Posted on 10/30/2016 1:49:19 PM PDT by Daffynition
At the heart of Gloucester, America’s oldest seaport, visitors will find an eight-foot-tall bronze fisherman at the wheel of his ship.
Engraved at the base of the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial are the names of more than 3,000 residents who were lost at sea and the following words: “They that go down to the sea in ships, 1623-1923.” Twenty-five years ago, one ship in particular gained national fame when it was lost during the “perfect storm” of 1991.
The “storm with no name” claimed the lives of six fishermen and the captain and crew of the Andrea Gail, a disaster that was later chronicled in Sebastian Junger’s bestselling book [snip]
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
did they ever find the wreckage or bodies?
This statue has always had such an impact on me. I don’t know how those fishermen go out, in all kinds of weather, and do what they do. Prayers for all the souls lost and those still braving the fickle sea.
It is immobile drama and pathos on a beautiful harbor...
No.
I read a salvage company plans to look for it.
In memory of the 6-man crew. RIP: Captain Bill Tyne, 37, David Sullivan, 29, and Bob Shatford, 30, all of Gloucester, as well as Dale Murphy and Michael Moran, both of Bradenton Beach, Florida, and Alfred Pierce, of New York City.
Linda Greenlaw, was the last person to speak with her sister ship. Greenlaw recalled to the Gloucester Times that her last conversation with Tyne was “typical.”
“I wanted a weather report, and Billy wanted a fishing report,” she told the Times. “I recall him saying, ‘The weather sucks. You probably won’t be fishing tomorrow night.’”
After that, there was silence. No distress call. No answers to how or if the ship went down. The Coast Guard then began an extensive search.
She had some retrofitting done; some think that the Andrea Gail may have been low on fuel or had its fuel “muddied” in the rough waters. According to Flaherty, violent movement of the boat can slosh up fuel — bringing up sediment, rust, or algae. Air could also become trapped in the fuel, leading to a stalled engine or complete engine failure.
Flaherty says that in extreme conditions when the waves may be only seconds apart captains have to “jog the waves” — facing the bow into the waves to show the storm the narrowest part of the boat.
“You’re going up the face of a 50-foot sea, and then dropping 50 feet into the trough. Seconds later you’re climbing another 50 feet and slamming down,” said Flaherty. “If your filters get clogged or there’s air in your fuel, you could end up powerless in the water. Without power even for a short time, the Andrea Gail could have ended up ‘side-to’ a wave and been easily rolled.”
According to Flaherty, even if the Andrea Gail had almost full fuel tanks, the amount of violent movement may have affected her fuel efficiency and engine performance.
Remembering all who didn’t return from the sea. RIP
With the new limits that Hussein put on the fisheries, these men and women, don’t have much of a future.
They did not put the Bible refer. lest the ACLU torpedo it.
It’s quite a rough and tumble town, that has seen it share of misery and hard times. God Bless them and keep them.
Let’s never forget the Air National Guardsmen PJ that died when they had to ditch their helicopter at sea during rescue missions in that storm.
“If you have seen the movie ``The Perfect Storm’’ and don’t recall this scene, it is because the motion picture takes considerable license with the facts when it comes to the helicopter rescue.
In the movie, the people on the sailboat are rescued by PJs (pararescue jumpers) from an Air National Guard helicopter and deposited on the deck of the Coast Guard cutter Tamaroa. The helicopter then goes looking for the Andrea Gail but runs out of fuel and has to ditch.
In reality, Moore’s Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod rescued the people from the sailboat, along with three crewmen from the Tamaroa, whose small inflatable craft was damaged in an attempt to get to the sailboat.
Although the Air National Guard helicopter did run out of fuel and did ditch during the storm, it was not looking for the Andrea Gail at the time. Rather, it was trying to get back to its base on Long Island after being unable to rescue a solo sailor in a separate mission.
What is factual, however, is that after going into the water, the crew of the Air National Guard helicopter was rescued by the Tamaroa, and that one of the five, a PJ, was lost in the storm.
It is believed the PJ died due to misjudging the waves, and falling 100 feet into a wave trough would be like hitting concrete.”
For those in peril on the sea ...
"[T]he information given to Halsey about the location and direction of the typhoon was inaccurate. On December 17, Halsey unwittingly sailed Third Fleet into the heart of the typhoon.
Because of 100 mph winds, very high seas and torrential rain, three destroyers capsized and sank, and 790 lives were lost. Nine other warships were damaged, and over 100 aircraft were wrecked or washed overboard."
—Wikipedia
OMG - what a staggering loss of life.
I cannot imagine the grief of the 790 WWII Gold Star families that received the horrible news.
We lost 400,000+ soldiers in WWII
Thank you for reminding us how much our forebears paid for our freedom.
...and I would be remiss not to offer praise and prayers for the hero USCG.
I’ve been out in sea storms ...with only 35’ waves...you make plans to meet your maker...I can’t even imagine 50’ troughs. Mind boggling.
Over time, I’ve become a fan of Linda Greenlaw. Her books are so well written. A joy to read.
A unique breed of hardscrabble folks.
I feel like breaking out in song....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.