The Perfect Storm

by

Sebastian Junger

Bobby Shatford is a crew member on the Andrea Gail. Raised by his mother, Ethel, Bobby grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts. At the time of the boat’s last voyage, he is engaged to Chris Cotter. He is separated from his ex-wife and has two children from that marriage. After being taken to court for non-payment of child support, he decided to take a job on the Andrea Gail in order to help pay off his debts. He is prone to excessive drinking and occasional fights. He has last-minute misgivings about the trip but, needing money, he decides to go. During the storm, he disappears along with the rest of the crew.

Bobby Shatford Quotes in The Perfect Storm

The The Perfect Storm quotes below are all either spoken by Bobby Shatford or refer to Bobby Shatford. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Money and the Fishing Industry Theme Icon
).
Gloucester, Mass., 1991 Quotes

[…] from now on his life would unfold in brutally short bursts between long stretches at sea, and all he'd have to tide him over would be photos taped to a wall and maybe a letter in a seabag. And if it was hard on the men, it was even harder on the women. "It was like I had one life and when he came back I had another," says Jodi Tyne, who divorced Billy over it. "I did it for a long time and I just got tired of it, it was never gonna change, he was never gonna quit fishin’, though he said he wanted to. If he had to pick between me and the boat he picked the boat."

Related Characters: Jodi Tyne (speaker), Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:
Graveyard of the Atlantic Quotes

The Andrea Gail crew, all experienced fishermen, are probably trying to shrug it off as just another storm—they’ve been through this before, they'll go through it again, and at least they're not puking. Billy's undoubtedly working too hard at the helm to give drowning much thought. Ernie Hazard claims it was the last thing on his mind. "There was no conversation, just real business-like," he says of going down off Georges Bank. "You know, 'Let’s just get this thing done.'” […]

Be that as it may, certain realities still must come crashing in. At some point Tyne, Shatford, Sullivan, Moran, Murphy, and Pierre must realize there's no way off this boat.

Related Characters: Ernie Hazard (speaker), Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford, Bugsy Moran, Dale Murphy (Murph), Alfred Pierre, David (Sully) Sullivan
Related Symbols: Storms
Page Number: 127
Explanation and Analysis:
The Zero-Moment Point Quotes

The body could be likened to a crew that resorts to increasingly desperate measures to keep their vessel afloat. Eventually the last wire has shorted out, the last bit of decking has settled under the water. Tyne, Pierre, Sullivan, Moran, Murphy, and Shatford are dead.

Related Characters: Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford, Bugsy Moran, Dale Murphy (Murph), Alfred Pierre, David (Sully) Sullivan
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Perfect Storm PDF

Bobby Shatford Quotes in The Perfect Storm

The The Perfect Storm quotes below are all either spoken by Bobby Shatford or refer to Bobby Shatford. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Money and the Fishing Industry Theme Icon
).
Gloucester, Mass., 1991 Quotes

[…] from now on his life would unfold in brutally short bursts between long stretches at sea, and all he'd have to tide him over would be photos taped to a wall and maybe a letter in a seabag. And if it was hard on the men, it was even harder on the women. "It was like I had one life and when he came back I had another," says Jodi Tyne, who divorced Billy over it. "I did it for a long time and I just got tired of it, it was never gonna change, he was never gonna quit fishin’, though he said he wanted to. If he had to pick between me and the boat he picked the boat."

Related Characters: Jodi Tyne (speaker), Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:
Graveyard of the Atlantic Quotes

The Andrea Gail crew, all experienced fishermen, are probably trying to shrug it off as just another storm—they’ve been through this before, they'll go through it again, and at least they're not puking. Billy's undoubtedly working too hard at the helm to give drowning much thought. Ernie Hazard claims it was the last thing on his mind. "There was no conversation, just real business-like," he says of going down off Georges Bank. "You know, 'Let’s just get this thing done.'” […]

Be that as it may, certain realities still must come crashing in. At some point Tyne, Shatford, Sullivan, Moran, Murphy, and Pierre must realize there's no way off this boat.

Related Characters: Ernie Hazard (speaker), Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford, Bugsy Moran, Dale Murphy (Murph), Alfred Pierre, David (Sully) Sullivan
Related Symbols: Storms
Page Number: 127
Explanation and Analysis:
The Zero-Moment Point Quotes

The body could be likened to a crew that resorts to increasingly desperate measures to keep their vessel afloat. Eventually the last wire has shorted out, the last bit of decking has settled under the water. Tyne, Pierre, Sullivan, Moran, Murphy, and Shatford are dead.

Related Characters: Billy Tyne, Bobby Shatford, Bugsy Moran, Dale Murphy (Murph), Alfred Pierre, David (Sully) Sullivan
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis: