A recent series on Canada's History Television, Dive Detectives, theorizes that the ship did not sink from human error but had been swamped by a rogue wave. The 720-foot long ship, one of the biggest on the great lakes, was hauling iron ore on Lake Superior when it encountered a fierce storm with hurricane force winds, described by the captain as “one of the worst seas I've ever been in.” The ship sank in water over 500 feet deep taking with it the 29 crew members.
An investigation of the 1975 incident by the U.S. Coast Guard concluded that the ship sank due to the cargo hatches being left open, allowing them to fill with water. The new evidence uncovered by the crew of Dive Detectives from talks with meteroligists and maritime historians points much more firmly to the ship being hit by an estimated 50-foot rogue wave which was created when groups of waves coming from different dirctions collided and maee one large wave with extreme destructive power. The investigation found that these huge waves had been seen on the lake the day of the disaster. Combine that with the age of the ship and its heavy load and it points to, most likely, the ship splitting in half.
After hearing of the new findings, Lightfoot said "I'm happy for the families. There's been lingering doubt about whether the hatch covers had been left open. This disproves that theory and ends the uncertainty. I think it's definitive."
He does not plan to rerecord the song but, during future performances, he will be replacing the line "At 7 P.M. a main hatchway gave in."
SOURCE: http://www.vintagevinylnews.com
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