Getting a full-price offer plus another 15K for personal items (suspicious in itself) from a guy who’d merely been an extra should have aroused suspicion, especially since Thomas Hawks was a former parole officer and Skyer turned out to be an ex-con. In truth, Skyler’s biggest gig was that he’d been an extra on a single episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (a children’s TV show). In 2004, Thomas and Jackie Hawks were selling their boat and had received a full-price offer from a former “child actor,” Skyler Deleon. Thomas and Jackie Hawks were another couple targeted for their boat. While things like this happen rarely, they do happen. The cast of And The Sea Will Tell: Rachel Ward, Hart Bochner, James Brolin, and Deidre Hall
There’s both a book (written by Manson Family prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi) and a movie that depict this story, titled And The Sea Will Tell. Buck Walker ended up being convicted of the murders of Mac and Muff Graham, while Stephanie Sterns was acquitted (although some believe she must have been an accomplice in the murders). Apparently King Neptune decided he didn’t like this particular “gift” and had tossed the container back onto the atoll, breaking it open. Buck and Stephanie’s story: the Grahams had gone fishing in their dinghy and never returned so they simply helped themselves to their boat.Įventually Muff Graham’s remains were discovered in the surf off Palmyra, along with a large metal container that had previously been weighted down and held those remains. In spite of being repainted and renamed, the ketch was soon recognized by acquaintances of the Grahams, and Buck and Stephanie were arrested for its theft. The following September, Sea Wind returned to Hawaii in the possession of Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns. Mac and Eleanor Graham Buck Walker Stephanie Stearns
Also at Palmyra were Buck Walker and Stephanie Stearns, who’d arrived in a shabby, poorly-provisioned boat named Iola. In 1974, Malcolm “Mac” Graham and Eleanor “Muff” Graham sailed their beautiful ketch, Sea Wind, from Hawaii to Palmyra Atoll.
This has caused more than one disagreement between us over the years. This one hits home with me because I can be intuitive about potential trouble, potential that my partner might not pick up on. (I must hasten to add that these dangers are not all-consuming and nowhere near the threats one encounters from “bad” people while living a normal land-life.)Īside from bad anchoring practices (last post), here’s another hazard other boaters can present. To those who ask us if we’re afraid of pirates, I say not in the areas we’re currently traveling, but there are some dangers from other people. (Continued from Real Cruising Danger #1: Other Boaters)