1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

The church bell chimed till it rang 29 times....

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Rosie, Nov 10, 2008.

  1. Rosie

    Rosie Active Member

    Dives to the Fitzgerald should be banned altogether

    If you've never seen the Great Lakes, it's hard to explain their size. You can not see across Lake Superior. At all. We were down on Park Point (in Duluth) on a rare 90 plus day in July - this was about 20 years ago. My buds and I were tossing a football around and my friend's little brother overthrew me, the ball landed in the lake. I ran after it and lost my breath with how cold the water is. The surface temp of Lake Superior (according to a federal official I just asked) is in the mid-40s, where the Fitz went down, high 30s.

    When I lived in Duluth, I loved to watch the ore boats. Somewhere on my email, I have some pics taken on a ship in the middle of Lake Superior - if I can find them, I'll post them.

    And yes, I listened to the song today. I was surprised to see that was the only Gordon Lightfoot song I have on my Zune. I need to fix that.
     
  2. Rosie

    Rosie Active Member

    K, I found the email with the pics. The email said the pictures were taken aboard Misener Steamships MV Selkirk Settler as she crossed Lake Superior in typical November weather. The pictures, if the email is correct, would have been taken November 2007.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 15, 2014
  3. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    And that's typical November weather. The storm that sank the Fitz was particularly brutal. Plus, when she went down, it was shortly after 7 p.m., meaning it was already dark. There would have been zero visibility, both literally and figuratively, as the radars were gone. She was sailing blind.
     
  4. Double Down

    Double Down Well-Known Member

    Good YouTube video that includes a lot of Rosie's pics and demonstrates how severe the weather can be.



    I think I posted this on last year's Ed Fitz/Lightfoot thread, but in eighth grade, I had a science teacher who would occasionally get fed up with all the bullshit bureaucracy of teaching. About twice a year, he'd rip up his lesson plan, put out his guitar and play songs for the entire hour. We'd sit there mesmerized. He loved Lightfoot, and "Wreck of..." and "If You Could Read My Mind" were two of his favorites. I like "Wreck Of..." a lot, but "If You Could Read My Mind" is such a sad, beautiful, haunting song, it remains one of my all-time favorites.

    Also, I contend that "Sundown" has one of the five coolest opening lines of any song, ever.

    I can see her lying back in her satin dress;
    In a room where you do what you don't confess.
     
  5. Rough Mix

    Rough Mix Guest

    The same organization that took taconite pellets from the Fitzgerald site in 1994 dove it in 2002 without a permit from Ontario by their own admission. In the past they have taken a wedding ring from remains on a different wreck. It's hard to enforce such a ban, but I hope people show some restaint.

    The Kamloops wreck has a body floating in the engine room. It's open to divers. Still has it's wedding ring on according to those who have seen it.

    Shoeless, I believe we saw different shows on the subject. In doing some Googling, I think the one Double J and I referenced was on the Discovery Channel. We'll most likely never know for sure, but I think they bottomed out and that led to them taking on water, and the the rogue wave drove them down.

    My great-grandfather drowned in Lake Superior. He fell in and the cold probably got him they said.
     
  6. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    "I don't like him" is far different than "overrated". You should learn the difference.
     
  7. Bob Cook

    Bob Cook Active Member

    For my relatives on the Lake Superior shore in Michigan, seeing the first ore boat is the official first sign of spring.
     
  8. Double J

    Double J Active Member

    Where do your relatives live, Bob? My dad's dad was from Marquette.
     
  9. Colton

    Colton Active Member

    Such a haunting song of a tragedy.

    The fact the families of the victims embrace the song is enough for me.

    I have the 45 of this. I'll be putting it on the turntable when I get home.

    Thanks for the thread, Rosie.
     
  10. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Listening to it right now.

    Haunting.
     
  11. Shoeless Joe

    Shoeless Joe Active Member

    Anybody low enough to take a wedding ring (or any other personal property) off a dead body in a ship wreck (or any other accident) should be thrown naked back into the water with a cinder block tied around their neck. That might be the lowest thing I've ever heard. The legitimate salvaging of parts of the ship or whatever is one thing, but to loot people who have died is a ticket on the hell express.
     
  12. On the same album as Wreck -- Summertime Dream, I believe -- are Race Among The Ruins, and I'm Not Supposed To Care, which I also like.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page