The Arthur M. Anderson Passes Marysville

So I decided to follow the Anderson down the St. Clair River and with this, we will continue the story....

 At 7:00, the Anderson is struck by two huge waves which are high enough to put water on her deck.  The downward force of the waves were enough to cause damage to the ship's lifeboat.  I'm not sure, but it is believed that these may be part of the same waves that hit the Fitzgerald.

 At 7:10, the Anderson radios the Fitzgerald asking if they've checked down.  The Fitzgerald responds affirmative to that.  The Anderson also informs the Fitzgerald of another ship in the area.  The Anderson then asks the Fitzgerald how she's holding up and the Fitzgerald responds that she is holding her own.  The Anderson repsonds with, "Okay, fine. I'll be talking to you later".  This was the last transmission to the Fitzgerald.

 It was between 7:20P.M. and 7:30 P.M. that is believed the Fitzgerald sank.  At 7:25, the Fitzgerald disappears off the Anderson's radar, the Anderson then radios the Coast Guard with this information.  Thirty minutes later, the Anderson radios the Coast Guard that they have lost the Fitzgerald both visually and on radar.  At 9:00, the Coast Guard asks the Anderson if she can conduct a search for the Fitzgerald after some talk back and forth, the Anderson agrees.  At 10:53 P.M., the first search aircraft appears on scene.  About 3 hours after that, the William Clay Ford (whose pilothouse is now at Dossin) assists in the search.

 The Edmund Fitzgerald went down with all 29 men on her.  It was the largest loss of life on the Lakes in a while.  One of the suspected causes of her sinking is that she had faulty hatches.  Another is that she bottomed out on Six Fathom Shoal.  Another not so serious theory is that she entered the Great Lakes version of the Bermuda Triangle.  And thus, Anderson's place in history.

The rest of the story continued in the next post.....