Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin Freed 

SATURDAY 1 pm. UPDATE: Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin has been freed thanks to the efforts of 5 tugs and rising water levels. Tugs Ohio and Minnesota were on the bow, with the Ontario, Patricia Hoey and Tenacious on the stern. Once freed, the Martin turned downbound resuming its trip to Quebec.

SATURDAY NOON UPDATE: Five tugs are now on scene working to free the Martin. They are the tugs Ohio, Minnesota, Ontario, Patricia Hoey and Tenacious. All are Detroit-based.

ORIGINAL REPORT: Detroit, MI – A Canadian freighter that ran aground in the Detroit River on Friday will remain there until at least Saturday morning, a U.S. Coast Guard official said.
   Petty Officer Omar Faba said the 738-foot motor vessel, known as the Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin, ran “soft aground,” meaning it was still surrounded by water, in the vicinity of the Renaissance Center. The ship was stuck perpendicular to the shore of the Detroit River.
   Faba said the vessel was not creating any threat of “injury, pollution or impact to the marine transportation system” and that low visibility Friday evening was hindering efforts to free the freighter.
   Faba said Coast Guard personnel were closely monitoring the incident. Authorities will reassess the situation Saturday morning and work to refloat the vessel, he said.
   The MV Rt. Hon. Paul J. Martin was traveling from Sault Ste. Marie to Quebec, Faba said. It wasn’t clear what the freighter was carrying or why it ran aground.

[The Detroit News]

Why can’t people dive to see the Edmund Fitzgerald? A preservation expert explains

[WCMU | By Tina Sawyer]

   AJ Jones: Even though diving to view most shipwrecks in the Great Lakes is legal, the wreckage site of the Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior has been deemed off-limits to divers for almost two decades. To discuss why that is and the other rules surrounding dives, WCMU’s Tina Sawyer recently sat down with Ron Bloomfield from Michigan’s Underwater Salvage and Preserve Committee. Ron began the discussion by explaining why The Fitzgerald is considered “sacred ground.”
   Ron Bloomfield: It’s off limits by the Canadian government, and that was in response to there was a couple of divers in 1995 that actually dove it on open circuit scuba. But the Canadians at that point were concerned about the ramifications of people diving on the wreck.
   Tina Sawyer: Would there have to be a certain amount of years that have passed in order for someone to say, okay, well, obviously they don’t have any family members left. It’s a 100-year-old shipwreck. Should that be allowed?
   RB: There is actually a law in place that specifically, it does address 100 years. From what I understand of the law, there’s questions as to how that would be be enforced. Everybody has to look at the ethics part of it on their own terms. The Michigan legislature in 1997 passed the law about not being able to take pictures. There’s a penalty for taking pictures and distributing them of bodies on wrecks. And that was very much a, well, in any grave site actually, and that was very much a reaction to the body that was found on the Fitzgerald in one of the expeditions in the early 1990s and put into a video. There again, it’s a very specific circumstance. I don’t know that we’ve even seen any prosecutions or any even potential prosecutions that have come out of it. It’s only going to deal with a very small subset of shipwrecks.
   TS: Let’s say of the Edmund Fitzgerald, a lot of those family members are no longer with us. And how would you be able to go back down in there? Would you have to, you know, go to the Canadian government and ask them for permission?
   RB: That’s in Canadian water, so yeah, absolutely. They have total jurisdiction over it.
   TS: So even if the family members said it’s okay, they’d still say no?
   RB: They have the right to say no to it. But knowing what we do with permitting for bringing objects up, my guess would would be they would require something to talk about how are you going to deal with these types of things if they’re found, including human remains.
   TS: These laws also apply to anything under the water or just shipwrecks?
   RB: I would assume in reading the way that the definition is of what the grave site is, it could be that a plane, so that is a good point, that there are planes, but the way that I understand it, a lot of these plane wreckage are going to be more debris field than anything else. And if I’m not mistaken, some of these have been, people have been found, but you know, it could even be if a car was pulled out of the lake as well.
   TS: It is the 50th anniversary this year of the sinking of the Fitz. And they did a swim this past summer from the wreck, Lake Huron, into Detroit. But they did so with some iron ore pellets that they claimed were aboard the Edmund Fitzgerald. How are they allowed to have that cargo without any penalty?
   RB: That’s a good question. I did hear that as well myself. But that is Canadian Waters. If the Ontario government issued them a permit to be able to do that, it may have been stuff that was pulled up at the time. I mean, like I said, there were several. Submarine expeditions that went out, so it is possible that was stuff gathered at the time. Without knowing specifics about it, yeah, I would say that’s how it would be handled in Michigan. We would be requested a permit, we would give a permit…in this case it would be Canadian, if I remember correctly, they have a similar type of a process where you have to apply for permits.
   AJ: That was Ron Bloomfield from Michigan’s Underwater Salvage and Preserve Committee talking with WCMU’s Tina Sawyer.

