the bow not come back up. Barely buoyant and buried into a wave would have been sufficient.

Greatest sound track.............ever!

I've watched several of these pieces about Great Lakes shipwrecks and casualties. It seems to me that regarding casualties no one gives adequate consideration to the bitter cold, crummy open lifeboats, poor cold weather clothing for the time, and long duration of exposure on incredibly heavy seas. It seems to me if you sink in these conditions, you were almost certainly going to die from exposure if you survive drowning.

Who else is here on the 110th anniversary of the Storm of 1913? Also, SS James Carruthers, another ship that sank (with all twenty-two hands) in Lake Huron during the Storm of 1913, has never been found. She is my personal Holy Grail shipwreck, not just in the Great Lakes, but in the world.

Excellent program. Thanks so much for sharing this with us. There’s a great book from the mid 1970s titled “The Great Lakes Triangle” by Jay Gourley which is well worth seeking out. 👍

Lake Michigan does not touch Canada

I just happened to be watching this on the Anniversary of the wreck of the Fitz.

you forgot St. Clair if it wasnt for it there would be no connection to Huron, I know it's just a puddle but I spent many summers on that little lake it has a special place in the heart for boaters there,we always see the big ships passing through and wave they are monsters compared to my 25 footer heh we love the big ships, it is crazy how fast things can change out on the lake from water like glass to crazy 6 foot rollers in a second, this is one of the best videos on the Fitz, I would love to show a short clip of it,this is excellent work, I have been researching this event to show in a livestream I will link it in description regardless,great info here

Never knew how vicious the lakes are.

What I think is amazing is that even at the elderly age of seventy years old the arthur m anderson It's still going strong today

The Witch of November!

A ship called the Phoenix burned, ironic, because Phoenixes set themselves on fire to be reborn….

I have a book somewhere, called ghost ships of the great lakes, now its just stories, whether or not they're true I don't know, but the first part of the book has all the names of every ship that has disappeared on the lakes, and it takes about the improvements made. But yeah, living by lake Erie, I can testify to the lakes tendency to get violent on a seconds notice without storms, and sudden storms that appear without warning.

They made songs about those waters. Remember the Fitz!

Ten Thousand shipwrecks tens of thousand of lives lost, the most perilous area of open water on the planet. Thirty years of living with the lake affect inside you, it does not leave you , even thou you have left it far behind.

These lake freighters are all designed to eventually break in half and sink. They are not built with watertight bulkheads- like ocean cargo vessels are. So the boats owners just let them run until they literally wear out and sink. best Bruce Peek

6:19 The Eastland capsized on the Chicago River.....

It's telling that three of these vessels--- the biggest wrecks of each of those decades, 1950s (Carl Bradley), 1960s (Daniel Morrell), 1970s (Edmund Fitzgerald)----sank on the last scheduled run of the season. If you're superstitious you might check the weather carefully before you sign on to that last departure.

What year was this recorded?

We circled the resting spot of the Regina, in my brother's boat, south of the harbor. It was marked by a large, orange Minute Maid container, attached to a massive rope. We had always heard stories about the shipwreck, though, until the mid 80's we had no idea it was right in front of our cottage!

If it broke apart on the surface you would not the compression damage or accordion effect which is visible on the where it broke apart. It makes sense that the Stern is upside down because the pop was still turning when to dig into the bottom .. the prop would keep trying to push it forward and once the bow dig so deep it would not be able to move forward any further and with the prop still trying to push the shop forward it would have compressed in the middle look an accordion and the the stern would have separated and the pitch of the prop would cause the stern to capsize

Bah these aint no storms I have taken dingys through, I say you call this a storm? this aint no storm! It's just you and me! just kidding cool show

thank you Mark

excellent doc thank you and God Bless !

The CG cutter looks like the Acatia ported out of port Huron does anyone know?

Fleming and Mays would like to take that picture back 😂!?

Was There any ice buildup? That is the thing that will get you

Did anyone check the rocks on the that sholle for paint or scrapes on them rocks?

I got caught in storm on Lake Erie. 20 footer lucky be alive. Those lakes kick some ass! That's for damn sure!

