Andrea Gail began her final voyage departing from Gloucester Harbor on September 20, 1991, bound for the Grand Banks of Newfoundland off the coast of eastern Canada.

Tyne radioed Linda Greenlaw, captain of the F/V Hannah Boden, owned by the same company, and gave his coordinates as 44°00′N 56°40′W / 44.000°N 56.667°W / 44.000; -56.667,[2] or about 162 miles (261 km) east of Sable Island.

[4] However, data from a series of weather buoys in the general vicinity of the vessel's last known location recorded peak wave action exceeding 60 ft (18 m) in height from October 28 through 30, 1991.

[5][verification needed] On November 6, 1991, Andrea Gail's emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) was discovered washed up on the shore of Sable Island in Nova Scotia.

The EPIRB was designed to automatically send out a distress signal upon contact with sea water, but the Canadian Coast Guard personnel who found the beacon "did not conclusively verify whether the control switch was in the on or off position".