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SS Edmund Fitzgerald - Quiz
Contributed by: Ashcroft
  • 1. How long was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 810 feet
B) 729 feet
C) 654 feet
D) 883 feet
  • 2. In which year did the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sink in Lake Superior?
A) 1982
B) 1975
C) 1991
D) 1968
  • 3. How many crew members were on board the SS Edmund Fitzgerald when it sank?
A) 45
B) 29
C) 38
D) 15
  • 4. Which famous musician wrote a song about the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Bob Dylan
B) Gordon Lightfoot
C) Willie Nelson
D) Johnny Cash
  • 5. What was the cargo of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on its final voyage?
A) Iron ore pellets
B) Coal
C) Lumber
D) Crude oil
  • 6. Where was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald headed when it sank?
A) Buffalo, New York
B) Cleveland, Ohio
C) Chicago, Illinois
D) Detroit, Michigan
  • 7. What was the last communication from the SS Edmund Fitzgerald before it sank?
A) We're taking on water
B) Unable to steer
C) Mayday, mayday, mayday
D) We are holding our own
  • 8. What was the depth of Lake Superior where the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank?
A) 720 feet
B) 625 feet
C) 400 feet
D) 530 feet
  • 9. Who captained the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on its final voyage?
A) Robert C. Carlton
B) David R. Boone
C) Ernest M. McSorley
D) John G. McCarthy
  • 10. From which city did the SS Edmund Fitzgerald embark on its final voyage?
A) Duluth, Minnesota
B) Detroit, Michigan
C) Toledo, Ohio
D) Superior, Wisconsin
  • 11. What type of ship was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Fishing vessel
B) Great Lakes freighter
C) Cargo liner
D) Cruise ship
  • 12. What was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald known for setting?
A) Seasonal haul records six times
B) Speed records
C) Safety records
D) Endurance records
  • 13. What was one of the changes in Great Lakes shipping regulations after the sinking?
A) Mandatory life jackets
B) Mandatory lifeboats
C) Mandatory survival suits
D) Mandatory fire extinguishers
  • 14. What was the cause of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald's sinking?
A) Collision with another ship
B) Fire
C) Piracy
D) The exact cause remains unknown
  • 15. What was Captain Peter Pulcer known for on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Commanding the ship
B) Designing the ship
C) Writing ballads
D) Piping music over the ship's intercom and entertaining spectators
  • 16. Where was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald located when it was found after sinking?
A) In one piece
B) Under a bridge
C) Intact
D) In two large pieces
  • 17. What was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald's record-breaking performance related to?
A) Safety records
B) Speed records
C) Endurance records
D) Seasonal haul records
  • 18. What was the name of the article that inspired Gordon Lightfoot's ballad?
A) The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald
B) The Storm of 1975
C) The Cruelest Voyage
D) The Cruelest Month
  • 19. In which year did Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company invest in the construction of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 1972
B) 1969
C) 1959
D) 1957
  • 20. What was the value of the Edmund Fitzgerald at the time of its construction?
A) $15 million
B) $7 million
C) $10 million
D) $59.6 million
  • 21. Which ship took over the title 'Queen of the Lakes' from the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) SS Edmund Fitzgerald
B) SS Seaway
C) SS Murray Bay
D) SS Great Lakes
  • 22. What was the deadweight capacity of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 25,000 long tons
B) 29,120 short tons
C) 26,000 long tons
D) 30,000 long tons
  • 23. How many watertight cargo hatches did the Edmund Fitzgerald have?
A) 15
B) 21
C) 30
D) 25
  • 24. What was the thickness of the steel used for the cargo hatches on the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 1/2-inch
B) 3/8-inch
C) 5/16-inch
D) 1/4-inch
  • 25. In which year was a diesel-powered bow thruster installed on the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 1969
B) 1972
C) 1971
D) 1967
  • 26. What type of fuel did the Edmund Fitzgerald originally use for its boilers?
A) Coal
B) Diesel
C) Natural gas
D) Oil
  • 27. During which winter layup were the Edmund Fitzgerald's boilers converted to burn oil?
A) 1970–71
B) 1971–72
C) 1969–70
D) 1972–73
  • 28. What company designed the luxurious interior furnishings of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) J. L. Hudson Company
B) Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
C) Great Lakes Engineering Works
D) Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority
  • 29. What feature extended to the crew quarters on the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Air conditioning
B) Heating
C) Insulation
D) Ventilation
  • 30. What was one of the proposed names for the ship by Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Soo Locks
B) Centennial
C) Edmund
D) Northwestern
  • 31. How many board members voted to name the ship the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 50
B) 27
C) 36
D) 45
  • 32. Who suffered a heart attack during the launch ceremony?
A) Elizabeth Fitzgerald
B) Edmund Fitzgerald
C) Jennings B. Frazier
D) Captain Peter Pulcer
  • 33. How long did the delay last after the heart attack during the launch ceremony?
A) 15 minutes
B) 60 minutes
C) 45 minutes
D) 36 minutes
  • 34. How many round trips had the SS Edmund Fitzgerald logged by November 1975?
