Hurricane-force gusts and waves coming from an unexpected angle likely contributed to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, researchers say.
“During the late afternoon and early evening of Nov. 10, 1975, conditions deteriorated rapidly with winds in excess of 69 mph, hurricane-force gusts [over 74 mph] and waves more than 25 feet high,” said Thomas Hultquist, science and operations officer at the NOAA National Weather Service forecast office in Negaunee, Mich.
Waves travelled west-to-east, the new analysis shows. This could have created a hazardous rolling motion. The ship sank about 15 miles from Whitefish Bay, with all 29 crew members perishing. - Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
It was a very long ship and it was fully loaded. Speculation was that the large swells/waves lifted both ends without any support in the middle and the ship buckled in the center. Once it buckled water came rushing in rapidly and it sank very quickly.