t a load of taconite from Superior, Wisconsin, to Zug Island, Detroit, Michigan. Not Cleveland, as referenced to in the song by Gordon Lightfoot. The final voyage of the Edmund Fitzgerald began at the Burlington Northern Railroad Dock No. 1, Superior, Wisconsin. Captain Ernest M McSorly had loaded it with 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets, made of processed iron ore, heated and rolled into marble-size balls. (Nautical Workswww.nauticalworks.com/fitz/)Departing Superior about 4:30pm, Fitzgerald was soon joined by the Arhtur M. Anderson, which had departed two Harbors, Minnesota under Captain Bernie Cooper. The two ships were in radio contact. The Fitzgerald being the faster took the lead, with the distance between them ranging from 10 to 15 miles. Aware of a building November storm entering the Great Lakes from the great plains, Captain McSorley and Captain Cooper decided to take the northerly course across Lake Superior, where they would be protected by highlands on the Canadian shore. This route would take them between Isle Royale and the Keweenaw Peninsula, where they would make a turn to the southeast to eventually reach the shelter of Whitefish Point.Weather conditions continued to deteriorate. Gale warnings were upgraded to storm warnings by 7pm on November 9. On the morning of November 10, Winds were gusting to 50 knots and seas were 12 to 16 feet. While the storm was very severe, both Captains were experienced in this type of conditions. Captain Cooper maintained that he watched the Edmund Fitzgerald pass far to close to Six Fathom Shoal to the north of Caribou Island. He and his officers watched the Fitzgerald pass right over the dangerous area of shallow water. By 3:30pm the Fitzgerald was already in trouble. Captain McSorley radioed Captain Cooper and said: Anderson, this is the Fitzgerald. I have a fence rail down, two vents lost or damaged, and a l...
