Stranded At Sea
Tami Oldham Ashcraft's survival story at sea is undoubtedly remarkable. The true events later inspired the 2018 film Adrift—but of course, the reality was far more harrowing.
The Beginning Of The End
In 1983, Tami Oldham Ashcraft and her fiancé Richard Sharp took on a job that would soon morph into the worst nightmare of their lives.
They Were On A Yacht
Tami and Richard were sailors, but they had to bring the 44-foot yacht, Hazana, from Tahiti to San Diego for this particular job. It was supposed to take them 31 days—but on day 20, a deadly disaster struck.
Running From A Hurricane
Mid-way through their journey, 23-year-old Tami and 34-year-old Richard found themselves trying to dodge a terrifying Category 4 hurricane.
Hurricane Raymond
Though it was initially Tropical Storm Raymond, it was now Hurricane Raymond. Tami recounted the spiraling events leading up to the ultimate disaster in her memoir Red Sky in Mourning: The True Story of a Woman's Courage and Survival at Sea.
Battling The Waves
In her memoir, Tami wrote, "We stayed on watch, taking turns going below to get whatever rest we could. Our muscles ached from fighting the wheel while trying to negotiate the pounding, erratic seas. Night had never lasted so long."
Still, this was only the beginning.
Losing Control
Sadly, the couple just couldn't outrun Hurricane Raymond. At one point, they faced 150 mph winds, while towering 15-meter waves rose around them.
He Put Her First
As the weather spun out of control, Richard gave Tami an EPIRB—or an emergency position-indicating radio device—and urged her to put it on. But there was only one available. At this point, both of them had begun to seriously fear for their lives.
He Sent Her Below Deck
Though Richard put on a brave face for Tami, the reality of the situation was dire. He sent her below deck to watch the barometer, assuring her that he was properly strapped in. So that's what Tami did.
Tragically, she had no clue that when she shut the hatch, she'd never see her partner again.
His Last Words
Once below deck, Tami secured her safety harness to a table leg and tried to get some rest. The barometer was dangerously low. Then, suddenly, everything went eerily quiet. Something was so, so wrong. The last thing Tami heard was Richard screaming, "Oh my god!"
Hit By A Rogue Wave
A rogue wave had hit the Hazana, and the ship capsized. Tami lost consciousness for three hours—and when she woke, she found her world changed forever.
She Couldn't Remember At First
At first, she was completely disoriented. Drenched in her own blood and struggling to see properly, she wasn't even sure where she was... Of course, it was about to all come rushing back to her.
She Was Covered In Blood
The inside of the yacht was a disaster—all manner of belongings were strewn everywhere. The water was up to Tami's knees. When she caught sight of her own mangled reflection in the mirror, she screamed in fear. There was a huge gash on her forehead.
Where Was Richard?
As Tami struggled to get out of the ship, her memory of the recent events suddenly clicked into place. She remembered the hurricane—but even more horrifyingly, she remembered Richard.
She later wrote, "Fear dropped me to my knees. I retched. Bilge water splashed against my cheek. Richard had not come below with me."
She Found His Safety Line
Panicking, Tami searched in vain for Richard. In the main cockpit, she found his safety line dangling over the side of the hull—but there was no Richard on the other end.
They Hadn't Worn Lifejackets
Richard's safety line's D-ring had broken. He'd also forgotten to put on his lifejacket amid all the chaos, but in retrospect, it could have made all the difference.
Santeri Viinamäki, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Engine Wouldn't Turn On
At this point, Tami still clung to the hope that Richard was still alive. She looked out across the water with binoculars, but still, she couldn't spot him. Then she tried the engine. But again, her hopes were dashed. It wouldn't turn on.
Then Tami remembered the EPIRB Richard had given her. To her horror, it also failed.
Nothing Was Weatherproof
In a later interview, Tami explained, "Back then—in ’83—all this stuff was not as weatherproof as it is now. The boat was half sunk; there was so much water inside the boat that everything just got fried."
She Wanted To Die
Feeling overwhelmed, distraught, and absolutely terrified, Tami sank into her grief. She felt helpless and even began talking out loud, "I can't take it, Richard, I just can't take it. Why didn't you take me with you?"
