Red Sky in Mourning: The True Story of a Woman's Courage and Survival at Sea

by Susea McGearhart (Author), Tami Oldham Ashcraft (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $33.17

  The gripping true story of one woman's amazing survival at sea against all the odds. Tami Oldham and her finace, Richard Sharp set sail from Tahiti under brilliant blue skies and their future together was just as bright. Young and in love, they were both expert sailors who had already seen much of the world and planned to see more. But twenty days into their journey they sailed directly into a monumental hurricane...Strapped in the cabin, Tami was knocked unconscious and awoke twenty-seven hours later to find the boat in ruins, with the masts missing, the engine and radio broken and Richard gone. Tami was weeks away from land. RED SKY IN MOURNING is a compelling and devastating, but ultimately inspiring, account of how much can go wrong on the ocean and how, miraculously, one person conquered her own fears and survived.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $9.46

  This is the compelling story of the ill-fortuned sailing trip embarked upon in the South Seas by Tami Oldham and her English lover Richard during the hurricane season. Tami and Richard spend a few months touring the Polynesian Islands aboards a small yacht and, in Tahiti, Richard tops the heady romantic nature of their time together by proposing. Soon after, in need of funds, they are asked to sail a beautiful, large, state-of-the-art yacht, Hazana, back to San Diego and they readily agree. Twenty days into their trip they discover that there is no escape on the high seas from a hurricane hurtling towards their path. With every ounce of strength the couple battle with the elements but the hurricane keeps gaining. Tami goes below and secures her tether to the table's post just as she hears Richard cry over the roar of the wind, Oh, my God . A deafening whomp is all that Tami remembers after that moment; she is knocked unconscious for 30 hours. When she comes to there is no sign of Richard, the boat is half full of water and is wrecked beyond repair or recognition. And there is no land nor boat in sight - just thousands of miles of vast, empty ocean. This is where the real story begins: Tami's astonishing determination and sense of preservation which against all the odds lead her back to civilization in Hawaii over 40 days' sailing away, all with a broken mast, ruined navigational instruments and a very limited water and food supply. But it is also a poignant love story, as the spirit of her lost lover motivates her on to beat the elements and save herself.