“He popped up into a world of shrieking darkness and landsliding seas. At one point the crest of a wave drove him so far under the surface that the pressure changed damaged his inner ear.” Pg. 246

There are many life threatening events written about in The Perfect Storm which all relate with the same perfect storm. The combination of stories told by any of the first hand viewers of this storm and the little information about the Andrea Gail voyage shape the story line into what it is. The combination factor mainly allows the writer to describe to the reader how intense the storm was for the Gloucester crew members.

In an attempt to save the Andrea Gail, a Navy Seal team helicopter ran out of gas and the team had to “abandon ship” as the helicopter plunged into the bone chilling North Atlantic water. The above quote describes an example of how rough the seas were that night. Each SEAL in the helicopter made it out of the sinking aircraft and regrouped in the white washed ocean. During the process of regrouping one of member of the team encountered a wave so powerful that it knocked him below the surface to the point where the water pressure causes damage in the ear drum. With a little additional research I found out that around 14 feet a human ear is vulnerable to damage if not acclimated properly. It takes a massive wave to drive a human body 14 feet below the surface, especially in an open ocean where the force of the crest of the wave is significantly lower than that of a wave breaking on the shore. As a surfer, I know how powerful a 10ft wave can be and how it can slam me to the bottom with depths up to 6 feet or so. I can only imagine how big that wave must have been and how rough the oceans were to create such a monster.

It is almost unfathomable to envision what seas as big as the ones faced by the Andrea Gail actually look like. Not only the wave height but the wind speed, foam spray, and pitch black atmosphere must all contribute to making this death defying image of mother earth. Not really being able to see, losing feeling of your extremities, getting pounded under the surface of the freezing water, taking waves up to 90 feet to the head and the thought of your crew members who just passed away cannot make for a pleasant time.