She Almost Gave Up
Tami surrendered to the dark for two days. She lay still—completely catatonic. She didn't even eat. However, despite wanting to give up, Tami Oldham Ashcraft managed to pull herself together. She knew she couldn't just lie there helplessly. To survive, she would need to take action.
Survival Mode
There was so much Tami needed to do. She needed to empty the boat of water and get it moving. She also needed to tend to her injuries and eat some food. This was the beginning of a brand new chapter: survival.
No More Maydays
Following the hurricane, Tami continued to send out Maydays on a small VHF radio. It only took five days for the water damage to render it useless. She later admitted, "I never actually reached anybody on a radio."
The Masts Were Destroyed
The Hazana had been massacred by the hurricane: There was flooding in the cabin, the masts were gone, and now the radio and navigation system had died. It was time for Tami to get as resourceful as possible.
She Rigged Her Own Sail
Tami came up with her own sail, using a spinnaker pole. She managed to fix it to the yacht's foredeck and rigged it. Luckily, she also had one sail left—a storm jib. Once she got it up and running, Tami felt a shift in her mood—she felt the first sparkles of hope.
She Listened To The Little Voice Inside Her Head
In her memoir, Tami described something she called "The Voice"—an inner voice that encouraged her throughout this neverending horror story. But that wasn't all that kept her motivated.
She Thought About Her Mother
As the Havana began moving, Tami began thinking about her mother. She knew that she had to reach safety for her mother's sake—and believed that if she perished, her mother would likely never stop searching for her.
Navigation On Hard Mode
For navigation, all Tami had was a sextant and some sight reduction tables meant for air navigation. To find her way, she relied on celestial navigation. She planned her course based on the position of the sun.
A New Destination
When Tami realized that she wouldn't be able to make it to San Diego, she had to lay a new course of action. Based on the boat's condition, as well as the wind conditions, she decided to head for Hawaii. This would be a daunting 1,500-mile route.
Finding Latitude
By using the position of the sun, Tami was able to navigate by latitude. As her watch was missing, she couldn't find longitude. She later explained, "I headed up to the 19th latitude and hung a left, just hoping that was going to get me to Hawai‘i."
Luckily, not all hope was lost when it came to finding longitude.
She Found Exactly What She Needed
Tami also worked on emptying the yacht of water with a pump. It took her about a week to clear most of it, and while mopping the bilge, she made a miraculous discovery: She found her missing watch, which she later described as a "godsend."
She Could Finally Orient Herself
In a later interview, Tami explained why the watch was so important: "I was very lucky to have the current. Once I found my watch and could find where I was, I got back into what’s called the North Equatorial Current—it’s like a little freight train; it goes about 6 knots at times. So once I got back towards the equator, there were three different days that it took me 60 miles a day. That was huge. Because with the little sail I could only do 2 or 3 knots."
She Needed More Water
Though she'd managed to do so much, Tami had another problem to tackle: her water supply. She was exhausted and thirsty, rationing out the food and water available to her on the yacht. However, her luck was about to change.
She Had More Than She Thought
On a day she felt particularly strong, Tami decided to investigate the fresh-water tank, wondering if it held any drinkable water. While trying to gain access to the tank, she unknowingly plugged in the gauge that measured the water level... She couldn't believe her eyes.
The Best Taste In the World
In her memoir, Tami wrote, "I had a quarter tank of water! Overjoyed, I let the tap sputter and spit air and then I filled a plastic cup to the top with the most delicious drink I had ever had in my life: cool, clear, sweet water."
Huayi Brothers, Adrift (2018)
Tami Sees Another Boat
On one frustrating occasion, Tami actually saw a boat in the distance. She immediately grabbed her flare gun and released three flares into the sky. This should have been a moment of celebration, but instead, the ship just kept getting smaller. It hadn't seen her.
But They Don't See Her
Trying to get the ship's attention, she also threw a smoke bomb and waved an oar with a red t-shirt attached to it. With adrenaline pumping through her veins, Tami could only stare at the disappearing ship in shock. She'd been so close to help, but none came. She was alone once again.
She Had Limited Rations
Though Tami had been sustaining herself on peanut butter and other canned goods, her meal of choice was sardines. Unfortunately, the tinned fish were so high in sodium that they only exacerbated her thirst. She'd spend an hour just eating half a can, savoring the experience as best she could.