I think after he grabbed his pea coat he went to the poop deck

In memory of Cliff Weaver 1956 hurricane Hazel took his life Captain Pat Ferman deckhand Bob Hamilton lucky survivors worked the deck on the Maclin with Pat when I was 13 found memorys

Posted 4 months ago... but when was this made?

4K HD?? This is a standard definition dub from a vhs cassette. You can tell by the blanking artifacts on the bottom scan lines.

2 words = underwater drone

With the way companies operate it doesn't surprise me one bit the covers where crap. Everyone is always cheap af and it'll never change doesn't matter to the rest of us workers. May all those souls rest in peace 😔🙏😔🙏😔🙏

I don't believe the Fitzgerald broke in half on the surface. I think she started to because of the captains report of her cable rails being down. So I believe she buckled then split when her bow hit bottom.

(Inspired by "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot) 'Neath the wind and waves Are many mariners' graves Where lost souls forever are buried On board that great ship Till the sea loosed each man's grip Not one of them even seemed worried But November's tempest That great vessel did test None of its crew were survivors By waves men were tossed And all hands on deck lost Their graves found by deep sea divers Not many prevail 'gainst a furious gale That keeps all the sailors a fearing Save for a sturdy cape There could be no escape From sailors and ships disappearing She listed to port And then she came up short As the lake sought right then to claim her The crew fought all night To set the ship right From the unwelcome waters to drain her But no matter how they fought Their efforts were for naught As there could be only one winner The bow soon was full Drawn down by gravity's pull That spared neither saint nor sinner It was already too late When The Anderson's first mate Phoned the captain of the vessel now sinking "We're holding our own" But his fate was unknown As his ship the sea water was drinking Brave men met their doom With their great ship now entombed On the cruel lake's rocky bottom Sailors nine and one score Suddenly were no more For the witch of November had got 'em I'm not sure if they prayed Or what price they would have paid To see another day dawning But for them the bell did toll As they sank in the shoal While the angry sea was still yawning It's been forty-six years And an ocean of tears Since that stormy night in November To those brave men who are gone We sing this mournful song But in our hearts we shall always remember © 2017 - 2021

The one older guy who compared the lack of buoyancy to dying as a result of no heartbeat and the middle aged guy with glasses seem to have the best idea of how the Fitz went down. They have the same thoughts as Capt. Cooper 45:09. That's not true. The Arthur B. Homer ran until 1980. She was lengthened in 76, year after the Fitz went down

Its still hard to believe that a ship that size had problems on a lake! I still think it was somthin else morebon paranormal side

I don't have your captain's stolen ship.

i have a new theory of what sank the Edmund Fitzgerald. what if she was far more and severely damaged then the captan thought it was? as he mentions a damaged guard rail. i am wondering if there was more then a damaged guardrail! like a hole in the hull of the ship? and she started taking on water rapidly! and then sank. that however does not explain how she ended up upside down!

Good documentary... but calling old VCR footage as 4K is laughable

That's not what happened to the Bradly it was on it's way to a shipyard to get the rusted hold replaced but the greedy owners wanted 1 more trip it wasn't seaworthy and the owners knew it they tried everything they could do get out of paying the families

The railing is all that is continuous. Believe the witnesses

Come to think of it, you never do hear too much about recreational boating and assorted amusement activities on the Great Lakes.

No one knows how to pronounce Appalachia or Appalachian

Hey ScrewTube you haven’t had your purple-haired goons cancel me for 24 hours. I can’t believe it!

6 fathom shoal is actually a lot deeper than they thought it was. They didn't bottom out

This show is dizzying. It would be far better if you had stuch to one story or one topic and then moved on. The information is good, but that's all this is. There is no story, something that is really necessary when talking about shipwreaks.

You know I'm not any kind of naval architect but just from all the evidence I've herd about the Fitz it sounds like she may have actually bottomed out at 6 fathom shoal with the starboard rail down and missing vent covers my personal opinion is that she cracked her hull and was getting water in the vents the pumps couldn't keep up and did just take a nose dive after multiple hrs of collecting water and that was all she wrote, I think all the men that where in the wheel house got pushed down under the wheel house and that's the reason they didn't find any bodies, just from my knowledge of those boats and first hand experience from an uncle of mine who started off as a deck hand who is now a captain on the Great lakes running iron ore I believe in my opinion and as well his, who is an experienced captain that's been on the great lake for 40+ yeas