MICHIGAN -- It's one of the most famous shipwrecks of our time: the Edmund Fitzgerald sank 39 years ago Monday, taking the lives of all 29 crew members on board.
The stories and theories of that shipwreck, along with the hit song, continue to feed the growing fascination with what happened.
“Most of us remember where we were when we heard about this accident, and the fascination still lingers,” maritime author Valerie van Heest said.
It’s the song written by Gordon Lightfoot that inspired interest in the shipwreck, Craig Rich of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association said.
“There are lots of theories about the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Rich said.
The shipwreck remains at the bottom of Lake Superior and has been examined in the past, but new laws prevent any further exploration of the wreck.
“The site itself is off limits now for any further exploration, diving, or submarine visits,” van Heest said. "The families have asked for that to happen."
Each year on the anniversary of the shipwreck, as the song says, a bell rings in the Maritime Sailors Cathedral in Detroit. There is also a ceremony at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, Mich.
“They’re going to have the ceremony as usual and ring the bell 29 times, and it’s a very somber occasion, and many of the family members show up,” Rich said.
Van Heest says the Arthur Anderson, the ship that was following the Edmund Fitzgerald, is out sailing Monday night.
“On Lake Superior and when it leaves Duluth it will follow the same course that it followed 39 years ago tonight following the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Rich said.
The bell on the Edmund Fitzgerald was removed from the shipwreck and has been restored. It is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
Van Heest says the Arthur Anderson, the ship that was following the Edmund Fitzgerald, is out sailing Monday night.
“On Lake Superior and when it leaves Duluth it will follow the same course that it followed 39 years ago tonight following the Edmund Fitzgerald,” Rich said.
The bell on the Edmund Fitzgerald was removed from the shipwreck and has been restored. It is on display at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