However, her sad rations weren't the only depressing aspect of surviving on the boat.
The Yacht Was A "Pigsty"
The bilge itself had become unlivable. Broken floorboards and detritus were messing up the place, and things had started getting moldy. She later wrote, "Finally, the gnawing reality of living in a pigsty became too much. I couldn't take the filth and the stench anymore."
She Cleaned Up
That little voice in Tami's head urged her to do something about her environment—to clean up—and so she did. She not only tackled the garbage in the bilge, but also confronted her ragged appearance in the mirror.
She Was On The Brink
Tami changed the bandages on her head wound and tried to rub lotion into her dry skin. She later described the experience in her memoir, writing, "I looked so weird, I scared myself. I didn't want to acknowledge the fears under the surface of the person I was looking at. It was a balancing act: I realized if I wavered too far I would go off the deep end."
She Kept A Log
During her journey to Hawaii, Tami made sure to keep a log of her experience. Her reasons for doing so were rather morbid. Terrified that she might not make it, she wanted there to be a record of how she spent her time. That way, if the ship was found, her family would know what had happened to her.
She Prayed
In a later interview, she described the contents of her log book: "Reading back over it later, my mind was so fragile—I went all over the place, being out there for so long. When I didn’t have any wind, I blamed Satan. I prayed a lot. I’m not a really religious person—believe in the Universe and higher powers but I did pray a lot. I wanted to live."
She Had A Routine
As traumatizing as her experience was, Tami settled into a routine. She'd rise early in the morning, between 3 am and 6 am. First, she'd inspect the rig. Then she'd go to the bow and meditate, and afterward, she'd choose one can of food to eat for breakfast. When noon arrived, she'd conduct a "sun sight," which would tell her how far the yacht had journeyed over the last day.
Was It All In Her Head?
On day 34, Tami sighted yet another ship. Once again, she rushed to shoot her flares—and once again, the ship failed to see her. She couldn't understand why the ship didn't come to her rescue, and even wondered if she was imagining the ship out of her sheer desire to find salvation.
Still, not all was lost. At this point, she had around 240 miles left in her journey.
She Almost Took Her Own Life
Tami was at the end of her rope. In her memoir, she described the heartbreaking moment she almost ended it all. She even tried to put the barrel of a rifle in her mouth, but in the end, she couldn't bring herself to pull the trigger. "The Voice" had spoken reason. She couldn't give up just yet.
She Made It To The Harbor
Just days after she almost ended it all, she approached the entrance of the harbor—and that's when a Japanese research ship spotted her. Tami Oldham Ashcraft had done it. She'd survived at sea for over 40 days. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks.
Her Mother Had An Uncanny Vision
Tami's incredible journey wasn't the only surreal part of this story. Following the hurricane, her mother Zonna Pennell had begun experiencing the strangest dreams.
She Knew Something Was Wrong
In these dreams, Pennell said she saw “a guy outside on a boat looking through a porthole...It was blurry. I saw Tami and she had something red on her head—a gash.” At the time, she began to worry that Tami was in danger—so much so that she began asking the Coast Guard office about her daughter every day.
She Had PTSD
Though Tami had survived the hurricane and the 40 days at sea, she still suffered the consequences. She experienced some serious PTSD and didn't seek help from a counselor, though in retrospect, she wished she had.
She Couldn't Read
For the next six years, her head trauma prevented her from reading as the words would just jump off the page. On top of that, she became terrified of flying and nightmares plagued her dreams: "I had nightmares about being back out at sea, lost."
She Never Forgot Him
Richard also never left Tami's thoughts. He became a constant reminder of how precious life is. Years later, she honored him by returning the ring he'd given her to the sea, attached to a rose.
She Wrote Her Story Down
When she began reading again, Tami also started writing. It was the beginning of what would one day become her memoir, Red Sky in Mourning: The True Story of a Woman's Courage and Survival at Sea, which would be later adapted into the 2018 film, Adrift.
Gratitude And A Life Well Lived
Ten years following the accident, Tami met her future husband at a dance, and they went on to have two children. Today, she's settled on San Juan Island, living every day to the fullest.