Whitefish Point area prepares for emotional tributes to Edmund Fitzgerald crew

As Nov. 10 marks five decades since the tragic loss of all hands aboard the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, communities near Whitefish Point are preparing heartfelt tributes
   According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS), leading up to the Nov. 10, 7 p.m. private remembrance service for the 50th Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, there will be other special events in the Paradise/Whitefish Point area that the public is invited to.

Friday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m. at the Whitefish Township Community Center at 7052 M-123 in Paradise.
   The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum (GLSM) will host an Edmund Fitzgerald speaker panel. Panelists will range from historians and surviving Fitzgerald family members to Shipwreck Society staff and a former engineer on the Fitzgerald. This is a free event, and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event will last approximately ninety minutes. 

Saturday, Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m. at the Whitefish Township Community Center put on by the Paradise community.
   A round table discussion will take place. We will hear the accounts of the then-teenagers that were in Paradise and at Whitefish Point, the evening of Nov. 10, 1975. They will undoubtedly reminisce about their parent’s stories handed down over the years as well. We are also asking if you were blessed to be a “Bell Ringer” in the past, please come if you can, if you have a pin please wear it proudly once more.
Seating limited to 200, first come first basis. Public is welcome.

Sunday, Nov. 9 from 1-3 p.m. at Whitefish Point.
   The GLSHS will release the second edition of its popular Edmund Fitzgerald publication, The Legend Lives On.
   With an additional 48-pages of content, this richly illustrated book features historic imagery and artwork of “Big Fitz” during its working life and of this ship’s ongoing story across the years since Nov. 10, 1975. Authors Bruce Lynn and Christopher Winters will be signing copies of the book at this time. 

Monday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at Whitefish Point.
   The GLSHS will hold an outdoor public remembrance service for the 50th Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial. The public event will last around 90 minutes. We will ring a replica bell 30 times and have different speakers, and play The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald live. This event is going to be emotional, touching and memorable. No tickets are needed to attend.
   Please note:  the parking area at Whitefish Point needs to be vacated by 4:30 p.m. to make room for the Fitzgerald family’s private evening event at 7 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at Whitefish Point inside the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum.
   A ceremony for family members only will take place at 7 p.m., which will be live-streamed for the public. Under no circumstances will the evening ceremony for the family members of the Edmund Fitzgerald be  open to the public. The live-stream link of the evening ceremony will be made available prior to the ceremony via the website and social media channels.

Monday, Nov. 10, 5:30-9 p.m. at the Whitefish Township Community Center put on by the Paradise community.
   The Community of Paradise will host the live-stream of the evening Memorial Service at Whitefish Point (which is closed to the public). Seating is limited to 200, first come first-served basis.
[Jim Lehocky] 
[Sooleader]

For more information, please call: 800-635-1742, or head to the GLSM website by clicking here.
https://shipwreckmuseum.com/?utm_source=sooleader.com&utm_campaign=sooleader.com%3A%20outbound&utm_medium=referral

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Offers 2
Special Edmund Fitzgerald Events

   WHITEFISH POINT, MI – Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum has two special events happening before the Fitzgerald memorial on November 10th. One on November 7th and one on the 9th. All our events this fall are free to the public…please read below.
NOVEMBER 7th
   The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum will host an Edmund Fitzgerald speaker panel to take place on Friday, November 7, 2025 (6:30pm) at the Whitefish Township Community Center in Paradise, MI. Panelists will range from historians and surviving Fitzgerald family members…to Shipwreck Society staff and a former engineer on the Fitzgerald. This is a free event and seating will be on a first-come, first serve basis. The event will last approximately 1.5 hours. The Whitefish Township Community Center is located at: 7052 M-123, Paradise, MI 49768.
ON NOVEMBER 9th
   The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society will soon release the second edition of its popular Edmund Fitzgerald publication, The Legend Lives On. With an additional 48-pages of content, this richly illustrated book features historic imagery and artwork of “Big Fitz” during its working life and of this ship’s ongoing story across the years since November 10, 1975.  The GLSHS official release and book signing of The Legend Lives On will take place at the Shipwreck Coast Museum Store on the Shipwreck Museum campus (Whitefish Point) on Sunday, November 9, 2025 from 1pm-3pm. Authors Bruce Lynn and Christopher Winters will be signing copies of the book at this time

