At 2:30 PM 11/9/1975 the Edmund Fitzgerald, a 728 foot long ship crewed by 29 men, laden with taconite iron ore pellets, departed Superior WI.
Early 11/10/75 a gale warning was issued for winds gusting to 50 knots, and 12-16 foot seas.
The storm intensified all day, by 5:30 PM wind was gusting to 70 knots, seas were 18 to 25 feet.
The Edmund Fitzgerald was on the radar and in radio contact with another ship, the Arthur M. Anderson. Captain Ernest McSorley's last radio transmission to the Anderson was, "We are holding our own."
http://www.shipwreckmuseum.com/edmun...ateful-journey