Post by Catsmate on Nov 10, 2015 13:21:46 GMT
A quickie inspired by the date.
Forty years ago today the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior with the deaths of all 29 crew aboard.
At the time of her construction (1958) the vessel was the largest freighter operating on the Great Lakes, and is still the largest ship to have sunk there. She operated as a carrier of bulk iron ore, taconite from the Duluth mines, to various iron working cites on the lakes. However that winter storm (the 'Witch of November') would end her travels; while en-route to Detroit she and another freighter (the SS Arthur M. Anderson) were caught in hurricane force winds and waves over ten metres. A little after 19:10 the Fitzgerald sank suddenly about 28km from Whitefish Bay. No distress call was made, the captain had been optimistic ("We are holding our own") two hours earlier.
No bodies have ever been recovered; nor has the exact cause of the sinking been determined. Plausible possibilities include high waves, structural failure or loss of stability from water entering.
Game use.
1. While the Fitzgerald carried no passengers on her final trip they were carried on a fairly regular basis. Usually they'd be guests of the ship's owners (the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company) or operators (Oglebay Norton Corporation). Service was excellent with confortable passenger staterooms, excellent galley facilities and steward service. However for game purposes this detail can easily be changed.
2. There's still a minor mystery over why the Fitzgerald sank. While a triplet of waves (a phenomena known on the Great Lakes and referred to as the "three sisters") was seen in the area, and such an effect could overwhelm a ship with water dumped on her decks in rapid succession, it's not known if this was responsible. Alternative theories include structural failure, a stress fracture that caused the ship to break in two and sink rapidly, and the entry of water into her cargo holds, causing loss of flotation and stability.
Perhaps someone wants to know for sure?
3. Alternatively perhaps someone wants to prevent the sinking. While only a minor loss of life by many standards someone may have lost a relative on the ship and subsequently gained access to a time machine. Who knows what effects saving the ship might have as the changes to the Web of Time cascade down the decades...
4. I've suggested Disaster Tourism previously as a motivation; a small group from the boringly beige future travel back to witness (or experience) events in the past for thrills. Of course things can go wrong with such plans; can they escape in time? Is their time machine easily stolen (and operated by others)? Is one of they secretly plotting to alter events, or disappears and stay in the past?
5. What was the Fitzgerald really carrying on that last trip? Not just twenty thousand tonnes of iron ore. Alien artefacts, salvaged spaceship..... Does someone else want that cargo? Have it's owners returned to retrieve their property?
6. Do the Sea Devils have bases in the Great Lakes?
7. And finally, there's the classic Who motif of the TARDIS (or equivalent) appearing on board just as trouble starts. What to the PCs do? Try and save the ship (assuming they know it's destiny), or just survive themselves.
Links.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lifefoot's ballad. Lyrics
The Fateful Journey at the Great Lakes shipwreck museum, a useful source of information on events.
Marine Board of Investigation: Sinking of the EDMUND FITZGERALD
Marine Historical Society of Detroit page with photos and details
US Coast Guard report
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?
Forty years ago today the SS Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior with the deaths of all 29 crew aboard.
At the time of her construction (1958) the vessel was the largest freighter operating on the Great Lakes, and is still the largest ship to have sunk there. She operated as a carrier of bulk iron ore, taconite from the Duluth mines, to various iron working cites on the lakes. However that winter storm (the 'Witch of November') would end her travels; while en-route to Detroit she and another freighter (the SS Arthur M. Anderson) were caught in hurricane force winds and waves over ten metres. A little after 19:10 the Fitzgerald sank suddenly about 28km from Whitefish Bay. No distress call was made, the captain had been optimistic ("We are holding our own") two hours earlier.
No bodies have ever been recovered; nor has the exact cause of the sinking been determined. Plausible possibilities include high waves, structural failure or loss of stability from water entering.
Game use.
1. While the Fitzgerald carried no passengers on her final trip they were carried on a fairly regular basis. Usually they'd be guests of the ship's owners (the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company) or operators (Oglebay Norton Corporation). Service was excellent with confortable passenger staterooms, excellent galley facilities and steward service. However for game purposes this detail can easily be changed.
2. There's still a minor mystery over why the Fitzgerald sank. While a triplet of waves (a phenomena known on the Great Lakes and referred to as the "three sisters") was seen in the area, and such an effect could overwhelm a ship with water dumped on her decks in rapid succession, it's not known if this was responsible. Alternative theories include structural failure, a stress fracture that caused the ship to break in two and sink rapidly, and the entry of water into her cargo holds, causing loss of flotation and stability.
Perhaps someone wants to know for sure?
3. Alternatively perhaps someone wants to prevent the sinking. While only a minor loss of life by many standards someone may have lost a relative on the ship and subsequently gained access to a time machine. Who knows what effects saving the ship might have as the changes to the Web of Time cascade down the decades...
4. I've suggested Disaster Tourism previously as a motivation; a small group from the boringly beige future travel back to witness (or experience) events in the past for thrills. Of course things can go wrong with such plans; can they escape in time? Is their time machine easily stolen (and operated by others)? Is one of they secretly plotting to alter events, or disappears and stay in the past?
5. What was the Fitzgerald really carrying on that last trip? Not just twenty thousand tonnes of iron ore. Alien artefacts, salvaged spaceship..... Does someone else want that cargo? Have it's owners returned to retrieve their property?
6. Do the Sea Devils have bases in the Great Lakes?
7. And finally, there's the classic Who motif of the TARDIS (or equivalent) appearing on board just as trouble starts. What to the PCs do? Try and save the ship (assuming they know it's destiny), or just survive themselves.
Links.
The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald, Gordon Lifefoot's ballad. Lyrics
The Fateful Journey at the Great Lakes shipwreck museum, a useful source of information on events.
Marine Board of Investigation: Sinking of the EDMUND FITZGERALD
Marine Historical Society of Detroit page with photos and details
US Coast Guard report
Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?