The Perfect Storm Reading Guide
Georges Bank, 1896
Map of Georges Bank from Google
Reading Questions:
- Why have people fished Georges Bank for so long? What species have they fished for?
- Why is fishing such a dangerous occupation, particularly in New England?
Gloucester, MA, 1991
Boating Terminology
Reading Questions:
- Be able to correctly identify the following boating terms (port, starboard, aft, bow, stern, beam, freeboard, draft)
- If a boat is in rough seas what are the advantages and disatvantages of a boat design like the Adrea Gail's (high freeboard, low draft)
- What is the purpose of "the birds"
- Could you label the piolot house?
- What navigational and communication tools does the Andrea Gail have on board?
 God's Country
Suface Currents of the North Atlantic - Where the Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Current
Monteray Bay Fact Sheets - Explains how longlining works
Description of Swordfish
Reading Questions:
- What conditions present in George's Bank, the Grand Banks, and the Flemish Cap make the areas so productive for plankton and fish?
- How can the mixing of the cold Labradore Current, theWarm Gulf Stream Current, and the winds of the jet stream lead to some potential stormy weather?
- Explain how to set a longline.
- What are swordfish like and why are they caught in the grand banks?
The Flemish Cap
North Atlantic Waves Animation - click on animation, Hs, under North Atlantic from Global
Map of Significant Wave Heights
Pressure Gradiants
PBS, Savage Seas - Waves and Freak Waves
Reading Questions:
- What kinds of equiptment are built into boats to help them deal with rough seas and crashing waves?
- What is a "boarding sea"? What problems does a boarding sea create for a boat?
The Barrel of the Gun
Day by Day Description of the Storm
October, 1991 - The Perfect Storm
Webdocumentary on the Storm - In order to hear this you may have to close the original page.
Reading Questions:
- What does it mean when we say that wave height increase exponentially with wind speed?
- What is difficult about coming about (turning around) in rough seas?
- Explain the mechanisms that create a huricane?
- Ninety foot waves with a very long period, or fourty-five foot waves with a very short period, which is more difficult for a boat to bear? Explain.
 Graveyard of the Atlantic
The Beaufort Wind Scale-Animation
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