The story of The Perfect Storm is based on the true events that took place in 1991 when the commercial swordfishing boat Andrea Gail F/V Andrea Gail was a private 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 Stor…Andrea Gail
Was the movie The Perfect Storm based on true events?
As a meteorological event -- not very. In the movie "The Perfect Storm," which opens this Friday, George Clooney, and fellow cast members recreate the actual events surrounding the sinking of the sword-fishing vessel Andrea Gail on October 28, 1991.
Has the Andrea Gail been found?
Winds from the storm reached strengths of 120 miles per hour and when no communication was heard from the 72-foot Andrea Gail, which was right in the center of the storm, the search was called off in a matter of ten days. To this day, the trawler, and its crew, have never been recovered.
Where is The Perfect Storm true story?
The Andrea Gail's emergency beacon washed ashore that November on Sable Island, off the coast of Nova Scotia, but the boat was never found. The crew left behind five children among them, and the entire small town mourned the loss.
How many died in The Perfect Storm of 1991?
131991 Perfect Storm / Total fatalitiesThirteen people died and 100 homes were destroyed as a result of the Perfect Storm, which caused $200 million in damages. Six of the storm's 13 victims were fishermen aboard the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing vessel out of Gloucester that was lost at sea.
How many boats sank during The Perfect Storm?
The storm destroyed three boats and damaged a lighthouse. High waves destroyed or swept away over 50,000 lobster traps, representing $2 million in losses (1991 USD).
How deep was the water where the Andrea Gail sank?
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....Andrea Gail.HistoryUnited StatesLength72 feet (22 m)Beam20 feet (6.1 m)Depth9.8 feet (3.0 m)20 more rows
Were there any survivors in The Perfect Storm?
No one onboard survived to tell the story and the ship was never recovered. Author Sebastian Junger took on the task of reconstructing this fatal voyage in his 1997 best-seller The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea.
How many Gloucester fishermen have died?
10,000 Gloucester menSince 1623, when the British first set up their camp just across the harbor, perhaps 10,000 Gloucester men have gone down to the sea. That's one fisherman lost every 13 days for 375 years.
How long do swordfish boats stay out?
Today's commercial fishers use massive ships the size of football fields and advanced electronic equipment to track fish. These enormous vessels can stay out at sea for as long as six months, storing thousands of tons of fish onboard in massive freezer compartments.
How far out was the Andrea Gail?
The Andrea Gail was approximately 150 miles east of Sable Island, presumably heading home to Gloucester — but possibly headed inland for shelter or fuel. It is unknown when or how the fishing vessel lost her radio, or how far she traveled after the radio failed.
What was the deadliest hurricane on record?
The 31 Deadliest Atlantic HurricanesRankName/Areas of Largest LossDates1.Great Hurricane (Martinique, Barbados, St. Eustatius)10-16 Oct. 17802.Great Galveston Hurricane8 Sept. 19003.Mitch (Honduras, Nicaragua)22 Oct. - 5 Nov. 19984.Fifi (Honduras)14-19 Sept. 197427 more rows
What's the worst storm in history?
More people were killed in this single storm than the total of those killed in at least the next two deadliest tropical cyclones that have struck the United States since. The Galveston hurricane of 1900 remains the deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
Why did Murphy and Sully hate each other?
Sully and Murph initially have an antagonistic relationship that is fueled in part by Sully's past involvement with Murph's ex-wife, although the details are not made clear in the film.
Were there any survivors in The Perfect Storm?
No one onboard survived to tell the story and the ship was never recovered. Author Sebastian Junger took on the task of reconstructing this fatal voyage in his 1997 best-seller The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea.
How big were the waves in The Perfect Storm?
100 feetIn the case of the Perfect Storm, rogue waves were reported to be as high as 80 to 90 feet, and seas in the North Atlantic were as high as 100 feet. And while the system was spinning off the coast, all the wind and wave energy was being sent right into the Massachusetts coastline.
Where is the Flemish Cap in the ocean?
The Flemish Cap is an area of shallow waters in the north Atlantic Ocean centered roughly at 47° north, 45° west or about 350 miles (560 km) east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
How many reviews did The Perfect Storm get?
Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The Perfect Storm was a box office success.
What is the perfect storm?
The Perfect Storm is a 2000 American biographical disaster drama film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and based on the 1997 non-fiction book of the same name by Sebastian Junger. The film tells the story of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing vessel that was lost at sea with all hands after being caught in the Perfect Storm of 1991.
How was Mistral rescued?
