Every Town - Tragedy Of The Sarah Joe - Hana, HI

Episode Date: March 11, 2022

Tragedy of the Sarah Joe in Hana, Hawaii - In the archives of more modern disasters that happened in the heart of the ocean, the disappearance of a Boston Whaler called Sarah Joe 40 years ago left tremendous devastation in the small town of Hana located at the eastern end of the island of Maui, Hawaii.  The Sarah Joe tragedy left more many unanswered questions. 🥇 Check this guy out! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3-mYE7uh6g🎉 Patreon (videos too hot for youtube) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJVtrLuIxoI🎧 More Podcasts, we got you - https://www.buzzsprout.com/1235579 Support the show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you love true crime, grab your favorite mug and pour yourself a dose of creepy true crime every single morning with a morning cup of murder. This short daily show is the perfect podcast to incorporate into your morning routine because in less than 15 minutes, you'll hear about a true crime that took place on a day's date in history. Each day's dark history lesson will kickstart your morning with intriguing tales of murder, abduction, serial killers, cults, and everything in between. With over 20 million downloads, Morning Cup of Murder has something for every true crime lover. One listener describes the show as a small package with a powerful punch of crime. Another writes that the show is an absolute delight in the morning. Support yourself a piping hot cup of murder every single morning with Morning Cup of Murder. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Every town has a dark side. Today we head to Hannah Hawaii, where we check out the four decades-year-old mystery, which is now known as the Sarah Joe tragedy. One of the world's wonders is the vast body of salt water that covers more than 70% of the earth, the ocean. It continually takes our breath away of its calming blue water and amazes us because of its huge impact on our food supply, temperatures and weather. But did you know, and only 5% of the ocean has been explored and charted. The rest has never been mapped, explored, or seen by humans, and so the mysteries of the oceans

remain a guarded secret. But even on the ocean's surface, there have been strange occurrences that we've witnessed, like the maritime tragedies that have claimed so many lives. Of course, the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 is perhaps the most well-known, but there are many others, which may be on a smaller scale, yet have become a big mystery. Such is the case in our story today. Back in 1979, the Sarah Joe tragedy happened in Hanna, Hawaii. And to this day, the whole story surrounding it remains a mystery. I'm Andrew Fitzgerald and welcome to every town.

In the archives of more modern disasters that happen in the heart of the ocean, the disappearance of a Boston whaler called Sarah Joe 40 years ago, left tremendous devastation in the small town of Hannah, located on the eastern end of the island of Maui and Hawaii. It claimed the lives of five robust and hard-working young men, whose remains, except for one, have never been recovered. After almost a decade, the boat and the skeletons of one of its passengers were found on a remote island. But instead of uncovering the truth about the Sarah Joe tragedy, it left more questions unanswered.

In today's podcast, let's remember what happened to a group of friends who went out fishing on a fine morning, but ended up caught up by a storm and sailed off to become one of the most mysterious cases in maritime history. February 11th, 1979 seemed like a perfect Sunday in Hannah. The clear skies seemed to reflect on the blue-hued, flat as a pond surface of Hannah Bay. The weather was fine

as the sun was shining bright with a gentle southerly breeze, so who couldn't resist the perfect time to go fishing offshore? After all, the fish always hit best when the water is calm and the sun smiles brightly. A group of five experienced, an avid fisherman decided to take a breather and ventured into the open sea.

They were on a scheduled day off from their regular jobs that day, but the friends had planned on working together on constructing a house. Even on a Sunday, people in Hannah were kept busy doing extra jobs, like carpentry projects, car repairs and other stuff. This not only preserve the traditional home-steading lights, style in the town, but it also provided extra income for all of them. But when 27-year-old native Hawaiian Ralph Malakini, who was into the trucking business, saw how calm Hanna Bay was, he so badly wanted to go out there fishing. He then contacted his four friends to join him. One of them was

26-year-old carpenter, Patrick Wozner, who lived in a hikiku, a small community in eastern Maui. Having compared to a street fighter, Patrick had a muscular build, dirty blonde hair, rugged face, and mean narrow eyes. But he made sincere efforts to get along with the conservative locals and learn the Pitgin dialect. He worked closely with them on construction jobs in the community and helped form a softball team to compete in the Hannah League. Another friend of Ralph invited to go fishing was 27-year-old Scott Morman. athletic, tall, muscular, with beach boy good looks. Scott had a young son from his ex-wife back in California. After his divorce, Scott spent some time traveling and dreamt of living in Hawaii someday.

