Exemplification Essay: The Andrea Gail

This was no “mayday” call since there was no immediate threat to life or limb. However, urgent distress must have been more than evident in my voice. Sea-Tow Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg answered my call within seconds. “Stand by. We’ll have a tow-boat with you in about 40 minutes” came the ever-so-calm voice over the radio. I felt a deep sense of relief that help was on the way, then near panic when I thought about everything that could go wrong in 40 minutes. By this time Guinevere was listing heavily to starboard. Either the water was getting shallower, or we were being pushed further onto the sandbank by the incoming tide. My attempts to back out against the current only served to stir the sandy bottom, obscuring what little visibility we had. Gavin quietly organized the crew to secure everything on deck and in the cabin below, which looked as if someone had picked it up and shaken it like a cocktail

The book is littered with explanations about fishing. I admit that I frequently got lost in these passages. This knowledge is an important element of the story. When a component of the boat malfunctions, readers know the significance of this to the sailors. Without this, the book would have provided a message that only other sailors could understand. Junger, by supplying this information, wants to make sure that all readers can fully grasp the danger and suspense of the book.

How does the storm help set in motion the action of the story? List the events caused by the storm.

The author’s frightening story, “The Storm” has all the expected things that a good scary story should have. It has a story line that gains suspense throughout the story, there is irony, and there is lots of

According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, “On April 15, 1977 the U.S. Coast Guard released its official report of ‘Subject: S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald, official number 277437, sinking in Lake Superior on 10 November 1975 with loss of life’” (www.shipwreckmuseum.com). It took 17 months make this report. Later, family members of the crew made a special request.

Isaac’s Storm, is a tale of self- confidence. This Hurricane in 1900 in Galveston was the worst and deadliest hurricane this country has ever seen. About 6,000 people lost their lives and among those who died was Isaac Cline’s wife. I can tell how guilty he must have felt and how horrific this time was for Cline, especially because he thought a massive storm could never devastate his amazing city. The horrific events of what happened in Galveston is only partially told in this book. Erik Larson’s use of Cline’s own letters and reports show Cline’s own self confidence or pride and falsifies facts that Cline was the hero he believed himself to be after the Storm surfaced. Isaac's Storm clearly shows what can happen when human arrogance takes priority over anything else.

“Sudden Sea: The Great Hurricane of 1938” by R. A. Scotti was first published in 2003 by Little, Brown and Company in New York City. The novel attempts to recreate the confusion, chaos, and devastation before, during, and after one of the largest hurricanes to hit New England. The “Long Island Express,” as it was named for its speed and impact location, killed 682 people and had massive implications for the region as a whole particularly, the coastal areas where its effects were felt the most. The novel draws less on these implications and instead focuses on a play-by-play of the storm from several perspectives. As such, it ventures from the realm of nonfiction and towards that of historical fiction.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.).Arlington, VA: Author.

Back in 2012 we had a Derecho which was a damaging wind storm which some people called it a mini tornado in Waynesboro. I was outside at a racetrack when this happened and it seemed like time stood still. Everyone was rushing to their cars to go home and running around looking for somewhere to take cover. All I can remember was the adrenaline rush to get into a safe and sturdy place to wait out this storm. My mawmaw told me to get under the concession stand shelf, but all I wanted was to peek up and watch as this wind picked up every little thing it could. Trees were down, power was out, and destruction was left behind for some houses. The ending quote Crenshaw wrote, “I realized they watched from the window to see the terrible beauty of the storm…”( 2004, pg.206), made me relate back to that night because all I wanted to do was sit and watch as this storm

The Andrea Gail sailed out of Gloucester Harbor, captained by Billy Tyne and carrying five crewmen. All experienced fishermen. When they left the harbor in late September of 1991. They were making the last swordfish run of the season as part of a fleet with other fishing vessels. Their target was the Grand Banks off the coast of Newfoundland. An area rich with many varieties of fish. Planning to be gone at least a month, the ship was loaded with supplies and enough ice to preserve the swordfish until they made it back into the harbor.

October 2, 2008 the ship departed from Adak Island after delivering fish to the Coastal Trader a freighter

The film and print version of The Perfect Storm portrayed the image of perseverance and the overall strength these men had to go through to provide for themselves and their families. They had the courage and strength to leave their families, on a short notice, to get sent back out to sea not knowing if they will make it home alive or not. In the ending of the book and movie, the crew of the Andrea Gail had a rough decision of whether to wait Hurricane Grace out or go straight through the heart of the beast.

The Great Hurricane of 1938, or known to many as the Long Island Express, was known as one of the most disastrous hurricanes to hit New England. It wasn’t the high winds, heavy rain, and high waves/storm surge that gave this hurricane its title in history. The Great Hurricane had a fourth deadly weapon; the element of surprise. It was the beginning of September, a time where many packed up their summer clothes, boarded up their houses, and left to return back to the real world leaving their summer homes behind. When symptoms of a storm approached New England, many locals convinced themselves and others that it was just the normal “line storm” which occasionally comes in September. It wasn’t until Sept 21 that people realized the so-called

No storm is experienced the same. Seeing a storm on the horizon has the power to stir up gripping memories, introspective thoughts, and convoluted emotions. The poem “Storm Warnings”, by Adrienne Rich, applies a predictable structure paired with flowing syntax, and ambiguous diction- speaking both of weather and emotions- to illustrate that one cannot avoid the tribulations of life, embodied as the approaching storm, but instead prepare for their arrival.

     The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger was an account of an immense storm and its destructive path through the North Atlantic. In late October of 1991, many a crew of several different fishing ships left their port for their final haul. Little did they know that they would soon cross paths with one of the greatest storms ever recorded. This particular storm would create huge swells, high winds, and hard rain. The system was said to be a “perfect storm” because all of the elements were just right to create the worst imaginable storm ever seen claimed some meteorologists. Such a storm left little room for rescue if one’s boat got into trouble. But there were those daring rescues from the Coast Guard during the