The crew members of Satori (renamed Mistral in the movie) were not rescued by an Air National Guard helicopter, but rather by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. The helicopter was changed in the film after the Air National Guard had issues consulting with the movie producers. According to the owner's son, Satori never made a 360° roll, although it had two knockdowns, during which it lay on its side for about 30 seconds. In response to requests by the crew, Captain Ray Leonard permitted the two crewmembers to make a position report over radio, during which they made an unauthorized Mayday call. One of those crewmembers reported that she was so convinced that she was going to die that she wrote her name down and put it into a plastic bag duct-taped to her stomach so her body could be identified.
How fast did the wind gusts go in Andrea Gail?
In reality, the hurricane had already peaked at category 2 intensity and ocean buoy monitors recorded wind gusts at 65 knots (75 mph) around the time Andrea Gail sank. In the movie, Tyne and his crew agreed to head into the dangerous storm in order to save their fish from spoiling.
Who was the actor who was in the movie The Perfect Storm?
Many people are aware of the Andrea Gail tragedy thanks to The Perfect Storm, the 2000 film starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg. Unfortunately, some of the families members of the departed crew were so unhappy with the movie that they filed a lawsuit.
What is the perfect storm?
While the phrase "perfect storm" might suggest an event in which everything goes smoothly and no one gets hurt, the reality is unfortunately far less pleasant. The 1991 Perfect Storm was named by a meteorologist who saw three separate storms on track to converge off the coast of Nova Scotia. The weather systems combined to create ...
How many people died in the 1991 hurricane?
From October 26 through November 1, 1991, a massive storm pummeled the East Coast as it traveled from Nova Scotia to Florida. The storm claimed a total of 13 lives, including those of the six crew members aboard the fishing boat Andrea Gail .
How many people died in the perfect storm?
Bob Case Dubbed It 'The Perfect Storm'. "Perfect" may not seem like the most appropriate word to describe a storm that took the lives of 13 people, but nevertheless, the "Perfect Storm" moniker stuck.
What did the Warner Bros. lawsuit charge?
Filed by the family of Captain Billy Tyne, the lawsuit charged Warner Bros. with "unauthorized commercial misappropriation and invasion of privacy." They claimed they had not given permission to use Tyne's likeness, and that the film had unfairly depicted him as incompetent. According to Warner Bros., the law did not require them to obtain permission to depict a historically important event. Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court threw out the case.
Who bought the ship used in The Perfect Storm?
The Perfect Storm may not have been a popular film with the crew's families, but one eatery was able to salvage something from the production. Boston restaurant Legal Seafood bought the ship used in the movie and turned it into a memorial for the Andrea Gail crew.
Did Warner Bros. have to obtain permission to depict a historically important event?
According to Warner Bros., the law did not require them to obtain permission to depict a historically important event. Ultimately, the Florida Supreme Court threw out the case. In contrast, Sebastian Junger's novel of the same name was considered to be quite fair and well researched.
Overview
Historical accuracy
A ship similar to Andrea Gail, Lady Grace, was used during the filming of the movie. Most of the names used were not changed for the fictional film, but in response two lawsuits were later filed by certain families of the crew members. The film only claims to be "based on a true story", and differs in many ways from the book starting with the fictionalization of the material into a "story". The even…
Plot
In October 1991, the commercial swordfishing boat Andrea Gail returns to port in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with a poor catch. Boat owner Bob Brown ridicules and taunts Captain Billy Tyne over his recent "cold streak". Desperate to redeem himself, Captain Tyne convinces the Andrea Gail crew to join him for one more late-season fishing expedition. The crew heads out past their usual fishing grounds on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, leaving a developing tropical storm b…
Cast
• George Clooney as Frank William "Billy" Tyne, Jr., captain of Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat. Billy is a divorced father of two daughters, who is determined to undertake one last fishing trip before the end of the season to make up for a recent string of poor catches. Petersen asked Harrison Ford to play the role but declined, his second choice was Nicolas Cage who also turned it down, and Mel Gibson was offered the role but wanted too much money.
Reception
The Perfect Storm received mixed reviews from critics, with a 47% approval rating on critic site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 135 reviews, and an average rating of 5.59/10, with a consensus of, "While the special effects are well done and quite impressive, this film suffers a lack of any actual drama or characterization. The end result is a film that offers nifty eye-candy and nothing else." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indic…
Filming
The movie was partially filmed in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Lawsuits
After the film was released, the families of two crew members sued the film makers for the fictionalization of events which happened prior to the loss of Andrea Gail. In May 2002, the Florida Supreme Court ruled against the family of Captain Tyne by a 6–2 vote. Some unnamed families also sued the producers in federal district court, claiming that their names were used without their permission, and that facts were changed. The district court, which is also located in Florida, dis…
See also
• 106th Rescue Wing
• 1991 Perfect Storm
• Air Force Pararescue
• The Perfect Storm (book)
• Godless Men (1920)