So, when he vacationed in Hannah, he made up his mind to make it his home. According to Scott's parents, they were impressed at how much more loving and easy their son had become since relocating to Hannah. The two other members of the group were Peter Hentient and Benjamin Kalam. Peter was 31 years old and the only licensed plumber in town and the son of a Hanna ranch manager. Like most of the male population in Hanna, Peter was an eager fisherman and wild pig hunter. A 38-year-old native Hawaiian and the oldest in the group, Benjamin was a mason and tile setter who had five children who ranged between the ages of six and sixteen. Between all these five men, they had over 50 years of sea-going experience,

so they enthusiastically welcomed the chance to flex their fishing skills on that beautiful Sunday. The men met at a small country store called Hasegawa General Store, named after its jovial owner Harry Hasegawa. They bought gasoline, beer, bait, ice, and snacks, and even invited Harry to go fishing with him. However, Harry wasn't a good swimmer and had a phobia of drowning, so he declined the group's invitation. And, as it turned out, Harry would be the last person to have interacted with the five men.

The Sarah Joe was a 17-foot boat manufactured by Boston Whaler, who was owned by Ralph's twin brother Robert, who was happy to lend it to Ralph. The vessel was named after their mother, Sarah, and their father Joe. This boat was equipped with an 85-horsepower outboard or main engine, which only needed a new spark plug, as well as a 7.5 horsepower backup engine, also referred to as a kicker.

The boat manufacturers advertised it as unsinkable, a claim which was believed by some experienced sailors, but the U.S. Coast Guard, however, was skeptical. But for the group of friends who just wanted a leisurely day together, The Sarah Joe is their perfect companion exploring the ocean. Their main goal is catching Uluwa, the Holy Grail of fishing by Hannah Anglers. Also known as giant kingfish or giant Jack Cravelli.

Olua can grow up to 300 pounds and could be sold to stores in town if you brought home to family for dinner or enjoy with friends over ice cold bottles of beer. Loaded with the men's fishing gear, food, and drink, and a huge ice-filled cooler for the day's catch, the Sarajeo was ready to set sail. Ralph as the skipper pointed the Sarah Joe

toward the mouth of Hanna Bay. He turned right after passing a rocky islet, then headed south toward a spot where he had the luck of an abundant catch in the past. The area was within the Ilanuhaha Channel situated between Maui and the Big Island. At 17,000 feet deep, It was considered the roughest waters in Hawaii and was swept by strong surface currents moving to the southwest.

The weather in the Eleanuhaha Channel was unpredictable that even on a warm and calm day, just like on February 11, 1979, storms could form at frightening speeds. Big vessels may have had the steadfastness to overcome this, but for small boats, it's a matter of outrunning an unexpected storm in order to return safely to shore. Did the five men aboard the Sarajeo even think about this before sailing off at 10 o'clock that morning? Apparently, their excitement made them oblivious to these facts, while three other Hanna boats that also ventured into the channel that day made it back to the port unscathed. Sarah Joe was ill-fated, which distressed the town of Hanna. It only took two hours for what was supposedly a relaxing and delightful fishing venture to turn into a catastrophe. A known to Ralph and Company, a low-pressure system was sneaking into the region.

