All of those facts were in the song !
“All of those facts were in the song!”
Except that the hatches were properly secured and were stoved in rather than the original lyric portrayed. There was NOT slipshod malpractice on part of the crew. This was all verified as deepwater technologies have greatly improved over the years which have clarified the images of the site. Lightfoot was contacted by a surviving family member and told of the validated findings to which Lightfoot took action and corrected his error and the folklore behind the wreck of the Fitzgerald.
Gordon Lightfoot has subsequently & personally apologized to the surviving family members and makes a point at his concerts to correct the audience in their belief in the original lyric.
Lightfoot has also changed the lyric to accurately reflect that it was not the fault of crew that the hatches gave way.
There are interviews on YouTube with Lightfoot and he explains. He’s also very proactive with the surviving family members and knows them personally as his song has had a great impact on their lives. He indicated in his interviews that the family members were very grateful that after improved Technologies allowed for the truth to be visually validated that Lightfoot personally in short order made those changes and contacted each surviving family member and personally reached out which they responded with great relief and thankfulness.