A) 748
B) 600
C) 800
D) 500
  • 35. What was the distance covered by the SS Edmund Fitzgerald equivalent to?
A) 50 trips around the world
B) 60 trips around the world
C) 44 trips around the world
D) 30 trips around the world
  • 36. Which river did Captain Peter Pulcer entertain tourists with music while navigating?
A) Niagara River
B) St. Clair River
C) Detroit River
D) Soo Locks
  • 37. What was the nickname given to the captain known for playing music on the ship?
A) Radio captain
B) Music captain
C) Singing captain
D) DJ captain
  • 38. What was the full speed of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald on its final voyage?
A) 20 miles per hour
B) 16.3 miles per hour
C) 26.2 km/h
D) 14.2 knots
  • 39. What was the highest wind speed logged by Arthur M. Anderson on November 10?
A) 50 knots
B) 58 knots
C) 35 knots
D) 70 knots
  • 40. How many crew members perished with Captain McSorley on the SS Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 30
B) 25
C) 28
D) 35
  • 41. Which channel did the USCG responders instruct Captain Cooper to call back on?
A) Channel 10
B) Channel 12
C) Channel 16
D) Channel 8
  • 42. Which vessel did Captain Cooper contact after being instructed to call back on channel 12?
A) Hilda Marjanne
B) Arthur M. Anderson
C) Nanfri
D) William Clay Ford
  • 43. What did Petty Officer Philip Branch testify about the situation?
A) He considered it urgent
B) He considered it serious, but at the time it was not urgent
C) He did not comment on the situation
D) He considered it not serious
  • 44. What hindered the efforts of the SS Hilda Marjanne?
A) Technical difficulties
B) The weather
C) Communication issues
D) Lack of fuel
  • 45. From where did the USCG send the buoy tender Woodrush?
A) Duluth, Minnesota
B) Sault Ste. Marie
C) Whitefish Bay
D) Traverse City, Michigan
  • 46. Which organization established a beach patrol along the eastern shore of Lake Superior?
A) Canadian Coast Guard
B) Ontario Provincial Police
C) Arthur M. Anderson
D) USCG
  • 47. Who was the youngest crew member of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Karl A. Peckol
B) The cook
C) Ernest M. McSorley
D) The wiper
  • 48. What was the age of the youngest crew member, Karl A. Peckol?
A) 30
B) 20
C) 50
D) 63
  • 49. What was the age of the oldest crew member, Captain Ernest M. McSorley?
A) 30
B) 50
C) 20
D) 63
  • 50. How many ships had been lost in the Whitefish Point area between 1816 and 1975?
A) At least 240
B) 300
C) 100
D) 50
  • 51. What was the name of the first ship lost in the Whitefish Point area?
A) Edmund Fitzgerald
B) Invincible
C) Arthur M. Anderson
D) Nanfri
  • 52. Who piloted the U.S. Navy Lockheed P-3 Orion aircraft that discovered the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) Fred Shannon
B) Joseph B. MacInnis
C) Jean-Michel Cousteau
D) Lt. George Conner
  • 53. What technology did the U.S. Navy use to discover the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 3-D stereoscopic cameras
B) GPS coordinates
C) Side scan sonar
D) Magnetic anomaly detector
  • 54. Which organization contracted Seaward, Inc. to conduct a second survey of the wreck?
A) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
B) Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
C) The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society
D) The U.S. Navy
  • 55. What unmanned submersible did the U.S. Navy use in May 1976 to dive on the wreck?
A) CURV-III
B) Mini Rover ROV
C) Delta
D) Celia
  • 56. At what angle was the stern section of the Edmund Fitzgerald capsized?
A) 50-degree angle
B) 90-degree angle
C) 30-degree angle
D) 0-degree angle
  • 57. Who led the first manned submersible dive to Edmund Fitzgerald in 1980?
A) Joseph B. MacInnis
B) Fred Shannon
C) Jean-Michel Cousteau
D) Chris Nicholson
  • 58. Who moderated the 1990 panel review of the video footage from the 1989 dive?
A) Frederick Stonehouse
B) Fred Shannon
C) Joseph B. MacInnis
D) Jean-Michel Cousteau
  • 59. Which support vessel did Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution provide for the 1994 dives?
A) Edwin A. Link
B) Celia
C) RV Grayling
D) Delta
  • 60. What was used to retrieve the bell from Edmund Fitzgerald in 1995?
A) Phil Nuytten's atmospheric diving suit, known as the Newtsuit
B) CURV-III
C) Celia
D) Mini Rover ROV
  • 61. In which year did the Whitefish Point Preservation Society accuse the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society of conducting an unauthorized dive to Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) 2009
B) 2006
C) 2002
D) 2005
  • 62. What did the April 2005 amendment to the Ontario Heritage Act allow the government to impose?
A) A ban on all underwater activities
B) A restriction on sonar scans only
C) A fine for unauthorized diving
D) A license requirement on dives, submersibles, side scan sonars, or underwater cameras
  • 63. What is the radius around protected sites where the updated regulations apply, according to the January 2006 regulations?
