Edmund Fitzgerald sinking still a mystery

By Maria Allard
C & G Staff Writer

CLINTON TOWNSHIP — Ruth Groit remembers hearing the grim news broadcast over the car radio.

She was driving when it was announced the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior during the evening hours of Nov. 10, 1975.

Groit’s heart also sank knowing the ship’s captain was someone she loved — her uncle, Capt. Ernest McSorley. 

“I flung my car around,” said Groit, who immediately changed direction and headed for Toledo to be with her aunt, Nellie McSorley. The captain, Nellie’s second husband, was Groit’s uncle through marriage.

“The news knocked her out,” Groit said.

Groit, 68, of Clinton Township, and her friend Diane Frazee, 59, of Mount Clemens, were among those who attended The Legend Lives … the Edmund Fitzgerald presentation at the Macomb Cultural Center Nov. 14.

Two presentations were held as part of the Great Lakes, Great Stories: Michigan’s Maritime Heritage exhibit that runs until Dec. 2. Groit attended the afternoon presentation, as did many local school children.

Divers Jim and Pat Stayer, retired teachers from Lexington, presented the lecture that included a video presentation of “Edmund Fitzgerald … The Lasting Legend.”

The ship’s specter and all 29 crew members who lost their lives still bring chills. Gordon Lightfoot’s song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” only heightened interest.

“It really captivated people,” said Jim Stayer, adding that there are more than 5,000 shipwrecks buried beneath the Great Lakes. “They all have interesting stories.”

Lost at sea
The Edmund Fitzgerald was 729 feet in length and first launched June 8, 1958. The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Milwaukee owned the vessel.

“The ship was named for one of the owners,” Jim Stayer said.

The ship’s final voyage departed from Superior, Wis., Nov. 9, bound for Detroit, loaded with cargo.

“It was in good shape,” video narrator Tim Juhl said.

A storm brewed the following day, causing winds of 60 to 70 mph and waves of 18 to 25 feet. On the video, Capt. Donald Erickson of the Arthur M. Anderson, en route nearby on Lake Superior, said the ships communicated as the storm continued. His ship made it to safety, but at one point radar was lost on the Edmund Fitzgerald and the ship swiftly disappeared under the surface. It was most likely traveling 41 mph when it sank 17 miles from Whitefish Bay, Mich.

“There were a lot of people I knew on that ship,” Erickson said. 

There are many theories as to why the Edmund Fitzgerald plummeted. Some believe a wave swallowed the ship, pushing the ship’s bow underwater. The vessel hit ground and broke in two.

Another theory is that waves lifted both ends of the ship — the bow and stern — but the ship’s center, containing the cargo, was not held by a wave, so the overload forced the center downward. Some think previous structural damage may have caused the sinking, or the freighter hit a rock.

“If you’ve got a hole you take in water all the time,” Erickson said. “You can’t pump it up.”

The mystery
Juhl said a search for the wreckage began “almost immediately.” The ship was found in 530 feet of water 12 days after it vanished. The bow was buried in 21 feet of mud. Because of cold weather, the site couldn’t be examined until the following May. Jim Stayer said rescue crews found several lifeboats nearby, and “they found all kinds of oars along the shore in different pieces.” Expeditions have been done over the years, and to date two divers briefly visited the wreckage up close.

Groit believes waves caused the ship to break in two and that’s what submerged it. She often thinks about Cap. McSorley, especially when she hears Lightfoot’s song or comes across information about that fateful night. Groit had been on the ship once.

Groit, who has a replica model of the ship, said her uncle had a quiet demeanor.

“He was real calm. He wasn’t loud or anything like that.”

He was away a lot, and it was typical for him to bring back lobster with him after a trip. McSorley was a wonderful husband.

“He gave (Nellie) everything,” Groit said. “This was going to be his last voyage. It’s just a shame.”

The Stayers present educational programs internationally. They have co-authored three books and produced more than a dozen DVDs. They were recently inducted into the Boston Sea Rovers, which they said is the oldest dive organization in the U.S. Robert Ballard, James Cameron and the Cousteaus also are inductees.

Fourth-graders from Hampton Elementary in Rochester Community Schools attended the Stayers’ presentation. Teachers Nikole Murawski and B. J. McCabe said the fourth-grade curriculum covers Michigan history and the Great Lakes. McCabe hoped viewing the displays would give the students “a better appreciation of the history of the Great Lakes and how they help develop Michigan’s history.” 

Ten-year-old Jacob Wirth, who attends Havel Elementary in Utica Community Schools, took notes during the presentation. He learned about the famous ship on a recent vacation.

“I just fell interested in how it went down,” he said.

The Macomb Cultural Center is located on Garfield Road, south of Hall Road, in Clinton Township, next to the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts. For more information on the Great Lakes exhibit, log onto www.macombculturalcenter.com or call (586) 445-7348. Exhibit hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 1-4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information on the Stayers, log onto www.greatlakes.net/~divelog.

You can reach Staff Writer Maria Allard at allard@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1045.