First thing: I don’t know shit about boats or sailing or fishing or nautical whatever.
Let’s assume the depiction of events in the movie The Perfect Storm happened exactly like that. We know that it didn’t, or it’s pure speculation, but let’s just pretend that’s exactly what happened to the Andrea Gail.
Besides not sailing into the storm, what else should they have done differently, once they were already in the thick of it? Was trying to power over that huge wave the right move? Were they basically doomed as soon as they were within the storm? As soon as their antenna broke off and blew away? When the National Guard rescue helicopter ditched?
Headed East towards Europe, Greenland or Iceland?
Floated using gasoline to only recharge their batteries and called like hell for an icebreaker or a destroyer to tow them … someplace?
I think the movie story is more about all the decisions and unlucky happenstances that happened before sailing into the storm.
Such as no fish in usual place, so head far out. Bad luck with ice machine, so go for broke bringing the haul in. Radio malfunction at critical moment.
A lot came down to pressure on captain and crew to bring in a successful voyage. By the time they were in the storm, it was too late.
The story is not really different from “Into Thin Air”, about the ‘96 Everest disaster.