A) 1,000 feet
B) 1,640 feet
C) 500 meters
D) 1,000 meters
  • 64. In what year was a further amendment to the Ontario Heritage Act made to impose licensing requirements on any type of surveying device?
A) 2010
B) 2005
C) 2006
D) 2009
  • 65. What did the USCG Marine Casualty Report suggest as the cause of the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking?
A) The ship ran aground on a submerged reef.
B) Ineffective hatch closures that allowed waves to inundate the cargo hold.
C) The ship collided with another vessel.
D) The ship was hit by a rogue wave that caused it to capsize.
  • 66. What did the USCG and NTSB conclude about the Edmund Fitzgerald's breakup?
A) The ship capsized on the surface
B) The ship broke apart due to rogue waves
C) The ship broke apart due to hatch cover leakage
D) The ship broke apart upon hitting the lake floor
  • 67. Who theorized that something broke loose from the ship's deck, leading to the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
A) The USCG
B) Captain Paquette
C) Captain McSorley
D) Mark Thompson
  • 68. When did the Canadian Hydrographic Service conduct a survey of the area surrounding Michipicoten Island and Caribou Island?
A) 1976
B) 1975
C) 1977
D) 1974
  • 69. What did the USCG Marine Board examine after testimony about Edmund Fitzgerald's proximity to shoals?
A) The crew's testimonies
B) The relevant navigational charts
C) The ship's logbook
D) The weather reports
  • 70. What did Frederick Stonehouse suggest about the design of lake carriers?
A) Use lighter materials
B) Reduce their size
C) Increase their cargo capacity
D) Design them more like ships rather than 'motorized super-barges'
  • 71. What organization represented Great Lakes fleet owners and opposed watertight subdivision regulations?
A) LCA
B) Maritime Safety Board
C) USCG
D) NTSB
  • 72. What type of depth measurement device was the Edmund Fitzgerald equipped with?
A) A fathometer
B) A sonar system
C) A radar system
D) A hand line
  • 73. Did the Edmund Fitzgerald have a system to monitor water in its cargo hold?
A) Yes, but it was only for detecting minor leaks
B) Yes, it had a sophisticated monitoring system
C) Yes, but it was only for monitoring during loading
D) No
  • 74. What did the lack of a draft-reading system prevent the crew from determining?
A) The exact location of the ship
B) The speed of the ship
C) The depth of the water
D) Whether the vessel had lost freeboard
  • 75. What problem with the Edmund Fitzgerald's keel surfaced as the USCG increased her load line?
A) Propeller damage
B) Keel-welding problem
C) Engine malfunction
D) Hull cracking
  • 76. How did the increased load line affect the Edmund Fitzgerald's buoyancy?
A) Increased critical reserve buoyancy
B) No effect on buoyancy
C) Improved buoyancy
D) Decreased critical reserve buoyancy
  • 77. What did Captain Paquette believe caused the Edmund Fitzgerald to founder?
A) Mechanical failure
B) Negligence
C) Structural damage
D) Poor weather forecasting
  • 78. What did Mark Thompson criticize the USCG for?
A) Overzealous inspections
B) Inadequate training
C) Complacency
D) Excessive budget
  • 79. What did Paquette say about Edmund Fitzgerald's foundering?
A) Caused by mechanical failure
B) Caused by negligence
C) Caused by weather conditions
D) Caused by structural damage
  • 80. What did the NTSB investigation note about Great Lakes cargo vessels?
A) Always faced severe storms
B) Could normally avoid severe storms
C) Avoided all storms
D) Could not avoid severe storms
  • 81. What amount did Oglebay Norton seek to limit their liability to?
A) $2 million
B) $500,000
C) $817,920
D) $1 million
  • 82. What system replaced LORAN-C for navigation on the Great Lakes in the 1990s?
A) INS
B) ADF
C) VOR
D) Global Positioning System (GPS)
  • 83. What type of equipment is installed on all Great Lakes vessels for disaster location?
A) Flares
B) Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs)
C) Lifeboats
D) Life rafts
  • 84. When was the SS Edmund Fitzgerald's ship's bell recovered from the wreck?
A) July 4, 2000
B) July 4, 1985
C) July 4, 1995
D) July 4, 1990
  • 85. What was discovered by a Michigan family on the Keweenaw Peninsula in 2007?
A) A piece of the ship's hull
B) A lone life-saving ring
C) A ship's bell
D) A lifeboat
  • 86. Which city was incorrectly stated as the destination of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lightfoot's original lyrics?
A) Sault Ste. Marie
B) Cleveland
C) Detroit
D) Chicago
  • 87. Who composed the piano concerto titled 'The Edmund Fitzgerald'?
A) Eric Peltoniemi
B) Gordon Lightfoot
C) Steven Dietz
D) Geoffrey Peterson
  • 88. What type of industry has evolved around the Edmund Fitzgerald's image and narrative?
A) A manufacturing industry
B) A cottage industry
C) A shipping industry
D) A fishing industry
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