Edmond Fitzgerald

I was 18 and serving in the RAN. Didn't know anything about the Edmund Fitzgerald until I heard the song and even then I did not realise it was about a real ship.

Dodgy

https://youtu.be/M3x2vcergP0

ddp59

as the taconite is porous then the pores will hold water like micro cups thereby increasing the weight of the ore.

 

But isn't that weight increase the same as the water displaced?  Or is there some sort of catalytic thing that absorption actually increases absorbed water to a higher density than standing water?

I have the song on my MP3 player, along with a few more Lakes songs.

modelcrazy

Oh sorry, I was missinformed, It was Nov 10th 75. Oh well that'll spark some disussion. 

 

Gordon Lightfoot would be disappointed that you didn't remember his lyrics.    

"The Gales of November came early." 

HooYah Deep Sea

Stil doesn't answer the question, Bill . 

My relatives are all Great Lakers, but I don't know anything about this stuff. Per Wiki, Taconite is made from low percentage iron content rock that is ground up, the iron extracted with magnets, and then pelletized.If it soaks up water, it still weighs a whole lot more than water so it couldn't make a huge difference. Perhaps TB is referring to one of the dozens of theories about why the Fitz was lost.

I never knew the story until the song came out, and even then I thought it was imaginary. 

I was 19 in November 1975, but doing something else.

Bill

Yes, but how much increase, and for how long .  .  .

as the taconite is porous then the pores will hold water like micro cups thereby increasing the weight of the ore.

Stil doesn't answer the question, Bill .  .  .

To my limited knowledge, and correct me if I'm mistaken, but taconite is processed iron ore; Right? As such, it should not absorb water to speak of.       But, I could be wrong.

OKAY, I just looked it up in my Funk and Wagnalls .  .  . and the stuff is porous, by design, but none-the-less, it is not 'absorbant', so I'm still sticking with my 'one ton' response.

HooYah1

 I have a trivia question for you. How much does ONE TON of Taconite weigh, when it is soaked with water? The answer will surprise you. Her last voyage, she was carrying that!

^[/quote]The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, which sank in Lake Superior on November 10, 1975, was carrying about 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets.^{[4][quote user="Tanker-Builder"]}

-from Wiki

Bill

I was unaware that taconite would absorb water, so I'd have to say 'one ton'. I recall picking up taconite balls along the railroad tracks back in Pennsylvania when I was a kid. They made for excellant slingshot ammo.

HooYah1

 I have a trivia question for you. How much does ONE TON of Taconite weigh, when it is soaked with water? The answer will surprise you. Her last voyage, she was carrying that!

November, 1975; I was 19 and in bootcamp, US NAVY recruit training. We got absolutely no news about the outside world during that time.

Kindly suggested: Edmund

I was just turning 13 . Living in St.Paul when my parents had the news on and that was the feature story. A friend that lived down the block was on her when she sank. I will never foget that night.

keavdog

According to wiki she went down  November 10, 1975

 

Yeah, I already correct that.

According to wiki she went down  November 10, 1975

I was fsirly new to being assigned to Little Rock when the song came out.  I had no idea that it was about a real sinking.

I was 14 going on 15. I remember that night vividly. My brother and I were watching TV, The Waltons, The Homecoming. In the story their father John Walton was late coming home in the midst of a severe snowstorm.

I lived in a suburb of Milwaukee and the weather outside was snowing and blowing snow. It was nasty out. I thought it was cool that our weather matched what the TV show was portraying. I was warm and comfortable, just enjoying the moment. After the show, local news aired and the lead story broke with a serious tone to it, The EF is reported missing. In an instant--that warm glow disappeared at thought of that missing ship. I looked through the window and imagined what she might be experiencing. The weather in Milwaukee was the same weather system that stretched north and over the Great Lakes.

The thought of that night still haunts. Gordon Lightfoots song is great, but it always draws me back to that night.

Yeah!

        The time was such that She was as the song said The "Pride of the American side"Now one month after she was seen on the American Side, for some reason She was near the Canadiana's mooring. Grandma was with me when I reached over and with a good stretch I touched her. It near Broke my heart when I heard. Grandpa had a friend who sailed in her.

I was 19, but remember it well for a particular reason.

I was going to school in Virginia at the time, but when I'd lived in the Chicago area years before, there was a guy down our block who had crewed on the 'Fitz' (as well as other ore boats), and used to tell us stories about his years on the Lakes.

Couldn't help thinking about him (and his fellow sailors, old and new) when that mighty boat was lost.

Oh sorry, I was missinformed, It was Nov 10th 75. Oh well that'll spark some disussion. 

Read quite a bit about her. Many ships have sunk that I know of, lots of them had crew from Croatia/Yugoslavia. M/V Dunav, Berge Istra etc