'Andrea Gail' on Auction Block

Boat/US Magazine, Sept, 2000

"You've seen the movie -- now own the boat!" So read the intriguing headline on the eBay Internet auction site in July for the Lady Grace, the 72-foot steel long-liner that played the ill-fated Andrea Gail in the summer's hit movie, "The Perfect Storm." Warner Brothers, which owns the boat, was hoping to dispose of this prop to a worthy buyer. But alas, the highest bid did not reach their minimum price of $125,000.

BoatU.S. member Mike McCook, who owned the Lady Grace, the sister ship to the Andrea Gail, for years before Warner Brothers' talent scouts discovered her at the dock in Ocean City, MD, is thinking of buying her back. At presstime, the vessel and crew safely crossed the Atlantic and docked in Germany for the European premiere of the film.

Meanwhile, fascination with the story and the fishing life prompted a noticeable spike in tourism in Gloucester, MA, all summer. Visitors crowding into the Crow's Nest bar barely left any barstools open for the regulars. For a 3-D virtual tour of the inside of the "Andreaz Gail," check out www.perfectstorm.net.