Gales of November Conference Honors Fitzgerald 50th

   DULUTH, MN – Lake Superior Marine Museum Association presents Gales of November 2025, a two-day conference Nov 7-8 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald. This special event brings together maritime historians, lighthouse preservationists, and Great Lakes experts for a weekend of reflection, education, and storytelling
   Attendees can look forward to in-depth presentations on shipwreck research, lighthouse restoration, and the evolution of theories surrounding the Fitzgerald disaster. The conference also includes updates from the Duluth Seaway Port Authority and the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor Center, buffet luncheons and a silent auction.
   Gales of November offers an opportunity to honor the men lost aboard the Fitzgerald and celebrate those who continue to preserve the legacy of Great Lakes shipping and maritime history.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER AT: destinationduluth.co/GalesOfNovConf

Great Lakes Maritime Institute Marks Fitzgerald Anniversary

https://glmi.org/

Mark 50 years since Edmund Fitzgerald sinking with historic cuisine, wreath laying

Split Rock lighthouse on Lake Superior to shine 
beacon for Edmund Fitzgerald memorial ceremony

   TWO HARBORS, MN – One of the most famous lighthouses on the Great Lakes will again be hosting an Edmund Fitzgerald memorial service this year, and the gathering marking the 50th anniversary of the freighter’s tragic loss is expected to draw thousands to the clifftop site.
   Split Rock Lighthouse will host its annual event on Nov. 10, a half-century after the Fitzgerald sank in a violent storm off Whitefish Point at the southern end of Lake Superior.
   At the service, all 29 names will be read aloud to the tolling of a bell. Then Split Rock’s beacon will be lit in tribute to those lost.
   The Minnesota Historical Society will be hosting the event. The lighthouse, perched atop a high, rocky cliff, sits more than 130 feet above Lake Superior. It is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the United States.
   “We’re just trying to provide a little place for memory and for remembrance and to really put into perspective the power of the lake,” site manager Hayes Scriven told Minnesota Public Radio recently. “So that’s why we think it’s very important for us to keep doing this.”
   The Split Rock Lighthouse event is one of many taking place across the Great Lakes to honor the memory of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s crew. In Michigan, the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point will be holding a public remembrance event on Nov. 10, as well as a private ceremony for the relatives of the Fitzgerald’s crew.
   The Mariners’ Church of Detroit also has memorial events planned for November. You can see the lineup here: https://marinerschurchofdetroit.org/edmund-fitzgerald/

[M Live]

Fitzgerald Memorial Plans Announced By
Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society

   The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society will hold an outdoor public remembrance service for the 50th Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial at Whitefish Point on Monday, November 10th, 2025 at 2 p.m.

PLAN AHEAD – WHAT TO EXPECT:
   Outdoor Shelter: NO tent or seating will be setup for the outdoor public ceremony, as November can have volatile weather that would cause more harm than good. Check the weather forecast prior to traveling to Whitefish Point, and know your limits.
    *(Seating will be provided for speakers and individuals ringing the bell.) 
   Parking: LIMITED parking is available at Whitefish Point. No RVs, Campers, or trailers will be allowed to park in the PAVED parking areas. Once paved parking areas are filled, be prepared to park along the shoulder of the road prior to reaching Whitefish Point.
   No Shuttle Services: Be prepared to walk the distance from where you parked to get to Whitefish Point. Know your limits!
   Museum Closed: The Museum will be closed to the public. Restrooms will be open.
   Grounds Cleared: In order to make room (and parking available) for Fitzgerald families driving-in for the evening ceremony, daytime visitors will be asked to leave the grounds by 5PM.
   A ceremony for family members only will take place at 7:00 PM, which will be livestreamed for the public. Under no circumstances will the evening ceremony for the family members of the Edmund Fitzgerald be open to the public.
   The live stream link of the evening ceremony will be made available prior to the ceremony via our website and social media channels.

[Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society]