The steamship Edmund Fitzgerald captured the country’s attention when it vanished with all hands in a November Gale on the Great Lakes in 1975. Propelled by a Top 40 song by Gordon Lightfoot, the freighter reached worldwide notoriety that next year and investigations started into what must have happened on Lake Superior near Whitefish Point. The first privately funded dive occurred in 1994, when an expedition reported finding the first missing crewman. Diver Ric Mixter was media coordinator for that mission, responsible for all underwater SCUBA coverage of the submersible as well as media contact for the maelstrom of attention that occurred when the missing sailor was announced to Canadian authorities. Mixter covers the findings of every dive from Coast Guard to Cousteau in this unique lecture that includes construction of what was the largest ship ever launched into freshwater and exclusive footage from his dive 550 feet below Lake Superior.

About the Speaker:

Ric Mixter is a documentary producer who has created over 30 videos for PBS stations around the Great Lakes as well as a commentator for shipwreck shows on The History Channel and Discovery Channel. He is a board member for the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History as well as the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and a former president of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. Ric tours internationally speaking on shipwreck topics and has visited over 150 wrecks in fresh and saltwater. He is best known for his in-depth interviews with shipwreck survivors and rescuers spanning from 1913 to 1975. 
                   
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