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

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.