People Who Have Been Lost In The Wilderness And Lived To Tell Their Tales

Tami Oldham Ashcraft Conquered The Sea

Tami Ashcraft and her boyfriend Richard Sharp were sailing from Tahiti to San Diego in 1983. They were in a 44-foot sailboat, but that didn’t save them when they were hit by a category 4 hurricane. They were battling with 50-foot waves and over 100 miles per hour winds when the boat was capsized and Ashcraft was knocked unconscious below deck. When she awoke, her boyfriend was gone, and she was alone and adrift in the ocean. Relying on celestial navigation, she managed to plot a course to Hawaii — which was around 1,500 miles away. She then made a mast and sail, rationed her food, and managed to make it there in 41 days.