The Edmund Fitzgerald was one of the most famous ships to ever sail Lake Superior. The Fitzgerald was one of the fastest ships to sail Lake Superior. He often broke his own records and set new ones. The Fitzgerald was the largest freshwater ship in history and was only 140 feet shorter than the Titanic. The Fitzgerald or Fitz (as the crew called it) was built in 1958. It was launched on June 8, 1958. In his book, Andrew Kantar says: "The Edmund Fitzgerald was named after the wife of the president of the NMI. (Northwest Mutual Insurance). (5). Fitz was the pride of America on the American side (Gordon Lightfoot). The Fitzgerald had a good crew who had been with her for 17 years. The crew called the Fitzgerald “It’s Lives.” For the crew there were Captain Ernest Mcsorley, John, James, Michael, George, Edward, Thomas, Russell, Oliver, Frederick, Thomas B, Thomas D, Nolan, Ransom, Bruce, Allen, Gordon, Joseph, Eugene, Karl, John. P, Robert, Paul, John S, William, Mark, Ralph, David, Blaine made up the crew. On October 31, the Fitz made its last voyage of the season, but did the captain know that it would be his last? and the crew? At 8:30 a.m. on November 8, the FItz was loaded with 26,000 tons of taconite pellets (Anderson 10). “With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty” (Gordon Lightfoot http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/) They crossed Lake Superior from Superior Wisconsin to WhiteFish Point Michigan, which is 350 miles to the southeast. The only thing the captain didn't know was that there was a storm coming from Wisconsin to Canada with hurricane-speed winds, the worst storm in history. then the storm hit them... middle of news......broadcast live on television, the stress was released as the bell broke the surface. The bell was replaced by a new one on which the names of the crew members are engraved. The Fitzgeralds bell was polished and donated to the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral. Each year the sailors' names were called and the bell rang 29 times for each man aboard the Fitzgerald and once for each sailor who died in the November gales. The story of the Fitzgerald was made into a song called "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. Now, because of the wreck of the Fitzgerald, no boats, ships or cargo ships are allowed to sail in November. under the bow of the ship. The legend lives on from the Chippewa to the bottom of the great lake they called "Gitche Gumee. The lake, it is said, never abandons its dead when the November sky turns dark. (Gordon Lightfoot)