The World’s Largest Freshwater Ship vs The Gales of Lake Superior 

Fortunately this is nowhere even close to that bad, but last year had some massive weather systems that started pushing the danger zone again. Hopefully no danger this year, the Tregurtha has proven herself in storms though! The lakes deserve a lot of respect though that’s for sure. The Fitzgerald is proof that even a veteran crew which did everything right on a massive, proven ship can still fall victim to Superior. This canal is also the last place the Fitzgerald sailed out of. Probably a very similar scene, it started as a trip like any other, just like this one.

Fascinating to see these giant Lakers put out from Duluth. I left Marquette in late summer of 1974. Earlier that summer, the Edmund Fitzgerald docked in Marquette for a couple of days. As was the custom in those days, the Ship's Crew would hold open houses while or between loading iron ore from the iron ore docks. My Mom had me and my friend Russ Lutey aboard her station wagon, when we stopped at the pier for some smoked whitefish. Russ and I were begging my Mom to let us take the tour. We were both 12. Mom relented, and gave us some cash, and left to go to Shopko. She said she'd be back in an hour and a half. Me and Russ walked up the 15 flights of stairs to the top and promptly got into the tour with nobody else in attendance! I remember the engine room with the friggin gigantic spanner wrenches on the wall. These things were like 7 feet long and were for bolts on the engines. We toured everything, including the mess where we sampled some corn chowder, bread, and pizza. Yeah, pizza. I think we met everyone and toured everything. The guide, who was one of the Ship's engineers, (I just simply don't remember his name) made sure we saw everything. We both got to spin the ship's wheel, and use the fresh water spigot on the bridge. (that was a pretty cool thing to have a drinking fountain on the bridge.) We got to see the Captain, but he was on a telephone, so didn't get to speak to him. We toured topsides at the bow, then got to go below to the 'rail decks' to see the taconite being poured into the holds. We weren't allowed to get close as they were actively loading. Everything was brick red and dusty/smoky. And LOUD !!!!! Those rail cars dumping taconite into the chutes and down into the holds were the loudest noise I'd ever heard. I moved away at the end of the Summer to Arizona. I heard the following year about the loss. Nothing but great memories. No sadness. I can appreciate what happened, but I got the tour during the Ship's Prime. Everything was fantastic, and the crew took aboard a couple of 12 year old boys from Bothwell Middle School to show us what's what! Never forgot that experience !

@@mcmdrpiffle447 woah! That’s awesome! Once in a lifetime experience even if it wasn’t a ship that became famous later on for the wrong reasons! Wish they still did that, from what I’ve heard of Fitzgerald’s crew they were extremely accommodating towards the public, red carpet treatment for those on board and watching on shore.

No Brother, you are not the only one. I watched this and wondered how so large a ship could negotiate that channel between the breakwater! The storm you mention for the Edmund Fitzgerald, I missed. I saw one worse 2 years before from Marquette/Presque Isle harbor however. 45 foot waves over the shore end of the breakwater. No idea how big it was at the end of the breakwater by the lighthouse. I included below a short synopsis of my personal visit to the Edmund Fitzgerald in I believe......June/July of 1974. I simply don't remember the exact dates, it could have been the year earlier, but I don't think so. Me and my friend got a tour. I've written it out below. Love me some Great Lakes Shipping ! cmdrpiffle/Santa Cruz California

@@jonathanellsworth21 Nothing but great memories...no sadness... I wrote that carefully. Of course there was sadness, shock, confusion, and everything else. I simply wanted to state that after almost 50 years, my memories of that day ring bright, clear, and wonderful. In my 12 year old mind, I was meeting heroes with the Ship's Crew. I'm aware of the tragedy for so many people. I like to think of that summer day, when we stopped by to get some smoked whitefish. Mom was more than eager to drop me and my buddy off so she could have a couple hours without us ! We got so lucky she agreed to let us take a 'tour'. Me and Russ weren't even sure if there were tours, but we figured there were, as we'd taken one the year before. We were treated so very well aboard. We weren't a couple of obnoxious a'holes, but a couple of Boy Scouts who loved big Ships! I remember in the berthing area aft, I got to lay down on a bunk. I remember him saying that this was their home, room, and the only place that was assigned to him. Everything else was public. It was a few square feet of space, that even the Officer of the Deck couldn't touch. All crew had a mess, wash, living area, etc., but the berthing area was the only thing that was theirs. I remember wondering how I could fit my model plane kits in the bunk area ! So naive! One of my lasting thoughts, as we were led up to the bridge from the starboard stairs...the door handle on the starboard side was this rusted, white painted L shaped piece of steel for the door handle. I remember it only because I thought the rest of the Ship looked pristine, but the door handle had rust bubbling through the white paint when I grabbed it. Years later, in the 1990's I saw underwater footage of divers on the wreck. That rusted door handle was still evident, white, but rough looking. Not sure why, but that's what stuck with me. I had my hand on that door handle. Seeing it 25 years later underwater, looking the same hit a nerve. Just thoughts as they come back to me. I remember the smells ! One section of the galley had recently been painted. It smelled like paint ! The bridge actually smelled 'old'. As if it hadn't been upkept. There was a RADAR scope? to the right on the bridge. It had a black, thick, rubber shield around it to I believe block light? It had several long deep cracks in the rubber shielding and looked ancient to me. Mom picked us up after we climbed down. We went out to Presque Isle, and caught a couple of lake trout off the breakwater before going back home to Harvey. Cheers !

Thank you! And sorry to hear about your nephew in-law :( it’s definitely dangerous work sometimes

I watched a film recently about three youngsters daring each other to jump from the highest rock on Sleeping Giant into Lake Superior.

Thank you!

She and her near sister ships are all iconic now for sure, each for different reasons though! My favorite ships

Last ship ever to be built there :( but I suppose if you’re going out, what a way to do it!

Nearly 1/5 mile long

1013 foot

For most ships it’s pretty close to 24 hours to cross Superior, then a couple hours more to get through the Soo Locks, depending on what engines they have, weather conditions and route they take. As for the crew I’m probably not the best person to ask, never worked on one. I have heard 8-12 hour shifts but the food is 5-star quality on many vessels though.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed!

@@jonathanellsworth21 Best of luck with the channel.

@@insertnamehere313 thanks! Tbh I’m just having some fun with it, I film or photograph all the ships anyway so why not? Lol

Lol yeah been strongly considering it. Been trying to figure out ways to reduce it with what I have, in this case though wanted to try and make the wind a part of the video. IDK if it was the greatest idea ever but the wind was very loud standing there as well, everyone was shouting to be heard, so what you hear in the video is fairly accurate to life. 100% agree though, it can get really irritating sometimes. The biggest thing is though, I started posting videos on here a few months back just for fun, expecting maybe 10 views if I was lucky. Certainly not thousands or tens of thousands lol. So currently I don’t have any specialized equipment, nor can I afford it at the moment because I’m also dealing with moving to a new apartment and a broken jaw bone. In the meantime I’ll experiment and do what I can with what I’ve got. I’ll get to a new mic at some point once things settle down for sure!

Old trick for the annoying popping noise is to protect the microphone from direct wind impact by covering it with soft cloth or foam.

@@mikeyost3672 any idea how to do that with an iPhone? Lol

I like hearing the wind, it lets you know just how hard it is blowing. You can always use the volume controls if it's too loud for you.

Very cool!

Two and a half days roughly, they’re faster than they look!

Thanks. @@jonathanellsworth21

I’m very aware of the issue lol, working on it. Got any tips on the best way to do that for an iphone? Don’t have the funds for a better mic for time being, something that’s definitely on my to-do list. In this particular instance I don’t mind the wind noise *too* much personally, as it was extremely windy and I think it adds to the video, as it’s pretty similar to what I heard while actually standing there filming. However, in 99% of all other videos it’s incredibly annoying and definitely want to do what I can to get rid of it, for sure.

One way to improve the audio of your videos would be to take some time off from sitting on the lakefront, get yourself a job and make some $$$ so you can properly accessorize your pricey phone. Who thought anyone had to even ask that question! @@jonathanellsworth21

Lol there was literally a gale warning out

That’s for sure, the ships don’t use the canal when it’s too bad though, with a couple notable but rare exceptions lol. Hoping to see some big ones this year, so long as everyone stays safe!

Please read my response to other comments. Lol besides, it literally has “gale” in the title, can’t say I didn’t warn everyone :)

I like the wind noise.....hard to get a sense of wind and water if it is dead quiet.