30 years ago the “perfect storm” that was every sailor’s true nightmare
THE PERFECT GIFT!
Give or treat yourself to a subscription to the print + digital Journal of Sailing and for only 69 euros a year you get the magazine at home plus read it on your PC, smartphone and tablet. With a sea of advantages.
Everyone has seen Wolfgang Petersen’s film, “The Perfect Storm” starring George Clooney as the protagonist and captain of a fishing boat, the Andrea Gail, at least once. Not everyone knows, however, that this is a true story from late October 1991, when the perfect storm suddenly “appeared” in the Atlantic Ocean, north of the city of Boston.
The Halloween storm and the Andrea Gail
It is Halloween Day 1991. The Andrea Gail meanwhile had been at sea for several days. A dry spell had given way to good fishing, and on Oct. 27 Captain Frank Billy Tine Jr. had started heading home with his crew consisting of Michael Moran, Dale Murphy, Alfred Pierre, Robert Shatford and David Sullivan. In the Atlantic Ocean, this is the time when storms called “Nor’easters” (nor’easters) can be encountered, which in history have sowed panic among those who have encountered them.
The 1991 one, however, is considered by many to be one of the worst. A cold front from the east coast of the United States created a wave of low pressure, which met a high-pressure ridge from Canada into the Atlantic. The meeting of the two fronts originated a swirling mass of wind as the air moved between areas of high and low pressure. Another unusual element made this storm so terrible. The short-lived “aftermath” of Hurricane Grace was still in the area. The warm air left behind by the hurricane was sucked into the cyclone, creating what came to be called “The Perfect Storm” because of the rare combination of circumstances that made the storm incredibly powerful with winds up to over 185 kilometers per hour and waves of over 10 meters.
The captain of a Maine fishing boat, Linda Greenlaw, was the last person to speak with Andrea Gail. On October 30, Andrea Gail is missing. The Coast Guard began a massive search for the crew of the Andrea Gail on Oct. 31. Only a few remains of the vessel were found on Nov. 5 on the shores of Sable Island, a small Canadian island 300 kilometers from Halifax. None of the crew was ever found.
HELP US KEEP YOU UP TO DATE
The journalists of the Sailing Newspaper, strive every day to ensure quality, up-to-date and correct information about the boating world free of charge through their websites. If you appreciate our work, support us by subscribing to the magazine. The annual subscription costs only 49 euros and we also give you two gifts!
DISCOVER THE SAILING NEWSPAPER YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Daily interviews, boat trials, webinars. The whole sail, minute by minute. But on video! CLICK HERE To sign up, it’s free!
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
To stay up-to-date on all the news from the world of sailing, selected by our editorial staff, sign up for the Sailing Newspaper newsletter! It’s super easy, just enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “Sign Me Up” button. You will then receive on your email, twice a week, the best sailing news! It’s a free service and you can unsubscribe at any time, with no obligation!
Share:
Check out the latest issue
Are you already a subscriber?
Ultimi annunci
Our social
Sign up for our Newsletter
We give you a gift
Sailing, its stories, all boats, accessories. Sign up now for our free newsletter and receive the best news selected by the Sailing Newspaper editorial staff each week. Plus we give you one month of GdV digitally on PC, Tablet, Smartphone. Enter your email below, agree to the Privacy Policy and click the “sign me up” button. You will receive a code to activate your month of GdV for free!
You may also be interested in.
VIDEO We’ve been to the school where the best sailors make you a better sailor
The Tito Nordio Sailing School, created in Monfalcone by Olympian Sergio Sorrentino in 1966 (in Tokyo in 1964 on the Dragons with Annibale Pelaschier and Sergio Furlan) was the first school recognized by the Italian Sailing Federation. Here, thousands of
USED Classic Boat | 7 90s flagships for cruising the world in comfort (16+ m)
Sailing around the world is not for everyone. Easier, however, is to find those who, in this regard, are lost inside these fantasies. In this column, also fantasizing, we have already seen 5 ‘small’ Classic Boats with which, all things
Against the wear and tear of modern sailing, nearly 100 miles in a Hobie Cat!
All at sea, together, passionately to sail nearly 1oo miles on Hobie Cat 16 (5.05 m) and 18 (5.50 m) catamarans. Without any competition, with the mission of exalting amateur sailing to bring out passion in younger people and “nurture
How to go sailing (while having fun and safely) if you’re Over 60
Through the account of our 61-year-old Marco Cohen*, in these pages. we show you how sailing is perfect for all ages, especially the third age. E’ one of the very few activities where the “physical decline” due to age is
