The Perfect Storm (book) - Plot

Plot

The book follows the lives of the swordfishing crew of the Andrea Gail and their family members before and during the 1991 Perfect Storm. Among the men boarding the Andrea Gail were Billy Tyne, Alfred Pierre, David "Sully" Sullivan, Michael "Bugsy" Moran, Dale "Murph" Murphy, and Bobby Shatford, each bringing their own intelligence, physical strength, and hope on board with them. The men were raised with the expectation that they would become fishermen. As "Sully" said, even before they had left for their long journey, "It's the money ... If I didn't need the money I wouldn't go near this thing."

Much of the early part of the book gives detailed descriptions of the daily lives of the fishermen and their jobs, and is centered around activities at the Crow's Nest, a tavern in Gloucester popular with the fishermen.

The latter part of the book attempts to reconstruct events at sea during the storm, aboard the Andrea Gail as well as rescue efforts directed at several other ships caught in the storm, including the attempted rescue of pararescuemen who were themselves caught in the storm. Lost from the New York Air National Guard HH-60 helicopter was TSgt. Alden "Rick" Smith. A week-long search off the South Shore of Long Island failed to find his remains. Surviving the helicopter crash were Maj. David Ruvola, Capt. Graham Buschor, SSgt. Jimmy Mioli and TSgt. John Spillane, the second pararescueman aboard.

All six crew members of the Andrea Gail were missing, presumed dead. The ship and crew were never found. A few fuel drums, a fuel tank, the EPIRB, an empty life raft, and some other flotsam were the only wreckage ever found.