The Edmund Fitzgerald was a big ship (before it sank). Could it have made it upriver to Wilmington?

Let's get hypothetical! Here's a reader question about the legendary ship, which became a legendary shipwreck.

The Edmund Fitzgerald in 1971 (By Greenmars, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=106988525)

Here’s a Gordon Lightfoot-inspired question from Rabbit Hole reader Bill Hoke, who apparently makes bar bets with crusty ship captains:

Reading about the mighty Cape Fear got me to pondering about the Edmund Fitzgerald! Could it have made it up to the state port terminal? After all, it was pretty heavy with "26,000 tons more than it weighed empty" after leaving some mill in Wisconsin.