LAKE HURON — In a frustrating irony, the commemorative swim meant to complete the interrupted voyage of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald through the Great Lakes might itself not get to finish the journey because the boat escorting the swimmers is facing engine failure.

The Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Swim , as it’s called, is a 411-mile relay staged to honor the 50th anniversary of the sinking of the infamous freighter in Lake Superior during a winter storm on Nov. 10, 1975, taking the lives of all 29 men on board.

The swim began July 26 at the spot in the water where the freighter’s journey ended, 17 miles northwest of the Whitefish Point lighthouse, which in fatal happenstance was inoperable the night of the ship’s sinking. The plan is to follow the ship’s planned route along the Lake Huron

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