Tami Oldham: The Sailor Who Woke Up Alone After the Storm

In 1983, sailor Tami Oldham and her fiancé Richard Sharp were delivering the yacht Hazana from Tahiti to San Diego when Hurricane Raymond crossed their route. After the yacht capsized, Oldham woke injured, alone, and surrounded by wreckage.

With Hazana dismasted, its electronics damaged, and no dependable long-range communication, she had to turn surviving fragments of the boat into a way home. This episode follows the documented chronology of her 41 days at sea: the failed mayday calls, the jury-rigged sail, the sextant, the missing watch recovered from the bilge, the difficult decision to aim for Hawaii, and the final flare off Hilo.

It also separates the established record from Oldham’s later firsthand recollections, examines what cannot be known about Richard Sharp’s final moments, and explains the key difference between the real event and the 2018 film Adrift.

This podcast uses artificial intelligence in its research, writing, production, and narration. Episodes are editorially reviewed before publication.

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