The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

ONE of the most difficult tasks in writing this book was to get to know—to whatever extent this is possible—the men who died at sea in the Halloween Gale. That required contacting their friends and family and reopening wounds that had only begun to heal. With that in mind, I would like to thank the Shatford family, Chris Cotter, Tammy Cabral, Debra Murphy, Mildred Murphy, Jodi Tyne, Chris Hansen, and Marianne Smith for their willingness to talk about such a painful episode in their lives.

The survivors of the storm also had difficult stories to tell, and I am indebted to Judith Reeves, Karen Stimpson, John Spillane, and Dave Ruvola for talking about their experiences so openly. I would also like to thank all the people who answered my questions about fishing, bought me beers at the Crow’s Nest, got me onto fishing boats, and generally taught me about the sea. They are—in no particular order—Linda Greenlaw, Albert Johnston, Charlie Reed, Tommy Barrie, Alex Bueno, John Davis, Chris Rooney, “Hard” Millard, Mike Seccareccia, Sasquatch, Tony Jackett, and Charlie Johnson. In addition, Bob Brown was kind enough to talk to me despite the obviously delicate issues surrounding the loss of his boat.

This material first appeared as an article in Outside magazine, and I must thank the editors there for their help. Also, Howie Sanders and Richard Green in Los Angeles.

Finally, I must thank my friends and family for reading draft after draft of this manuscript, as well as my editor, Starling Lawrence, his assistant, Patricia Chui, and my agent, Stuart Krichevsky.

The Perfect Storm Foundation, established by Sebastian Junger and friends, provides educational opportunities to children of Gloucester fishermen and other young people. To contribute, send your tax-deductible donation to:

The Perfect Storm Foundation

Post Office Box 1941 Gloucester, MA 01931-1941

http://www.perfectstorm.org