Friday, November 06, 2015

Remembering the Fitz 40 years later

Every year around this time in early November, the Great Lakes area remembers the loss of SS Edmund Fitzgerald on November 10th, 1975. This morning the Detroit News published this article entitled "40 years later, Edmund Fitzgerald remains a mystery" written by Susan R. Pollack, Special to The Detroit News. So it's been 40 years, time flies! I still remember vividly the day after it's happening my colleague Tim Kessenich told me the news about it's happening. That was long before I got interested in rogue waves while we were deeply interested in Great Lakes waves. After that I did some hindcasting study on the possible wave conditions. I presented my study in the Great Lakes conference held in Ann Arbor the next year. As I remember that was the only time in my whole career, I made presentation to a room full of people even with people standing in the back. Hmm I was 40 years young then! The mystery Susan Pollack alluded about is basically what we are still not sure about what was really happened to the Fitz! For me personally as an interested bystander for 40 years I can only cite my favorite lines of Gordon Lightfoot's lyric:  

Does any one know where the love of God goes                                                                   when the waves turn the minutes to hours?   

                                                                                               



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