41 Days Adrift; Tami Oldham Ashcraft and Hurricane Raymond | E272

In September 1983, Tami Oldham and her fiancé, Richard Sharp, set sail from Tahiti on what should have been a routine yacht delivery to San Diego. Weeks later, a hurricane they could not outrun found them in the open Pacific. Tami woke up injured, aboard a boat that barely resembled the one she had boarded, with one question that could not wait: where was Richard? What followed took more than a month, a navigation tool most of us have never used, and a decision at the very end that could have cost her everything. Julie and Kaycee tell the story and explain what a head injury like hers can meanContent note: This episode includes the death of a loved one, a serious head injury, and a brief mention of suicidal thoughts. In the United States, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by call or text.Time Stamps - 00:00 Podcast Intro 00:30 Waking Up After Capsize01:56 Content Warning 03:01 Tahiti Departure And Crew04:54 Hurricane Raymond Forms08:44 Inside The Storm11:15 Richard Missing Aftermath13:02 Radios Fail Survival Plan15:44 Improvised Mast And Course17:36 Celestial Navigation Without Time22:35 Daily Routine Food Water Wounds25:07 Close Calls And Steering Trouble27:02 Third Man Factor 28:51 Land Signs 31:37 Hilo Harbor And Rescue34:17 Recovery And Life After35:27 Legacy And ClosingKey References

1. United Press International, "A woman who spent 41 days alone in a..." (November 22, 1983).
2. Lou Bodenhemier, "A Survival Classic: Tami Oldham Ashcraft's 41 Days Alone at Sea," ExplorersWeb (May 20, 2025).
3.  Wikipedia, "Tami Oldham Ashcraft."
4.  Wikipedia, "1983 Pacific hurricane season," Hurricane Raymond section.
5. "Adrift: Surviving a hurricane at sea," interview with Tami Oldham Ashcraft, RNLI magazine (April 4, 2019).
6. Media kit for Red Sky in Mourning, Foggia+Associates Public Relations (about 2002).7
7. Kara Warner, "41 Days Stranded at Sea: The Harrowing, Heartbreaking Real-Life Story Behind New Movie 'Adrift,'" People (June 1, 2018).
8. Tim Schmit, "'Adrift' 1983 Hurricane (Raymond)," CIMSS Satellite Blog, University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 12, 2021).
9. Defense Health Agency, "Traumatic Brain Injury" (VA/DoD severity classification).
10. "Guardian Angels Or The 'Third Man Factor'?" NPR (September 13, 2009).
11. "Shackleton's Fourth Man," National Catholic Register.
12. Review of Red Sky in Mourning, Kirkus Reviews.
13. New Idea interview with Tami Oldham Ashcraft (August 27, 2018).14. 'Adrift' | Local author's book hits big screen," San Juan Journal.

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