"The Perfect Storm" Summary

The Perfect Storm, written by Sebastian Junger, is a novel about a six-man crew on a commercial fishing boat called the ""Andrea Gail"". It takes place in October of 1991. The crew of the "Andrea Gail" leaves from Gloucester Massachusetts on a sword fishing expedition. They fish from Georges Bank, which is off the coast of Massachusetts, to The Grand Banks, located off the coast of Newfoundland. They also travel to the Flemish Cap which is located in almost the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. On their way back home, they encounter a freak storm that consisted of a hurricane, a low coming from over the great lakes, and a cold front coming from the Canadian Shield. This is now known as the "Perfect Storm."Georges Bank, 1896In this chapter a mackerel schooner found a bottle with a note in it. The note was a goodbye letter to anyone who found it. It told about how the crew struggled but everyone knew it was the end. Also a ship named "The Falcon" set sail one year earlier and never came back.

Gloucester, Mass., 1991In this chapter you start to meet the majority of the characters. The first one you meet is Bobby Shatford. He has recently got divorced and is now with a girl named Christina Cotter. He has just accepted a job on the "Andrea Gail" because he has a chance that he will make $5,000 dollars in one month. He needs the money to pay off child support. Some other characters that are introduced are Bugsy and Murph, who are some of the crew members. You also meet the captain Billy Tyne and Ethel Shatford, Bobby's mother. She is worried because the Grand Banks are known for rough weather.

God's CountryIn chapter three Junger explains the dangers of fishing and the history of the Grand Banks and Georges Bank. The Grand Banks gets such bad weather because a jet stream pushes the storms from the great lakes over the fishing spots. In this chapter you also meet a man named Albert Johnson, the captain of a boat called the "Mary T."The Flemish CapIn this chapter, the