She survived 41 days in the open ocean (7 photos)

There is a fairly well-known Hollywood film "In the power of the elements": the girl drifted in the open ocean on a dilapidated yacht and was able to survive. The blockbuster was based on the true story of Tami Oldham Ashcraft. To her was only 23 years old when she was at the mercy of the elements.





The girl Tami from her youth was fond of sailing, she I liked the ocean and the feeling of conquering the elements. There, among these enthusiastic, she met her love - the Englishman Richard Sharpe, who was a professional and had already passed the Pacific Ocean more than once. Despite for a ten-year age difference (Tami was 23 and Richard 32) they had a lot in common. They were in love, happy and certainly would have gotten married if not for that fateful meeting with a married couple, asking them to take the yacht from Tahiti to San Diego.



Tami and Richard

September 22, 1983, Richard and Tami in a luxurious new 15-meter yacht Hazana. The transfer was supposed to take 30-31 days, but in the sailboat did not arrive in San Diego on the specified date. Sharpe and Ashcraft steel consider missing.





Tami and Richard

The weather was fine until the moment when Hazana, despite the efforts of the captain, she still met with a terrible hurricane "Raymond". Richard and Tami tried their best to get around him, but they couldn't happened. The yacht was large, quite stable and strong, but before She was powerless with 15-meter waves. Sharpe stubbornly refused to quit. steering wheel, trying to keep Hazana afloat, having managed to attach it to his life jacket safety belt. He sent his beloved check the measuring instruments in the hold, realizing that this can save.



Another strong blow of the wave practically pulled Richard out of life jacket and the yacht capsized. Downstairs, Tami collapsed to the floor, hit her head hard and lost consciousness for 27 hours. Waking up, she realized that she was not only left alone, but also that her the situation is practically hopeless.

Tami was in a state of shock worsened by a severe headache. pain and fainting. Hunger forced her to start fighting for her life.

The yacht's mast was broken, the sails were torn off, there was water, the yacht tilted. All onboard equipment was out of order, including and a communication device. The engine stopped forever and Tami could not run. Exhausted, covered in wounds and abrasions, the girl had to decide many difficult tasks and to begin with, drain the cabins and return it to desired position. She pumped out the water, redistributed the load. After made a semblance of a sail on the wreckage of the mast. The yacht could move with extremely low speed (two knots per hour), but she was walking!



Tami

Tami was lucky - she managed to find a sextant on the yacht, which she could use to determine her position and build well. There was the issue of supplies. There was canned food on the yacht, some beer, peanut butter and expensive cigars. Tami built something like awning to collect rainwater, which during the day saved her from scorching hot sun. For 41 days, the girl lost 18 kg.

It was lucky that the yacht was so strong that it could withstand storm and Tami didn't have to deal with holes. Hold pretty dried quickly and was a shelter for her.

Tami, struggling with the approaching despair and panic, somewhat I once thought about committing suicide. There was morphine in the first-aid kit on the yacht, and in the middle of her "journey" she found a gun. But every time the brave yachtswoman pulled herself together. She screamed furiously at the ocean who took her Richard. She later recalled that the loss of a loved one hit the hardest thing is especially after the rescue. At sea, thoughts of survival drove away thoughts of loss.

She suffered from hallucinations. And a particularly difficult test was 16th and 34th days of her journey, when she saw the ships. Sailors don't saw neither the ship itself, nor flares and, of course, did not hear desperate cries of Tami.



Hazana. This is how she arrived at the port

Tami and the faithful Hazana tried to head for the Hawaiian islands. After almost a month and a half sailing, the broken ship slowly entered the Hawaiian port. Everyone couldn't believe that she survived, and she, being safe, immediately contacted all relatives, from the ownerwe had yachts and, what was the most difficult, with Richard's brother. He took it upon himself to deliver the bitter news to his parents. Her tormented by guilt, the pain of loss, and she suffered a serious post-traumatic disorder. It took Tami many years to to return to her former self in order to stop grieving for Richard, who made her proposal before starting a trip on a yacht, in order to understand that she is neither which is not to blame.



Ten years after the disaster, she was able to fall in love. Tami got married and had two wonderful children. Psychologist advised her to write a book about what she experienced and this really helped her.

Tami Oldham Ashcraft has not stopped loving the ocean and her passion for sailing could not break anything. Not even Hurricane Raymond. She and now often goes to sea on a yacht, and also received a license captain of small craft. As a talisman, she always wears on a chain little sextant.