"We're Holding Our Own..."

[schultz]

30 years ago today, On November 10, 1975,  the , carrying over 26,000 tons of iron ore bound for Detroit, sank in gale winds on Lake Superior with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men.

Although there have been many wrecks on the Great Lakes, this one seems to fascinate so many people because of the mystery behind its sinking. A few friends and I visited the location of the Fitz a few years ago to pay our respects during a weekend dive trip to Whitefish Point. With GPS coordinates in hand we motored 19 miles out to site and with our boat's sonar, we picked up the ghostly image of the hull 500 feet below us. As we each quietly reflected looking into the watery depths, and as strange as it may sound, we sensed a eerie feeling in the air, almost as though there was a presence with us. Although the waters were dead calm all that day, minutes after our sonar picked up the Fitz, the winds and waves picked up - almost as if something wanted us to keep away.  By the time we made it back to port, the waves had developed to 5-8 footers...

In 1995, on the 20th Anniversary of this event, WPR news Reporter Mike Simonson produced a two-part audio documentary and a short news feature. The pieces are long (each about 1 hour and 20 minutes), but are well worth a listen. About twenty minutes into the first segment, Simonson shares with us many similar stories of the eeriness  surrounding the site. You can listed to this two-part documentary at

[LKunze]

[Dewit2it]

I don't know if I would want to go there.  That wreck has claimed one David E Weiss already, and I don't think I want to be the next. 

Another weird occurance is that it went down on my sisters birthday.