Remembering The Fitzgerald

Today is the anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald on the big lake they call Gitche Gumee.

 

Did you know that the Mighty Fitz had Sturgeon Bay connections?

 

Two crewmen, sons of Sturgeon Bay (Door County), perished in the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10, 1975.  Oliver J. "Buck" Champeau - Third Assistant Engineer, age 41 and Russel G. Haskell - Second Assistant Engineer, age 40.

 

You can learn more about the story here at the Door County Maritime Museum and Lighthouse Preservation Society.  We Are Holding Our Own, is a highly personal temporary exhibit that opened in October at DCMM honoring the 50th anniversary of the wreck.  If you're here for a visit be sure to check it out as it will run thru the end of 2025.

Another Sturgeon Bay connection is this ice-breaking tug. 

The USCG tug Naugatuck was the first Coast Guard vessel to respond on the scene of the missing freighter.  The crew recovered life rings, jackets, life boat oars and other debris over their three days on the scene.

photo ChatGTP

The (former) Naugatuck is still working on the Great Lakes now as the Jimmy L of Sarter Marine Towing in Sturgeon Bay.

When she is not at work you can find her berthed along the west waterfront adjacent to the Oregon Street bridge.  Jimmy L is presently operated under charter by Great Lakes Towing Company.

Last, but not least, there is the Arthur M. Anderson, sister ship of the Edmund Fitzgerald.  The Anderson was the last ship to have contact with the Fitzgerald before the sinking and the first on the scene in a vain search for survivors.

I snapped these photos from the water in the port of Green Bay. 

 

 

The Anderson is still in active service and from time to time it is spotted in Sturgeon Bay.

Small maritime world around these parts....