'Perfect Storm' ship sunk

CAPE MAY - The Coast Guard cutter made famous in the book and film

The Perfect Storm

has been sunk off the New Jersey and Delaware coasts so it can become part of an artificial reef.

The 205-foot Tamaroa was sunk Wednesday morning. The sinking was scheduled to occur several months ago, but was repeatedly delayed by rough seas and related issues.

The vessel was sent down about 33 nautical miles off Cape May. It was deployed in water more than 120 feet deep after patches were removed from holes cut into its hull, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The holes were part of the extensive work that had to be done before the ship could be sunk, including the removal of interior paneling and insulation, as well as emptying and cleaning the vessel of all fuel and fluids.

A tugboat started hauling the Tamaroa from a Norfolk, Va., shipyard on Monday afternoon and it slowly made its way up the Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday without any issues.

The Tamaroa was first commissioned by the Navy in 1934 under the name Zuni and saw action during World War II, when it helped tow damaged vessels across the Pacific Ocean. It was transferred to the Coast Guard and renamed in 1946, then continued to serve until it was decommissioned in 1994.

The vessel's most notable mission came in October 1991, when three strong storm systems came together off the New England coast, generating 40-foot waves and wind gusts of more than 70 mph.

The Tamaroa's crew helped save three people aboard a sailboat caught in the storm. They also rescued four of five crewmen of an Air National Guard helicopter that ran out of fuel during a similar rescue mission and had to be ditched in the ocean.

Both events were documented in Sebastian Junger's 1997 book and a movie of the same name starring George Clooney.