It was fifty years ago, but I remember it well. I am one of the 29 men aboard the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. It is November 10, 1975. (I am a fictional representation of any man who lost his life in the wreck of the largest freighter in the Great Lakes.)
November 9, 1975
At 2:20 pm, we depart from Superior, Wisconsin with 26,116 tons of iron ore. Nine minutes later, gale warnings are issued.
November 10, 1975
My captain, Ernest McSorley, began communicating yesterday with another ship on a similar course: the SS Arthur M. Anderson, captained by Jesse Cooper. The Anderson trails us by around 16, and later 10, miles. Along the way, they talk about the dangerous weather and how to navigate their course to keep their ship and crew safe.
3:30 pm: Our captain reports some damage, including topside, and he has the pumps going for our “Mighty Fitz”.
4:30 pm: The beacon and light at Whitefish Point in Michigan are reported to out of operation.
4:39 pm: The National Weather Service predicts winds gusting to 60 knots and waves 8 to 16 feet.
6 pm: The Anderson is struck by waves of over 25 feet. It sustained damage but was okay.
7:10 pm: The two captains are communicating about navigation. My ship has lost both radars and has a bad tilt. The 22-foot waves are pouring over the deck.
Captain Cooper hears the last words that my captain will ever speak: “We are holding our own.”
As dread fills my heart that I will be drowning, I think about what I heard from a Christian friend whose invitations to church I had always rejected. He had told me that we are all sinners. Sin separates us from God, so we can never be in His presence (in Heaven) until our sin is forgiven, redeemed, washed away. God is so loving and merciful that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die a painful death on the cross to redeem us of sin. It is a free gift, not born of works, but we must willingly humble ourselves and accept it.
Water coming in from the cargo hold pools around my feet. I become unbalanced as the ship lists–tilts to one side.
I call out to God, and I mean it: “I am a sinner in need of forgiveness. I believe that Jesus is Your Son, He died and rose again, and I receive Him as my Lord and Savior.”
A sense of love and peace begin to reduce my fear.
7:15 pm: Near Whitefish Point in Lake Superior, my ship disappears from the radar of the Anderson. More than an hour later, the Coast Guard begins to search.
7:55 pm: The Anderson tells the Coast Guard they have lost visual and radar sight of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It is later found in two pieces.
A Beautiful Place for Me. And For You?
Like all of the good, hard-working men, I drowned. Only my body was left, like an empty wrapper with no substance, but I found myself separated from it, in a place of beauty and peace. I came to be with Jesus, with God, a fulfillment of the promise of an eternity in Heaven for those of us who accept salvation through Jesus, even in our final moments.
I am grateful to God that I had just enough time to secure my eternal life. And when I think about my life on the earth, I wonder how much more joyful and peaceful it would have been if I had put aside my pride or my schedule and gone to church with that Christian friend—and humbled myself enough to realize that Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through (Him)” (John 14:6).
I also wonder, though I don’t despair–because there is no despair where I am now–what if I had died so suddenly that I had no time to reconcile with God? I would be suffering eternally, separated from hope.
If you do not call Jesus your Lord and Savior, I urge you to think about my* experience. You never know when time will run out.
*This could have been the experience of one or more of the crew on the doomed freighter. I (blog author) used creative license for an illustrative scenario that I could imagine as I listened to Gordon Lightfoot’s song and did some research.
Scripture references:
John 14:6
Romans 3:23
Romans 6:23
Romans 10:9
John 3:16
Ephesians 2:8-9
Edmund Fitzgerald Timeline — S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald Online
Audio recording of the Anderson communicating with the Coast Guard:
Gordon Lightfoot’s song:
How the song came to be and how it became a cultural phenomenon:
Gordon Lightfoot’s Song: How it became a cultural phenomenon
Truth in my Travels 