Edmund Fitzgerald Life preserver found

Very interesting if true.  Hard to believe, though, that it would have been floating for three decades. 

It's still remarkable, to me at least, that a ship could be destroyed in a lake, even though it's a big one at that. 

According to my sources, Superior is approx 32K sq-miles... a bit larger than South Carolina.The Fitz was 729' long and displaced 26.6K tons. Almost the provirbial needle in the haystake.Surprised me too  😮Wally

I read A Perfect Storm ... ships are actually quite difficult to turn over.  While I imagine lake storms can be violent, I wouldn't think they'd be as violent as storms in the middle of the ocean.  Evidently they can still be enough to sink a 700 foot ship.

If I remember correctly the Fitz, more-or-less, was swamped. The hold covers weren't completely secure and allowed water to enter the holds, this added the unrecognized grounding damage, that added more water. At a certain point buoyancy was lost. While there have been various other thoughts this seems the most likely and is currently the most accepted I think. Wally

According to this source http://www.ssefo.com/info/timeline.html the 'Fitz' was severely damaged (and repaired) a few times prior to her sinking. 

1969September 6Internal and external damage occurs when the Edmund Fitzgerald hits ground near the Soo Locks.     1970April 30The Edmund Fitzgerald and the S.S. Hochelaga collide, causing damage for the second time in less than eight months.     September 4The Edmund Fitzgerald is damaged when it hits a lock wall.  This is the third time the Edmund Fitzgerald has been subjected to significant damage in only 12 months.

I wonder if this had anything to do with it.

I'm no marine architect but seems like these events certainly could have taken a toll on the integrity of the ship.

They're now marking 50 years since the launch of the Edmund Fitzgerald.Ceremony to mark 50 years since Edmund Fitzgerald's launchThe ship was downed about 33 years ago.  Strange, as it seems like this is the kind of thing that would have happened much longer ago than that.

I find it amazing that these big boats go out to sea with the impression they can take anything, but in the end, man-made objects stand no chance against Mother Nature.