Today marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. I’m sure most of us are familiar with the song written and performed by Gordon Lightfoot.
An article from the Smithsonian magazine.
_ Pete
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I remember the song well. The year it came out, we had just moved to Kodiak…first experience living in a coastal town, a commercial fishing area, and living in Alaska. That August, a loaded salmon tender tried to sneak through Whale Passage from Shelikof Straight and did not make it, the fatality count was high, I think 9 or 10 lost their lives. Later that fall I found myself on a 55-foot tug, and decided 55 feet is not a very big boat in 15 to 20 foot seas. And later that winter, working a side gig of unloading crab boats at a cannery, got to meet three fine men on the Deliverence. It was a 32-foot salmon boat, and they decided to spend the winter crab fishing (their first time). They had come in, in the middle of the night, for unloading, refueling, stocking up on bait and food. Very nice guys. Wished them luck as they departed. In a few days, the Deliverence went down, one of the three was rescued by the Coast Guard helicopter. Its a different life for those who make their living on the sea. I listened to Gordon Lightfoot’s recording a lot during our 4 years in Kodiak.
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