[1][5][8][9][10] Cambria chartered both Daniel J. Morrell and her sister ship, Edward Y. Townsend, to sail for the M. A. Hanna Company, one of the most experienced vessel management firms on the lakes.

[3] Making the last run of the season with Edward Y. Townsend, Daniel J. Morrell became caught in winds exceeding 70 mph (110 km/h) and swells that topped the height of the ship (20 to 25 ft (6.1 to 7.6 m) waves).

[11] During the early morning hours of November 29, 1966, Edward Y. Townsend made the decision to take shelter in the St. Clair River, leaving Daniel J. Morrell alone on the waters north of Pointe Aux Barques, Michigan, heading for the protection of Thunder Bay.

The men were instructed to shoot flares from the raft as soon as they went in the water, alerting nearby vessels of their situation[15] In fact, there was a real question whether the Morrell should have been out on Lake Huron during this storm.

[20] Damaged irreparably in the same storm, Edward Y. Townsend, after having escaped the same fate as her sister, was discovered to have a large crack in her deck that grew worse; she was declared a total loss and was docked for almost two years.

[24] The West German saltie Nordmeer, which had grounded at Thunder Bay Island Shoal on 19 November 1966, was declared a total loss after the additional damage to its bottom caused by the storm.

[26] The Coast Guard investigation of the sinking of Daniel J. Morrell concluded that she broke in half due to the brittle steel used in her hull which was a "common problem" in ships built before 1948.

[28] In addition to Edmund Fitzgerald, other contemporary Great Lakes freighters lost under similar circumstances were Carl D. Bradley and Henry Steinbrenner.