~The Perfect Storm~
"She's comin' on boys...
and she's comin' on strong."
The REAL F/V Andrea Gail
The Perfect Storm... I have read the book and seen the movie many times and every time I do, my heart is broken again and I cry for days for all those that are lost to the sea. First I read the book. I knew it would be hard because I knew it would hit very close to home for me. I actually had to put it down for about 3 months before I could go on reading it and finish it. I knew the movie would be even more difficult for me to watch and I was afraid to go see it... yet I did want to see it. Some friends talked me into it and I finally went... it was very hard... so sad, so heart breaking and so scary for me.
My husband is a commercial fisherman on the North Pacific Ocean. We have a 55' trawler... similar to the Andrea Gail... only smaller. I pray everytime he goes out for his safe return. I fished along his side for 15 years until we had our family and I chose to stay home and raise our children. I do know the life out on the sea... it can not be put into words that people of the land can truly understand. It is truly another world out there... a different way of life. My husband and I have lost many friends to the sea through the years of our fishing. Some by accidents that happened and some by the sheer force and power of the sea and wind. Some by the force of mother nature and freezing snow that builds up on the boats.
When the sea is that strong, and after you have used all your resources and good common sense... there is nothing you can do but pray and hang on. When mother nature has you in her grips and she is not letting go, all that is left is prayer. I have been there several times... but my husband is a good captain and the sea finally relented... I was fortunate to be able to come home once more. That is why I quit fishing... I wanted to make sure I could come home to my children ALL the time. Some said I was afraid of the sea... I said 'No'. Some call it fear... I call it a mother's love for her children. There are no absolutes with the sea... my only absolute was to stay home, and make sure that I am always here for them. So that is what I chose. Sometimes my heart breaks because I am not out there on the sea with my husband... but I love our children and they are growing up fine.
When I think of the friends we have lost at sea, I now think of the Capt. and crewmembers of the Andrea Gail. We are all like family... those of us, of the sea. My heart goes out to their families and the ones left behind. I pray for the comfort of their hearts and the peace of their minds. It is of some comfort to know that the men of the Andrea Gail died doing what they loved. Yes, it may have been just one more trip... that one trip that cost them their lives... BUT, they were on the sea... the place where they love to be... the place we can not keep them from. They died doing what they loved... and they had been successful. They will live on forever in our hearts and our stories of their love for the sea. We honor them with the memories of their lives and the telling of their stories.
Every time my husband leaves my heart breaks a little and I fear for him. I fear for a day that he may not return to me. I think all fishermen's wives go through this... just as Chris did for Bobby. But I persevere... I learn to be strong and await his return. I know he is a good captain with excellent sea experience and skills... he knows how to listen to the sea and when it is time to leave and go home. He calls me atleast once every 24 hours... our little safety net. We watch the weather with a vigilant eye. Sometimes I am jealous of the sea... that it holds such a large part of my husbands life. But, I too know the call of the sea... it is ever-present... and salt does run in humans veins.
I have one request to ask... when you all say a prayer for the lives of those that have been lost to the sea and their families left behind... will you please also say a prayer for the ones that are still out there working... pray for fair winds and calm seas... and their safe return to home and their loved ones... thank you.
My husband is a commercial fisherman on the North Pacific Ocean. We have a 55' trawler... similar to the Andrea Gail... only smaller. I pray everytime he goes out for his safe return. I fished along his side for 15 years until we had our family and I chose to stay home and raise our children. I do know the life out on the sea... it can not be put into words that people of the land can truly understand. It is truly another world out there... a different way of life. My husband and I have lost many friends to the sea through the years of our fishing. Some by accidents that happened and some by the sheer force and power of the sea and wind. Some by the force of mother nature and freezing snow that builds up on the boats.
When the sea is that strong, and after you have used all your resources and good common sense... there is nothing you can do but pray and hang on. When mother nature has you in her grips and she is not letting go, all that is left is prayer. I have been there several times... but my husband is a good captain and the sea finally relented... I was fortunate to be able to come home once more. That is why I quit fishing... I wanted to make sure I could come home to my children ALL the time. Some said I was afraid of the sea... I said 'No'. Some call it fear... I call it a mother's love for her children. There are no absolutes with the sea... my only absolute was to stay home, and make sure that I am always here for them. So that is what I chose. Sometimes my heart breaks because I am not out there on the sea with my husband... but I love our children and they are growing up fine.
When I think of the friends we have lost at sea, I now think of the Capt. and crewmembers of the Andrea Gail. We are all like family... those of us, of the sea. My heart goes out to their families and the ones left behind. I pray for the comfort of their hearts and the peace of their minds. It is of some comfort to know that the men of the Andrea Gail died doing what they loved. Yes, it may have been just one more trip... that one trip that cost them their lives... BUT, they were on the sea... the place where they love to be... the place we can not keep them from. They died doing what they loved... and they had been successful. They will live on forever in our hearts and our stories of their love for the sea. We honor them with the memories of their lives and the telling of their stories.
Every time my husband leaves my heart breaks a little and I fear for him. I fear for a day that he may not return to me. I think all fishermen's wives go through this... just as Chris did for Bobby. But I persevere... I learn to be strong and await his return. I know he is a good captain with excellent sea experience and skills... he knows how to listen to the sea and when it is time to leave and go home. He calls me atleast once every 24 hours... our little safety net. We watch the weather with a vigilant eye. Sometimes I am jealous of the sea... that it holds such a large part of my husbands life. But, I too know the call of the sea... it is ever-present... and salt does run in humans veins.
I have one request to ask... when you all say a prayer for the lives of those that have been lost to the sea and their families left behind... will you please also say a prayer for the ones that are still out there working... pray for fair winds and calm seas... and their safe return to home and their loved ones... thank you.
Capt. Frank 'Billy' Tyne
Bobby Shatford and Christina Cotter
Dale "Murph" Murphy
Michael "Bugsy" Moran
David "Sully" Sullivan
Alfred PierreThe men of the Andrea Gail... may you all rest in Peace... floating on the Love of all those that remember you and miss you.
Selchie...
posted by Selchie Grey | 1:41 AM
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