Andrea Gail

Type

Fishing Vessel

Period

20th Century

Nation

United States

Overview: The Andrea Gail was an American commercial swordfishing vessel homeported in Gloucester, Massachusetts, best known for vanishing with her entire six-man crew during the 1991 "Perfect Storm." Her story became world-famous through Sebastian Junger's 1997 book The Perfect Storm and the 2000 Warner Bros. film adaptation, making her one of the most recognizable fishing boats in popular culture and a popular subject for scale modelers. Specifications: Built as a steel-hulled longliner at Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Florida, launched in 1977 and completed in 1978. The vessel was originally named Miss Penny before being renamed Andrea Gail. According to Wikipedia's technical listing, the ship measured 92 tons, 72 ft (22 m) in length, with a 20 ft (6.1 m) beam and 9.8 ft (3.0 m) depth, powered by a diesel marine engine (Caterpillar 3408 V8) driving a single propeller, along with a Caterpillar 35 kW generator and a Lister Petter 15 kW generator, giving a service speed of 12 knots. She carried a standard crew of six and had two known sister ships, the Hannah Boden and the Lady Grace, built to a similar "western-rig" longliner design common to Gloucester's swordfishing fleet. Service History: Owned by Gloucester fisherman Robert "Bobby" Brown through his Sea Gale Corporation, the Andrea Gail worked North Atlantic longline swordfishing grounds throughout the 1980s under Captain Frank "Billy" Tyne Jr. On her final voyage she departed Gloucester Harbour, Massachusetts on September 20, 1991 with six crew members on board, intending to fish for swordfish in the area of the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, Canada. After a disappointing catch, the captain pushed further east toward the Flemish Cap before turning for home into the path of the developing storm. Her last reported position was 180 mi (290 km) northeast of Sable Island on October 28, 1991, and no trace of the vessel or crew was ever recovered despite an extensive US and Canadian air-sea search. Notable Facts: On November 6, 1991, Andrea Gail's emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was discovered washed up on the shore of Sable Island, though investigators could not confirm whether it had activated. Her captain's final radioed weather report described 30-foot seas and wind gusts up to 80 knots shortly before all contact was lost. Because no wreckage was ever found, her exact fate and sinking location remain unconfirmed, and the film version's hull design (used in several popular kit replicas) is itself a dramatized reconstruction rather than a documented as-built plan, something modelers should note when seeking strict historical accuracy.