Notes About The Poem
In the movie “The Perfect Storm,” Captain Billy Tyne’s ship, the “Andrea Gail,” was capsized by an enormous wave and all six crew members were killed. The true story with full details on their deaths will likely never be known. Captain Greenlaw, from whose perspective this sonnet is written, gave an emotional eulogy at the funeral for the Andrea Gail’s crew in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She had made unsuccessful attempts to get Captain Tyne to turn around as the tragedy unfolded. A high-pressure system, low-pressure system and Hurricane Grace converged in the Atlantic to form “The Perfect Storm.”
The Perfect Ending
When fate’s hands joined together, pounding seas
A monstrous storm placed fishing boats at risk
I called to Billy, “Captain, listen please,
Turn ‘round, the seas are high and wind too brisk”
With six aboard who prayed they’d make it back
Tyne’s ship was seven hundred miles offshore
From Gloucester, Mass, where they’d begun their track
Much farther out than they had sailed before
October 28th I’d been at sea
But safe in Nova Scotia I then docked
The fate of Billy’s boat I could foresee
And rescue efforts we tried to concoct
With life jackets, the men were found adrift
And to safe harbor we gave them a lift
* Written December 11, 2018
For the “Movie Magic” Poetry Contest
Sponsored by Gregory R. Barden
Written from the perspective of Linda Greenlaw, Captain of the fishing boat “Hannah,” to provide a new ending to the movie “The Perfect Storm.”
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