Andrea Gail
| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: |
Andrea Gail (Final Name) Miss Penny (Original Name) |
| Port of registry: | Gloucester, MA |
| Builder: | Eastern Marina Inc. , Panama City, Florida |
| Completed: | 1978 |
| Out of service: | October 28, 1991 |
| Homeport: | Marblehead, MA |
| Fate: | Sank while sailing through the 1991 Perfect Storm (AKA the "Perfect Storm") |
| Status: | Lost at sea |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Fishing Vessel |
| Tonnage: | 93 tons |
| Length: | 72 foot (22 m) |
| Speed: | 15 Knots |
| Notes: | Her sister ships are the Lady Grace and Hannah Boden. |
The F/V Andrea Gail was a commercial fishing vessel which was lost at sea with all hands during the "Perfect Storm" of 1991. The vessel and her 6 man crew had been fishing the North Atlantic Ocean out of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Her last reported position was 180 miles (330 km) northeast of Sable Island on October 28, 1991. The story of the Andrea Gail and her crew was the basis of the 1997 book The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, and a 2000 motion picture film of the same name.
Contents
F/V Andrea Gail
The Andrea Gail was a 72 foot (22 m) commercial fishing vessel constructed in Panama City, Florida in 1978. Her home port was Marblehead, Massachusetts. She sailed also 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.
Loss at sea
Final voyage
The Andrea Gail began her final voyage departing from Gloucester, MA on September 20, 1991, bound for the Grand Banks. After poor fishing, Captain Billy Tyne headed East to the Flemish Cap for better catch. Despite weather reports warning of dangerous conditions, the ship set course for home on October 26, 1991. It is known that the ship's ice machine was malfunctioning and unable to sustain the catch for much longer.[citation needed] This is believed to be a key factor in their decision to head home on the 26th.
Disappearance
The last reported transmission from the Andrea Gail was at about 6:00 p.m. on the evening of October 28, 1991. Captain Tyne reported his coordinates as 44°00′N 56°24′W / 44°N 56.4°W, 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 (150 km/h). His final recorded words were, "She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong". The storm created waves reported to exceed 100 feet (30 m) in height.
No further messages were heard from the vessel and no other ships were able to raise 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 (400,000 km²).[1]
On November 6, 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 Canadian Coast Guard personnel who found the beacon "did not conclusively verify whether the control switch was in the on or off position" [2]. Authorities called off the search for the missing vessel on November 9, 1991 due to the low probability of crew survival.[citation needed]
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 Chaunceys.
Crew
All six of the crew were lost.
- Frank W. Tyne, Jr. (Captain), aged 34[3]
- Michael "Bugsy" Moran, aged 36[4]
- Dale R. Murphy, aged 32[5]
- Alfred Pierre, aged 32[6]
- Robert F. Shatford, aged 30[7]
- David Sullivan, aged 29[8]
In the media
The story of the Andrea Gail and her crew inspired Sebastian Junger's 1997 book, The Perfect Storm, and a 2000 motion picture film, distributed by Warner Brothers. The Andrea Gail's near-sister ship, Lady Grace, was used during the filming of the movie.
Footnotes
- ↑ "The search for the Andrea Gail: Gloucester Daily Times". http://www.gloucestertimes.com/andreagail/local_story_155120146.html. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ http://www.offsoundings.com/WEB%20PDF/ANDREA_GAIL.pdf
- ↑ http://www.offsoundings.com/WEB%20PDF/ANDREA_GAIL.pdf
- ↑ http://www.offsoundings.com/WEB%20PDF/ANDREA_GAIL.pdf
- ↑ http://www.offsoundings.com/WEB%20PDF/ANDREA_GAIL.pdf
- ↑ http://www.offsoundings.com/WEB%20PDF/ANDREA_GAIL.pdf
- ↑ http://www.offsoundings.com/WEB%20PDF/ANDREA_GAIL.pdf
References
- U.S. Investigation into the Disappearance of the Andrea Gail, US Coast Guard
- Junger, Sebastian. The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea. HarperCollins, 1997.
External links
de:Andrea Gail fr:Andrea Gail id:Andrea Gail pl:Andrea Gail pt:Andrea Gail
