Andrea Gail
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The fishing vessel Andrea Gail was a commercial fishing vessel lost at sea during the so-called "Perfect Storm" of 1991.
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[edit] Background
The Andrea Gail was a 72 foot (22 m) long "longliner" commercial sword fishing boat constructed by Eastern Marina Inc., of Panama City, Florida in 1978, originally named the "Miss Penny".
The vessel was homeported out of Marblehead, Massachusetts but typically sailed from Gloucester, Massachusetts where she would offload her catch and reload food, fuel and stores for her next run.
[edit] Events
Andrea Gail began her final voyage departing from Gloucester on September 20, 1991 bound for the Grand Banks. After poor results fishing in the Grand Banks, Captain Billy Tyne apparently decided to try fishing near the Flemish Cap.
The ship began her return voyage on October 26, 1991. The last reported transmission from Andrea Gail was at about 6:00 p.m. on the evening of October 28, 1991. Captain Tyne reported his coordinates as 44° north, 56.4° west, or about 180 miles (330 km) northeast of Sable Island. He also gave a weather report indicating 30 foot (9 m) seas and wind gusts up to 80 knots (148 km/h). His final recorded words were, "She's comin' on boys, and she's comin' on strong!"
No further messages were heard from the vessel and no other ships reported hearing a distress call. On October 30, 1991, the vessel was reported overdue. An extensive air and sea search was launched by the 106th Rescue Wing from the New York Air National Guard, United States Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard forces. The search would eventually cover over 116,000 square nautical miles (400 000 km²).
On November 8, 1991, Andrea Gail's emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was discovered washed up on the shore of Sable Island. The EPIRB was designed to automatically send out a distress signal upon contact with sea water, but the Coast Guard personnel who found the beacon indicated that it had not been properly armed, rendering it useless. That same day, authorities called off the search for the missing vessel.
[edit] Losses
All six crewmembers were missing at sea, presumed dead. They were: Captain Billy Tyne, Robert "Bobby" Shatford, Dale "Murph" Murphy, David "Sully" Sullivan, Michael "Bugsy" Moran and Alfred Pierre. The ship and crew were never found. A few fuel drums, a fuel tank, the EPIRB, an empty life raft, and some other flotsam were the only wreckage ever found.
[edit] Media
The story of the Andrea Gail and her crew inspired Sebastian Junger's 1997 book, The Perfect Storm, and the 2000 movie of the same name, distributed by Warner Brothers. The Andrea Gail's near sister ship, Lady Grace, was used during the filming of the movie.
[edit] References
- Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea. HarperCollins, 1997.
