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The Andrea Gail

 

November 4, 1991

Swordfishing Boat Missing, Overdue

The Coast Guard continued searching today for a fishing boat due back in Gloucester last Friday from a trip to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, Canada.  The 70-foot Andrea Gail was supposed to have returned to port by Saturday with its crew of six fishermen. Several Gloucester fishermen were said to be aboard the vessel, but Coast Guard officials were withholding crew members' names this morning pending notification of their families.
The vessel has not been heard from since Thursday when it was reported to be 180 miles east-northeast of Canada's Sable Island.  The missing vessel was reported to be encountering 30-foot seas and 50 to 80-know winds kicked up by the northeaster that devastated coastal New England last week.  "We have hope the boat is OK and it's just lost its communication."
The Coast Guard has been searching for the Andrea Gail for three days.  Today a Coast Guard cutter and long-range airplane were assisting four U. S. Coast Guard and one Navy craft.

November 5, 1991

Andrea Gail still missing; hunt goes on

The search for the Andrea Gail continued today, six days after the Gloucester fishing vessel was reported overdue from a trip to the Grand Banks off Canada...The Andrea Gail was carrying a six-man crew.   The fishermen were David Sullivan and Robert Shatford of Gloucester, William Tyne, Dale Murphy and Michael Moran of Bradenton Beach, Fla., and Alfred Pierre of New York City.
The Andrea Gail left Gloucester on Sept. 20 for a swordfishing trip to the Grand Banks off Newfoundland.  The vessel was fishing with a sister vessel, the Hannah Borden, both of which are owned by Robert Brown.  Brown said yesterday that the Andrea Gail began heading back to Gloucester while the Hannah Borden stayed on the fishing grounds.
They were officially reported overdue on Nov. 1, but was feared in trouble two days earlier.  On October 31st and November 1st the Canadian Coast Guard searched the area but found no trace of the Andrea Gail.  On November 1st, the U. S. Coast Guard began checking ports from Woods Hole to Cape Breton, Canada.   On November 2nd, a U. S. Coast Guard airplane searched 21,000 square miles.
The search intensified the next two days, with five airplanes from the Canadian and U. S. Coast Guards searching 9,670 square miles on Sunday and another 18,000 square miles Monday.  The search area Tuesday was 18,500 square miles.  However no signal from the Andrea Gail was picked up by the Coast Guard.

November 6, 1991

Andrea Gail Transmitter Discovered

An inactive emergency transmitter form the Andrea Gail was recovered on Canada's Sable Island yesterday, 10 days after the missing Gloucester fishing vessel was last heard from
The Coast Guard reported finding the emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) in the off position, meaning that it would not automatically begin emitting a signal on contact with the sea.
The beacon was the third piece of debris from the Andrea Gail found since authorities began looking for the vessel seven days ago.  All three objects were positively identified as belonging to the Andrea Gail.   But the Coast Guard maintains that all could have been washed overboard in rough seas.
The fact the beacon was not in the "armed" position - ready to transmit a signal to satellites upon hitting the water - may mean the crew ran into a serious problem.   If they had time to prepare for some trouble, they might have put it into an on position.

November 7, 1991

Still No Sign in Search For Andrea Gail

The Coast Guard continued to search the Canadian coastline today for the Gloucester fishing vessel Andrea Gail, whose six-man crew has not been heard from in 10 days.
On November 5, a propane tank and longline beacon from the 70-foot Andrea Gail were found on Sable Island, about 120 miles southeast of Nova Scotia.  The Coast Guard maintained that the gear could have been swept overboard in rough weather and that the debris did not necessarily indicate that the boat had sunk.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service reports another important coastal storm is likely to develop along the Carolinas tomorrow and tomorrow night and reach the New England coast Sunday, and could have significant impact on coastal communities.

November 11, 1991

Andrea Gail Presumed Lost

The Andrea Gail and its six-man crew are presumed lost at sea following a seven-day Coast Guard search for the missing Gloucester fishing vessel.  The Coast Guard called off its search Friday night, 11 days after the crew of the Andrea Gail reported encountering 30-foot seas and 50- to 60-knot winds off Canada during a nasty North Atlantic northeaster.  The crew has not been heard from since.
After reviewing it and taking into account the water temperature and other weather factors, the Coast Guard felt the probability of survival was minimal.  The water temperature was 46° F .
Those lost on the Andrea Gail were:

David Sullivan
Robert Shatford
William Tyne
Dale Murphy
Michael Moran
Alfred Pierre

The Andrea Gail is the black hulled vessel.

The long white building in the background is the Crow's Nest.

 

 

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