The Edmund Fitzgerald was caught in a savage storm with hurricane-force winds around 100-mile-an-hour and waves up to 60 feet, crashing down on the freighter every four to eight seconds

jesus-christ

[–] gay_king_prince_charles@hexbear.net 9 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Keep in mind she only had 15 feet of freeboard, so the waves would be 45 feet above deck

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 5 points 4 months ago

That's nowhere near enough freebird

[–] BakerBagel@midwest.social 6 points 4 months ago

Storm waves on Lake Superior are about 100ft apart, and the Edmund Fitzgerald was 725 feet long, so at any moment they were being pummeled by about 6 waves simultaneously. The waves twisted the stern about 90-180 degrees from the bow without detaching it. The waves on the Great Lakes are absolutely brutal