And the hull broke open and they all drowned like rats, as their lungs filled with water...
-Alternate lyrics.
48 years ago today the Edmund Fitzgerald went down with all hands.
Global warming and SUVs to blame.
Bush administration slow to respond.
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The news cycle was slower 48 years ago. Many people learned about the Edward Fitzgerald from the song. Almost like... a bard, doing his work, Gordon Lightfoot did.
ReplyDeleteAnd the song captures the despair of the crew and overwhelming power of a winter storm on the Great Lakes.
Lots of people just don't understand how primordial, how overbearing, a winter storm on any body of water, can be.
Moral of the story, beware the gales of November and thoroughly inspect critical welds. The current consensus ist the Edmund Fitzgerald broke in half where the hull had been lengthened.
ReplyDeleteI'm not finding where she'd been lengthened. The only major alteration from as-built I've found is the conversion from coal to oil.
DeleteThe testimony from former crew members about hull stresses and broken welds at the keel make me think she broke in half then sank.
The total lack of water-tight compartmentalization in the cargo hold is why both halves sank.
My bad, I misrembered increasing load line with lengthening but failed welds were definitely a factor.
DeleteKudos for the Cajun reference, I see what you did there…
ReplyDeleteDWW
GRIN
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