Editor's note: This story was originally published March2, 2004.
The boat used in the movie "The Perfect Storm" as a stand-in for the Andrea Gail, the swordfishing boat lost with all hands on board in October 1991, will return to work as a fishing vessel following its sale last week to a local seafood processor.
Intershell bought the Lady Grace from its Harbor Loop neighbor, the Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center, for an undisclosed sum. Intershell plans to use the 72-foot boat to drag for scallops and clams, said Geoffrey Richon, the heritage center's president.
Intershell owner Monte Rome did not return telephone calls yesterday. The heritage center began considering the sale last fall after it failed in its efforts to turn the Lady Grace into a research vessel or use it for educational harbor tours. Richon said regional research universities did not have the resources to devote to a study incorporating the vessel, and the heritage center was unable to locate the vessel plans needed to renovate the boat for use as a harbor tour.
"Having it tied to the dock for people to ogle it as a has-been movie star was not enough," he said.
Harriet Webster, the heritage center's executive director, said the boat initially drew many visitors to the center, but the numbers have declined with the passing of time since the movie's 2000 release. Visitors still will be able to view the boat from the heritage center when it is docked at Intershell's nearby pier, she said.
The boat's absence will create more room at the heritage center's pier for visiting schooners and other historic ships, Webster said.
The heritage center received the Lady Grace as a donation from Legal Seafoods in 2002. Legal Seafoods bought the boat in an online auction for $145,100.
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