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“Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours? The searches all say they’d have made Whitefish Bay if they’d put fifteen more miles behind her”
— Gordon Lightfoot, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, 1976
A Journey to Whitefish Point
We were standing 80 feet above the ground beneath a bright, sunlit sky, peering across a great inland sea. Our guide pointed out the Walter J. McCarthy Jr., a thousand-foot Great Lakes freighter, as it sailed parallel to the shore.
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From atop the skeletal steel framework of the Whitefish Point Light, a Civil War relic that was built in 1861, the freighter looks surprisingly small against the vast waters of Lake Superior.
“The McCarthy is sailing near the spot of the Fitzgerald’s final resting place,” he states. “They very nearly made it to safety.”
A Historical Tragedy
November 10th will mark the 49th year since the sinking of the Great Lakes freighter Edmund Fitzgerald and the loss of its entire crew of 29. As tragic as the loss of the Fitzgerald and her crew was, it may well have slipped from memory save for a few tales told from the well-worn stools of Great Lakes taverns.
However, Gordon Lightfoot has ingrained the Edmund Fitzgerald wreck into our psyche and made it one of the most famous shipwrecks of all time, second only to the Titanic.
Exploring the Shipwreck Coast
Following a boat captain’s suggestion, we met in Sault Ste. Marie. My wife, Kathy, and I found ourselves in the northeastern portion of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Whitefish Point is 11 miles north of the unincorporated town of Paradise on Michigan’s so-called Shipwreck Coast.
Of the 550 known major shipwrecks lying on the bottom of the lake, at least 200 are near Whitefish Point. Looking at a map, it is figuratively and literally at the end of nowhere.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, located on the Whitefish Point Light Station grounds, tells the somber and absorbing tale of the puzzling circumstances surrounding the Fitzgerald’s disappearance. The 729-foot freighter was caught in a catastrophic gale and sank after taking on a load of iron ore at Superior, Wisconsin.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled in May 1978 that the “probable cause of this accident was the sudden massive flooding of the cargo hold due to the collapse of one or more hatch covers.” However, the report admits that analysis of the wreckage “did not give any conclusive evidence as to the cause of the sinking.”
Inside the Museum
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum encompasses several buildings, including the restored 1861 Lightkeeper’s Quarters, the 1923 Lifeboat Station & Surfboat House, and the 1923 Motor Lifeboat House. As we entered the museum’s main gallery, the muted notes of Lightfoot’s song floated down from hidden speakers, setting a subdued tone.
The Fitzgerald’s gleaming 200-pound bronze bell raised 29 years ago with the blessing of the families of those who perished, highlights the exhibit. Nearby are a large model of the Fitzgerald and flotsam, such as an unused life ring recovered after the wreck.
A Glimpse at Maritime History
But Fitzgerald’s loss is not the only story told. More vessels have been lost in the Whitefish Point area than in any other part of Lake Superior. The museum conveys the stories and misfortune of some of the over 240 wrecks that occurred between 1816 and 1975 at Whitefish Point alone and of tens of thousands throughout the Great Lakes.
Tragedies such as the Carl Bradley, which sank in Lake Michigan in November 1958, losing 33 of its 35 crew members, and the Daniel J. Morrell, which went down in Lake Huron in November 1966, losing 28 of its 29 crew members, are well documented here.
Whitefish Point Light Station
In 1983, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society was granted a 25-year license from the U.S. Coast Guard to establish the Shipwreck Museum at the station. Eventually, the Society assumed ownership of the grounds. The towering light is still an active United States Coast Guard light and is Lake Superior’s oldest continually operating light.
Climbing the Light Tower
After signing a waiver ensuring that we were physically fit and wearing appropriate footwear, we headed to the 80-foot tower. Prior to the tour, our guide asked if we suffered from acrophobia, the fear of heights, or arachnophobia, the fear of spiders (evidently, they find the light’s tower ideal for web-making).
After vehemently denying the former and tepidly denying the latter, we ascended the tower.
The view was remarkable from its lofty heights.
Exploring the Light Keeper’s Dwelling
The attached dwelling, built in 1861 at the order of President Lincoln, formerly housed the Light Keeper and Assistant Keeper and has been fully restored with period furnishings and artifacts.
As you walk through the dwelling, you can see what the isolated life was like for the Keepers and their families as they kept the light burning and the fog signal going throughout a perilous night.
The Role of the USCG Lifeboat Station
The museum also shares the tales of heroic men who risked their lives to help those in need. Established in 1923 and operational until 1951, the USCG Lifeboat Station building displays exhibits that tell of the perilous duties of those individuals who rushed to the rescue in open surfboats, battling the very elements that crippled ships 10 times the size of their wooden skiffs.
A restored non-motorized Surf Boat gives visitors a good idea of the challenges faced by U.S. Life Saving Service personnel who confronted the pounding waves of icy Lake Superior as they mounted rescue attempts.
Reflections on a Tragic Past
On a sunny autumn day, overlooking the calm waters of Lake Superior, it was difficult to imagine what those lifesavers encountered in their meager efforts to save sailors from certain deaths.
Powering an open boat with nothing but the straining muscles of six crew members pulling their oars against the icy waves of a storm-tossed lake the size of Austria.
Storms on the Great Lakes can rival hurricanes in their intensity. The one that sank the Edmund Fitzgerald had sustained winds of 67 mph, gusts of up to 86 mph, and waves reported up to 35 feet, according to another vessel in the area that survived the storm. The ship sank in 530 feet of water.
“They might have split up or they might have capsized. They may have broke deep and took water. And all that remains is the faces and the names of the wives and the sons and the daughters.”
A Monument to Memory
On the day that we arrived, the peaceful shoreline did not indicate the powerful forces that could lie just beneath the surface. The broad expanse of the beach begged for a long walk and thoughtful reflection. A receding tide revealed small pebbles and large stones smoothed and rounded by pounding waves.
Just before a great expanse of undulating sand and to the right of a wooden boardwalk, dulled grey by years of churning storms stands a granite monument topped by a bronze leaf commemorating a song and a maritime disaster.
Its simple inscription, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” is mute testimony to the impact of both the song and the tragedy.
The Legacy of the Fitzgerald
The Fitzgerald is the last major shipwreck on the Great Lakes and is, by far, the most famous. Most visitors, including ourselves, comment on and ask about it. Every anniversary, the museum honors its memory and the lives lost by ringing a bell 30 times.
Twenty-nine rings are for the shipmates, and the 30th is for all the lives lost on the Great Lakes.
The mystery surrounding the ship’s sinking, the Lightfoot song, and the loss of so many lives all combine to ensure its place in memory.
If You Go
Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum is located about an hour north of the Mackinac Bridge or an hour and a half west of Sault Ste. Marie, MI, and only 20 minutes from Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
The Museum is open every day from May 1st – October 31st. Hours are 9 am to 5 pm daily.
Whitefish Point 18335 N. Whitefish Point Road, Paradise, MI 49768
Phone: 888-492-3747
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