Edmund Fitzgerald Maiden Voyage

[ml1968lf]

Rest In Peace

[mickeytipp]

R.I.P. to all who lost their lives on that tragic night 36 years ago......

[StormDogPictures]

The day the Fitzgerald was christned and luanched, it was so exciting that a man had heart attack and died when the ship was launched

[boogeyman51]

it is sad to think about all of the kids a round 7 or 8 to go on and 6 years later to her about the ship thay went on went down

[htc6600]

Minnesota Public Radio hosted a dramatic presentation called "Gales of November" a few years ago at the Fitzgerald Theatre in St. Paul (Minnesota) which had stories, anecdotes and all sorts of theories about the sinking during the program. Kevin Kling did most of the narration and there were some really excellent songs as well. I wish MPR would offer this program on CD or even a DVD. Not only does it do just tribute to the Edmund Fitzgerald but gives a real feel for Superior at her worst.

[lancetop]

Wow you're my hero for posting this. The wreck of the Fitzgerald is one of modern America's most dramatic tragedies. I really hope the Fitzgerald is never forgotten. Years gone by can sometimes make people forget.....the Edmund Fitzgerald must never be forgotten.

[htc6600]

At 3:15, notice all of the "tin stackers" behind the Fitzgerald's port side.

[J88Wolf]

I heard from the history channel that the first casualty involving the Edmund Fitzgerald was a man that who had a heart attack (and died not sure) when he watched the ship hit the water during the launch.

[amanasatree]

Watch at 7:50 thru 8:09 guys trying to hold on to stern line. So funny!

[CSXer]

Thanks for preserving and posting such a piece of history...

I wasn't born when she launched, but I remember when she sank to her grave.

[riotgirl2036]

I don't even understand this at all, maybe my bad, but this video keeps showing the launching of a US Coast Guard ship, not the E Fitz???

[roadwolf2]

there is a rumour that she was cursed from the get go, it took 3 attempts to break the champagne bottle and then she slammed the dock when she launched

[htc6600]

Rofflemows, most ships are no longer constructed or launched this way. They are now typically built in a dry dock and floated out of them when they're complete. There are a few slip launchings for smaller ships but most of the big ships are built in dry dock.

[rofflemows]

it IS sort of amazing that even in modern times, nobody's come up with a cleaner, greener, less fail-looking method of placing the vessel into the water =P now it's just like, 7:19 "LOOK OUT EVERYBODY, THERE SHE GOOOOES!!" ...huge splash and crash, rusty metal Erector set crap breaking into pieces and falling into the ocean...

[htc6600]

Bad engineering plus bad maintenance plus overloaded ship plus 100-year storm plus poor choice of route equals loss of the Fitzgerald. Lots of books out there...read 'em if you want to learn more.

[punkfish79]

8:34 is the best part of this video.. such enthusiasm.

[josh360360]

so why is there a US coast guard bot in this video? :/

[gussethunters]

35 years ago today

[ronnie346]

R.I.P all 29 men we Homor you in your bravery of taking that voyage

You all will be remembered

[ewd76]

They don't make 'em that way anymore. Then again, they don't sink 'em that way anymore either.

[1899lpv]

No disrespect intended to famillies and friends,but,what is so special about the "Fitz"???I have relatives that disappeared in the St-Lawrence in 1952 with all hands( 10 men).The ship was found by mistake in 2008 by a ship maping the sea floor.Was it because of its size???

[dh222able]

@1899lpv well dude this is a historical ship i mean it set records man i mean thts amazing and this ship is a mystery cuz no one knows wht happend to it

[rofflemows]

@1899lpv the thing is, EF was caught in horrible circumstances in fairly shallow water and very close to safety (Whitefish Bay), she reported no final SOS, and the ship trailing her lost contact very suddenly. strange for such an enormous vessel. it was sorta like the Titanic...this grand ship and tough crew wasn't just gonna SINK, couldn't just vanish in a storm. but...it did  =/ i think these plus several other key factors make EF a "special" example of maritime tragedy.

[jrwel14]

@rofflemows The large size of the Great lakes. Plus they're far shallower than the oceans. Causes waves that can be far more dangerous to shipping than for the salties.

[hod05]

does anyone know were to get interior photos of when the fitz was new and what part of the ship is bieng shown at 4:43 to 4:57 some sort of lounge for the crew?

[RRYoungs]

What a wonderful video in remembrance of "The Fitz". Wish I had toured her decks when she was active. I don't remember what I was doing on November 10, 1975, but I wish I could turn back time

[ford9572]

LOVE Gordon Lightfoot's tribute to her!!!

[ibtnm25]

How long does it take to build a massive ship like this?

[doughesson]

@ibtnm25 It depends on how quickly the materials and equipment can be supplied,not counting other problems.I.E. USS Enterprise was built in 3 1/2 years but USS Nimitz,a larger aircraft carrier, took 7 due to shipyard strikes

[ibtnm25]

@doughesson Thanks a lot, of iron getting put together. Amazing.

[ShabogamoLakeRider]

@ibtnm25

She was built in a year. Her keel was laid in 1957. And they finished her hull on June 7th.

[ibtnm25]

@ShabogamoLakeRider Thank you Sir!

