The F/V Andrea Gail was a commercial fishing vessel that was lost at sea with all hands
during the "Perfect Storm" of 1991. The vessel and her six-man crew had been fishing the
North Atlantic Ocean out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Her last reported position was 180 mi northeast
of Sable Island on October 28, 1991. The story of Andrea Gail and her crew was the basis
of the 1997 book The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, and a 2000 film.
F/V Andrea Gail Andrea Gail was a 72-foot commercial fishing
vessel constructed in Panama City, Florida in 1978, and owned by Robert Brown. Her home
port was Marblehead, Massachusetts. She also sailed from Gloucester, Massachusetts, where
she would offload her catch and reload food, fuel, and stores for her next run. She was
originally named Miss Penny. Lost at sea
Final voyage Andrea Gail began her final voyage departing
from Gloucester Harbor, Massachusetts, on September 20, 1991, bound for the Grand Banks
of Newfoundland off the coast of eastern Canada. After poor fishing, Captain Frank W. "Billy"
Tyne Jr. headed east to the Flemish Cap where he believed they would have better luck. Despite
weather reports warning of dangerous conditions, the captain set course for home on October
26–27, 1991. It is known that the ship's ice machine was malfunctioning and unable
to maintain the catch for much longer. This is suggested as a key factor in the decision
to head home on October 26. Disappearance
The last reported transmission from Andrea Gail was at about 6:00 p.m. on October 28,
1991. Captain Tyne radioed Linda Greenlaw, Captain of Andrea Gail's sister ship Hannah
Boden, and gave his coordinates as 44°00′N 56°40′W, or about 162 mi east of Sable
Island. He also gave a weather report indicating 30-foot seas and wind gusts up to 80 knots).
Tyne's final recorded words were "She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong." Junger
reported that the storm created waves in excess of 100 ft in height, but ocean buoy monitors
recorded a peak wave height of 39 feet, and so waves of 100 ft were deemed "unlikely"
by Science Daily. However, data from a series of weather buoys in the general vicinity of
the vessel's last known location recorded peak wave action exceeding 100 ft in height
from October 28 through 30, 1991. No further messages were heard from the vessel
and no other ships were able to reach her. Search
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 186,000
square nautical miles. On November 6, 1991, Andrea Gail's emergency
position-indicating radio beacon 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 Canadian Coast Guard personnel who found the beacon "did not conclusively verify
whether the control switch was in the on or off position". Authorities called off the
search for the missing vessel on November 9, 1991, due to the low probability of crew
survival. Fuel drums, a fuel tank, the EPIRB, an empty
life raft, and some other flotsam were the only wreckage ever found. The ship was presumed
lost at sea somewhere along the continental shelf near Sable Island.
Crew All six of the crew were lost at sea.
Frank W. "Billy" Tyne, Jr., aged 34 from Gloucester, Massachusetts
Michael "Bugsy" Moran, aged 36 Florida Dale R. "Murph" Murphy, aged 30 Bradenton
Beach, Florida Alfred Pierre, aged 32 New York City, New
York Robert F. "Bobby" Shatford, aged 30 Gloucester,
Massachusetts David "Sully" Sullivan, aged 29 Gloucester,
Massachusetts In the media
The story of Andrea Gail and her crew inspired Sebastian Junger's 1997 book, The Perfect
Storm, and a 2000 film, distributed by Warner Brothers. The Andrea Gail's near-sister ship,
Lady Grace, was used during the filming of the movie.
A model of Andrea Gail, built by Paul Gran, is on display at the Cape Ann Museum in Gloucester.
Footnotes
References U.S. Investigation into the Disappearance
of the Andrea Gail, U.S. Coast Guard Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm: A True
Story of Men Against the Sea. HarperCollins, 1997.
External links Andrea Gail MFV on the wrecksite
Image of the pilot house Image of the refrigerated storage area
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