Customer Reviews

Night the Fitz Went Down

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Overall, the book was not too bad. I do nearly agree with the theory presented regarding the reason the ship sank, as it is certainley more believable than the Coast Guard's reasoning. The one thing I did not care for is the "arrogance" I felt was displayed by Capt. Parquette. Although I did not mind reading about his experiences, he talked (wrote?) like he was all knowing, and could never do wrong. I sailed on the Great Lakes for a bit as an engineer, and I still get up there once a year to do work in March, so I have met some Captains here and there, and most seem pretty reasonable. However, I do not think much of this guy. Nonetheless, a good book regarding the ship itself, and it does present some interesting facts. So, in closing, I would recommend it if you are into the history of this ship, and would like to know as I why it went down.

I did not even finish this book because I got so tired of Capt. Paquett's life story. I bought this book with the thought in mind that it was about the Fitz, not Capt. Paquett and his history. I am sure he was/is a great Capt. and I glad that he did as well as he did, but I wanted to read about the Fitz. Skip this book and get one of the other books on the Fitz offered by Amazon.

I have read this book and found it very informative. The book is mostly about a ego driven Captain who has never made a mistake. Once you get to page 80 or so, the book is very well written and actually talks about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Up until this part of the book the Captain tell endless storys about how great he was as a Captain. He does have great evidence on what happened to the Edmund Fitzgerald.

An excellent book on the Fitz. I found it to be a very feasable look at a possible theory of what went wrong on the Fitz that November day. The book gives a theory on the disaster from the viewpoint of a very experienced Captain that loaded beside the Fitz in Superior and followed it out to sea 2 hours later. He was on the lake at the same time and assisted in the search with his ship. An extremely knowledgable and thought provoking look into the tragedy. The reasoning and ideas put forth are well documented and the writing style very captivating. I would call this a must read for anyone interested in Great Lakes shipping or the Fitzgerald tragedy.

Sure to create controversy, Paquette gives us a new insight into the tragedy. With all due respect for the victims of the tragedy,from his candid assessment of the actions taken by McSorley in his choice of routes on the final voyage to his assertion that McSorley should have demanded investigation of the "wiggling thing" are interesting,at the least. Possibly the authors place more confidence in Burgner than may be warranted, but at any rate it is a real departure from the usual depictions which portray the event as 100% freak accident. I hope he is wrong in his insinuations, but again, a much different perspective for good or for ill.

Bishop's book hits the nail on the head with tremendous impact, most definitely due to the candor, expertise, and knowledge of Captain Dudley Paquett. Through Bishop's prose, Paquett pulls out all the stops in detailing his years on the seas, the November storm, criticizing the shipping industry and Captain McSorley (I thoroughly applaud and believe in Paquett's cracked hull theory), while paying his respects to those men lost at sea on the Fitz and others. I couldn't put this book down. It is a tremendous and easy read, while allowing the novice sailor to learn more about life on the lakes. It'll sweep you under like a rogue wave!

To all the folks who talked about the ego effect of Paquette I have to say this. He was out there that night and made all the right decisions. He loaded along side of the Fitz, watched her clear the harbour, listened to her radio broadcasts and knew they were going to get into trouble. In my estimation he also has the real reason she sank. I have read and reread this book at least 6 times and belive it is the best read ever on the subject. If you want to know why the Fitz sank, get this book. As for Captain Paquette, my hat is off to him. On this night in particular, it wasn't him who had the ego problem. He brought the Sykes into safe harbour.

This book was recommended to me by a very hard core Great Lakes Ship addict that I mentioned in my other review on the Edmund Fitzgerald sinking. I'm not here to put blame on anyone for the tragedy. The book is a very good read and Captain Paquette does deserve respect as you don't become a Captain undeserving. Just as weather dictates a " No-Go ' or a " Go " decision in shipping as well as in flying there's been many lives lost and spared in making that decision. The old phrase: " It's Better To Be Safe Than Sorry " plays a great role in safety. In some cases we all have to realize, is it worth trying to get through for the sake of saving the company money and then of course there's the reputation factor that plays amongst this go or no-go decision, are you afraid to venture out, have you lost your nerve to brave weather ? It works both ways in the gossip halls of shipping. If you sink in bad weather you shouldn't have been out there or if you wait it out in a sheltered area you're " Chicken ", either way you're costing the company money not to mention lives and your ship if you go for it. But if one ship makes it through one of the worse storms on Lake Superior and one goes to the bottom how does that make the others look and what opinions are formed ? Well, I think this book tells it like it was that day with Capt Paquette expressing his personal views which is his right. I too , as one of the other reviewers think that Capt. Paquette was bordering on arrogance but his facts are from a seasoned Skipper not an armchair critic. Also mentioned is the " Wiggling Thing " or the strange movement of the hull & deck under certain conditions. I really think this book along with Michael Schumaker's book " Mighty Fitz " will give readers info on to forming their own assessment of why the " Fitz " sank , there's a lot of variables to this sinking that are brought to the surface in both books. A good read from a Captain that was there ! And of course " Thanks " to Capt.Paquette & Hugh E Bishop.

I was disappointed that the reader has to wade through many chapters that had little to do with the Edmund Fitzgerald. Instead the book had great detail on Capt. Paquette's experiences and other ships on the Great Lakes. There are many other books which expound on the Fitzgerald much better. In addition the type style/size is difficult and eye straining to read. The book Gales of November is much better.

This book is a poorly presented addition to the Fitzgerald literature. It's 143 pages of "I-told-you-so!" Judging from the previous reviews, many readers had the same reaction I did, that about half the book was about the Great All-Knowing Captain Dudley Paquette, and how he could Do No Wrong. It is true that Captain Paquette has a unique qualification for putting forth his opinion about the Fitzgerald tragedy. But in this book he comes off as a stubborn arrogant old man, who know what everyone else did wrong, as compared to him. Captain Paquette knows more than the National Weather Service! Captain Paquette knows more than the Coast Guard! Captain Paquette knows more than everyone else put together, and can't wait to document it. The first several chapters are all about his own career (of no interest to anyone who planned to read about the Fitzgerald tragedy!). It contains such interesting facts as that, on one of Paquette's previous ships, the cook would kick his wife in the legs (hardly germane to the Fitzgerald tragedy!), or that, when he had guests, he'd have two of the ladies seated one on each side of him at dinner (Who cares?). And he can't resist documenting his own wonderfulness--such as on Page 26, when, talking about the night of the storm, and the course of the Fitzgerald as compared to his own course, he says:

"As I was thinking about this, Russ Carlson, the first mate, nudged my arm and said softly, 'It's not hard to see why you're Captain, Dudley. The north shore is the only place we should be tonight.' "

Awwww! One hopes Paquette didn't break his arm patting himself on the back!

The shame of all this is that Paquette does have a theory about the reason for the Fitzgerald's demise that bears looking at--that Captain McSorley, knowing the questionable structural integrity of the Fitzgerald, nonetheless loaded her to the brim, and pushed her out directly into a storm that the Weather Service had seen coming for several days. I know it's not nice to speak ill of the deceased. But the theory needs to be considered. It needs to come out as a respectable theory, though, not as the demented rantings of a know-it-all old sailor just who just wants to say "I told you so."