Emergencies and World Disasters
Seventeen Miles from Shelter: The Night the Fitzgerald Vanished
24 min•7 augusti 2026
Om avsnittet
Seventeen Miles from Shelter: The Night the Fitzgerald Vanished
The lake swallowed a queen-class freighter just sixty minutes and seventeen miles from shelter - no distress call, no flare, no bodies recovered from a wreck sitting 530 feet down. How could a 729-foot ship, one hour from safe harbor, disappear so completely?
In this episode, we present the documented record of what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald on the night of November 9, 1975, what was missed by those positioned to help, and the competing explanations that remain unresolved - what really broke down in those final sixty minutes?
Event: Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Date: November 9, 1975
Location: Lake Superior, 17 miles from shelter
Person: Captain Ernest McSorley
Depth: 530 feet
- At 7:10 PM Captain Ernest McSorley transmitted "We are holding our own" to the Arthur M. Anderson, which was 17 miles behind.
- Fifty-seven minutes after that transmission the Fitzgerald vanished from radar without a distress signal or mayday.
- Twenty-nine men were aboard the Fitzgerald that night; all were lost and no bodies were recovered from the wreck.
- The Edmund Fitzgerald was 729 feet long, 75 feet wide, and valued at $7 million when launched in 1958.
- The Fitzgerald was carrying 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets and had logged approximately 748 round trips and over one million miles by November 1975.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
The lake swallowed a queen-class freighter just sixty minutes and seventeen miles from shelter - no distress call, no flare, no bodies recovered from a wreck sitting 530 feet down. How could a 729-foot ship, one hour from safe harbor, disappear so completely?
In this episode, we present the documented record of what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald on the night of November 9, 1975, what was missed by those positioned to help, and the competing explanations that remain unresolved - what really broke down in those final sixty minutes?
Event: Sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald
Date: November 9, 1975
Location: Lake Superior, 17 miles from shelter
Person: Captain Ernest McSorley
Depth: 530 feet
- At 7:10 PM Captain Ernest McSorley transmitted "We are holding our own" to the Arthur M. Anderson, which was 17 miles behind.
- Fifty-seven minutes after that transmission the Fitzgerald vanished from radar without a distress signal or mayday.
- Twenty-nine men were aboard the Fitzgerald that night; all were lost and no bodies were recovered from the wreck.
- The Edmund Fitzgerald was 729 feet long, 75 feet wide, and valued at $7 million when launched in 1958.
- The Fitzgerald was carrying 26,116 long tons of taconite pellets and had logged approximately 748 round trips and over one million miles by November 1975.
To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.
© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].
Emergencies and World Disasters med Creator at Obomedia finns tillgänglig på flera plattformar. Informationen på denna sida kommer från offentliga podd-flöden.