Overview
- Great Lakes institutions held memorials on Nov. 10 to honor the 29 sailors lost when the freighter sank in Lake Superior in 1975.
- The 729-foot ship left Superior, Wisconsin, on Nov. 9 bound for Zug Island with taconite pellets and went down in Canadian waters around 7 p.m. on Nov. 10.
- Investigations by the U.S. Coast Guard, NTSB and industry groups offered differing theories—flooding through hatches, structural failure or grounding—leaving the cause unresolved.
- Captain Ernest McSorley’s final radio call at 7:10 p.m. reported, “We are holding our own,” moments before the vessel vanished from radar.
- Gordon Lightfoot’s ballad kept the tragedy in public view and is credited with helping spur safety changes such as survival suits and improved navigation, while families like Ruth Hudson’s pushed to protect the wreck as a gravesite with deep ties to Northeast Ohio.