400 mile memorial swim honors crew of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald 50 years later
Honoring the crew who died on the Edmund Fitzgerald
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior in November 1975, a tragedy immortalized in a Gordon Lightfoot song. The tragedy claimed the lives of 29 crew members, and efforts are taking place throughout the year to ensure the victims are never forgotten.
(FOX 2) - It has been half a century since the famous Edmund Fitzgerald sank to the bottom of Lake Superior, taking the crew down with her, and this week, swimmers undertook a 411-mile relay swim to honor the 29 men.
Big picture view:
2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald in Lake Superior in November 1975, a tragedy immortalized in a Gordon Lightfoot song. The tragedy claimed the lives of 29 crew members, and efforts are taking place throughout the year to ensure the victims are never forgotten.
"We have been doing as a church. Mariners Church of Detroit has been honoring the memorial and the loss of the Fitzgerald for 50 years," said Reverend Todd Meyer.
68 swimmers undertook a 411-mile relay swim, each doing their part to complete the length, which symbolically completes the ship's intended journey. The relay swim started above the shipwreck in Lake Superior.
Swimmer Barry Alper completed the final leg of the journey on Wednesday.
What they're saying:
On Thursday, many of the swimmers attended a memorial service at the Mariners' Church to pay tribute to the crew members who died.
"Each of the swimmers rang the bell one time for each lost soul," said Meyer. "Each of them represented in a very real way what the Edmund Fitzgerald could not complete, and they swam that 411 miles."
Church leaders say it's important that people never forget this tragedy. As the ceremony took place, church leaders said it's important to recognize the progress that was made that day.