[flargmuffin92]

Three attempts to smash the champagne bottle....lines breaking and ramming the dock on the other side...guy having a heart attack as the ship hit the water for the first time.......not a good way to start out :P

[skilly58]

very nice

[shooterman20kills]

Well i c the puddle pirates got a new boat hope thier happy.And the E.Fitzgerald home movies were spectacular,at least she had a good 15 years of great lake service

[Northernstar9370]

Awsome! I wish there was more like this out there. Thank you for posting this!

[mercuryoak2]

wow nice launch . thats one way to clean the deck

lol

[TunesNorth]

Great video I enjoyed it

[Idolmakercat]

How did you get this footage? I can't believe I found this.  Thank you so much for posting this event. I heard that when they launched this that someone or some people get killed.

[DevynYoshi]

@Idolmakercat

When the Fitzgerald was launched, She hit the neighboring peer. A man watching the event had a heart attack and died. And some people attribute that...To, the ship got off to a bad start.

[Sarge679]

I saw the bell this year at Whitefish point it gave me chills then i went to Sault ste. Marie to the SS "VAlley Camp" they had the NO 2 Life boat form the " Big Fitz". Then at a Marine Museum in Fairport Harbor, Oh., there is a life preserver that is stenciled " S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald"

[Sarge679]

i ve been to the inland seas maritime museum

[Kamiosity]

What's eerie, is the ship rocked and tossed after christening, as if it didn't want to go to sea. And in 1975 it went down. (Eerier to me, on my b-day Nov 10th, and the ship that took place of the "Big Fitz" as largest freighter ALSO went down

and lost crew! (sorry it's late cant remember name). What a beautiful ship (freighter)

[xzane14]

My Father knew two of the Crew on the E. Fitzgerald... Seems just like yesterday....

[PaulyR36]

A lot of the old sailors on the great lakes considered the "Fitz" a cursed ship. From the Champagne bottle failing to break to her hitting the dock at launch. to her collision with the Canadian steamer HOCHELAGA at the mouth of the Detroit River, May 1, 1970, and other incidences before her sinking in Nov. 10 1975 with 29 souls aboard.

[BattleBornJackalope]

Scary Part is about the bottles not breaking on the first swing is yes that is considered bad luck for ships it happened on the USS Ronald Reagan CVN-76 Nancy didnt give it enough emmph.. I had the oportunity to transfer to the Reagan I declined.. Obvious reasons o.o;;

[METLCOMPLX]

do you have any info on this ship, my ad hoc group is making a video about it and anything interesting would be good, we have 6 weeks, just a 40 min video, thanks.

[irish69yeehoo]

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[briellejacobs]

Wow, what a great video. My grandfather helped paint the name on the Fitzgerald...and had a hand in building. After he passed away in '06, he passed down a giant dot drawing of the Edmund Fitzgerald and it's now on my wall.

[metalicaboy1626]

that's pretty neat im sorry about your grandpa but that is something to be proud of that he helped paint that ships name

[katails2008]

thank you! this video is absolutely the the best footage I've ever seen. Brings back memories. Again, thanks.

[KRRAZYO]

Truely amazing. I was there for the bell risisng during my orientation @ LSSU. Saw it pass. I still have the articles from the 1975 Detroit News. For some reason, I was captivated by this shipwreck. Ironicly, I visited Lightfish Pointe on the 20th annervisery. Rest their brave soles.

[AeroGMC]

lightfish pointe? thought it was whitefish pointe lol

[Maddenator27]

i love this song

[monsterMike18]

she was the pride of the American flag

[greenseaships]

I thought she was the pride of the American Side. With a crew and good captain well seasoned...

[Jackle61]

greenseaships; She was, and also, as the big freighters go she was bigger than most.

[motorcopjoe]

@greenseaships She was!

[RadioguyJ]

This is very interesting. Obviously most of the adults in this video are dead, but I wonder if any of the children from this video have seen this here on youtube? I'd love to hear from some of them.

[Deadq]

sad that she hit the wall. the start of a 17 year career and many problems.

[boeingLL747]

it started when the god mother had to hit the champaign battle three times on the hull to break it. then it hit the dock lol

[thedakota]

well its not bad but it is a little weird with the other ship.

[mrsooline]

In today's world, people would have no chance to inspect a new ship like this: the liability insurance would be too much. I found the footage of the Coast Guard ship launching to be pretty interesting. Most ship launches are done stern-first and it was very interesting to see how the launch platform was released. I'm also not sure if that's an icebreaker: the cut in the hull forward of the fo'csle marks it as a buoy tender more than anything.

[roundthirteen]

Mrsooline- The USCG tells us the new Mac is an ice breaker but she is basically a government compromise. The LCA and Shipping companies wanted a new ice breaker (or the old Mac upgraded) and the pencil pushers wanted a ship that could replace an ice breaker and 2 buoy tenders. It's ok at both jobs but great at neither. The old Mac was a GREAT! ice breaker. I also hear you on touring ships, I was a sailor and had to beg to give my family tours.

[gdfsob]

WHY did that have to add the launching of that UGLY icebreaker to this????

[N8EUT]

wish I could of been there, but I was only 7 years old at the time.