MONROE, Mich. — Fifty years after the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in Lake Superior, killing all 29 crew members aboard, 68 swimmers have completed a grueling 411-mile relay swim to honor those who perished in one of the Great Lakes' most notorious maritime disasters.

The relay followed the freighter's planned route from Wisconsin's Lake Superior to Detroit, spanning 17 stages over multiple days. Each swimmer carried an iron ore pellet during their segment, symbolic of the cargo the Edmund Fitzgerald was transporting when it went down on Nov. 10, 1975.

Michelle Howard, an endurance swimmer from Monroe who trains at Sterling State Park on Lake Erie, participated in the 12th stage of the relay. Her team swam 22 miles from the tip of Michigan's thumb down to Port Harbor, but dangerous condition

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