Tami Oldham Ashcraft

Tami Oldham Ashcraft (* 1960 ) is an American sailor and author .

Shipwreck 1983

In 1983, Oldham Ashcraft's then fiancé, British sailor Richard Sharp (34), was offered to transfer the 44-foot yacht Hazana from Tahiti to San Diego . The then 23-year-old Oldham Ashcraft accompanied him on the crossing.

After a few days they got caught in Hurricane Raymond . Despite her attempt to escape the storm, the hurricane hit the yacht. Sharp sent Oldham Ashcraft below deck for her own protection and secured himself on a line. As a result, the yacht capsized, with Oldham Ashcraft injuring his head and losing consciousness for about 27 hours. When she regained consciousness, the Hazana was badly damaged and Sharp was gone.

Oldham Ashcraft managed to u. a. to make sailworthy and maneuverable again with an improvised mast. Due to the damage to the boat and the local wind and current conditions, however, continuing the originally planned route to San Diego seemed unrealistic, so she decided to go to Hawai'i instead . Since all electronic navigation instruments had been destroyed by the storm, she navigated manually with the help of a sextant . During this time, she lived primarily on canned food. After 41 days of shipwreck, Oldham Ashcraft finally reached Hilo in Hawai'i.

Further life

As a result of the head injury, Oldham Ashcraft suffered prolonged difficulties in focusing objects, so that she was unable to read a book, especially for years. She continued to sail and made her captain's license.

During the castaways, Oldham Ashcraft said he heard a supportive voice. After the experience, she struggled with grief and nightmares. After she was able to read again, she finally began to process her experiences with the help of professional writer Susea McGearhart in the book Red Sky in Mourning: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea , published in 2018 by Baltasar Kormákur under the German title Die Farbe des Horizonts (English: Adrift ) was filmed.

Oldham Ashcraft has been married since 1994 and has two daughters.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gale: Ashcraft, Tami Oldham 1960-. In: Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved September 25, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Hanna Huth: Adrift - How it all began. How it all ended. In: Yacht online. March 21, 2018. Retrieved September 25, 2018 . 
3. ↑ Adrift Movie vs. the True Story of Tami Oldham and Richard Sharp. In: History vs. Hollywood. Retrieved September 25, 2018 .