The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm is a 1997 nonfiction book by Sebastian Junger, who writes for numerous magazines, including Outside, American Heritage, and Men’s Journal. He has lived most of his life on the Massachusetts coast.

In late September of 1991, the swordfishing boat Andrea Gail departs the town of Gloucester, Massachusetts with six men aboard, for a month-long fishing trip. In late October, as a powerful storm begins to build in the fishing waters of the North Atlantic—a storm that will come to be known as “The Storm of the Century” by those in its path, and, simply, “The Perfect Storm” by meteorologists, who watch it come together—captain Billy Tyne radios to the other ships in the fleet one line: “She’s coming on boys, and she’s coming on strong” (106). Soon after, the Andrea Gail will disappear from the face of the earth, leaving behind loved ones mourning the loss, and a stunned Gloucester.

In trying to uncover what happened to the Andrea Gail, Junger interviews captains from other ships, Coast Guard personnel, and family members of those lost. He traces the history of fishing in the Atlantic, and especially the lucrative, dangerous trade of swordfishing—“a young man’s game, a single man’s game” (17). He describes life in Gloucester, and how many young men are called to sea for the money. He recreates the last days of the crew of the Andrea Gail, and attempts to recreate their last moments.

Junger also traces the development of this “Perfect Storm,” and the three weather systems that spawned it. He studies waves and wind and their effect on ships. He studies hurricanes, “by far the most powerful event on earth” (102). He describes what happens to the body in cold water, to be at sea in total darkness, and, ultimately, to drown. He lists accounts of ships going down in foul weather, ships that survived but were forever altered, and ships that, like the Andrea Gail, were never heard from again.

Amidst the wind and waves and the attempt to uncover the mystery of the Gail, Junger describes the heroic rescues, and rescue attempts, that occurred during the storm: the Satori, a sloop that started out from Maine en route to the Bahamas and was so beaten and battered those on board had to abandon ship; the Eishin Maru, a Japanese ship disabled in the storm; and the Andrea Gail. He recounts the helicopter that went down trying to save a lone Japanese sailor and the rescue attempt of the rescuers. He also recounts the aftermath, the depression and despair that settled upon those who faced such high seas.

Junger describes what it is like to be helpless in the grip of nature. All of the fishermen know the danger. They have lived alongside the sea long enough to know they may not come back, that once in the grip of such a storm, they can only hold on and hope. At the funeral of the crew of the Andrea Gail, the reverend asks everyone to remember not only the men of the Gail, but all fishermen of all time. Junger’s book becomes, then, an elegy for all those lost at sea.