At around noon, just a couple hours after the Sarah Joe had left Hannah, the wind shifted to the north and gained speed rapidly. Thus, by the early afternoon, a maelstrom had engulfed the Alanuhaha Channel. One of the skippers of the boat, which successfully returned to the shore, said it was like a rushing river out there. Windstorms and massive strength caused big waves to form, some as high as 14 feet. The sky seemed to break wide open and released a torrent of heavy rains onto the channel. It was the worst storm in Hannah in five decades, according to the town's senior inhabitants. A month prior to this, Hannah battled another storm which sank an 80-foot steel hull research ship called

Holo Holo, killing two prumen. But this one, on that fateful Sunday in February of 79, was a storm that became very violent and caused much flooding and damage to Hanna. The thick pouring rain, howling ferocious wind, and the raging waves were just two monstrous for the Sarajeo to hurdle. By the late afternoon concerned family members of the Sarah Joe passengers, including Peter's father, John Hanchett Sr., and Ralph's brother Robert, who owned the bus, reported the missing vessel to the Coast Guard. John Robert and some local men did a quick search of the missing boat along the area of the south, but the fierce waves and poor visibility prevented them from going any further. Even expert marine biologist John Norton joined Mr. Hanchett Sr. in the search,

but the wrath of nature rendered their efforts fruitless. Mr. Hanchett Sr. detailed, The weather in the channel was the worst I'd ever seen it. The swells were so large if we had been 50 yards from them we wouldn't have seen them. When it got dark, we couldn't see 10 feet. Residents nearby likewise hadn't seen any trace of the Sarajeo or the five friends. An initial surge by the U.S. Coast Guard that afternoon had a helicopter dispatched, and a C-130 fixed-winged aircraft diverted from another mission.

But their efforts were futile due to the poor visibility because of the still raging storm and the impending nightfall. The following day, the Coast Guard commenced its earnest five-day search operation for the Sarajeo, which became one of the largest sea searches in the history of Hawaii. Almost 50 planes and helicopters were deployed to scour 73,000 square miles of ocean for a total of nearly 330 hours of fly time. Boats were also used in the search efforts, of course. However, certain factors served as impediments in the sea and air searches. According to Captain Jim Cushman of the U.S. Coast Guard, they really didn't know where to look. He said, the initial place where we started searching was very ill-defined because we weren't really sure exactly where the Sarajeo had gone fishing.

So it encompassed a relatively large area, initially that first first. day, then the area got bigger and bigger. Another thing was the strong and perilous currents in the Alanuhaha Channel area, which made it impenetrable by boat. Thus, on each day that the currents drifted the Sarajeo further away, the chances of finding the boat also got slimmer. Moreover, the high winds hadn't subsided and the visibility remained minimal, which affected aerial search operations. Several homing pigeons, specifically trained in spotting, international orange or red, were also used by the Naval Ocean System Center in San Diego. Alas, that strategy failed because the bad weather forced the planes carrying the pigeons to land,

and the birds themselves got lost. Unexpectedly, after five grueling days, the Coast Guard suspended the official search for the Sarah Joe. Without any valuable clues found, it was assumed that the Boston Whaler must have sunk into the unknowable depths of the ocean. Naturally, this didn't sit well with the family and friends of the five missing men. Some sympathetic Hannah residents questioned why the Coast Guard search peaked during two days of poor visibility and then gradually reduced after weather conditions cleared. Although John Hatchett Sr. admitted the Sarah Joe was most likely illiquitous. equipped to face head on such a massive storm. He believed that his son, Peter, and his friends were

strong, healthy, experienced fishermen, and good swimmers capable of helping one another. He and the other men's families would only believe that the five friends didn't survive the storm had debris of the vessel been found. John Hatchett Sr. said, but nothing was found, nothing. And so we felt there was still a chance that they were afloat and alive. Such was the undiagnetion. lying hope and fighting spirit of a father who believed in the impossible. The family members' refusal to give up, jumpstarted an extended private search for a week. A few friends lent their own boats, while family members, other friends, and even strangers bankrolled the hiring of commercial boats and planes by donating a total of $50,000.

They relentlessly searched the beaches, the remote waters of the south shore of Maui, and the Hamakua coast of the Big Island. But after a tiring week, and there wasn't a single clue of Sarah Joe's wreckage found, except for a life jacket that didn't belong to the men. It was frustrating and heart-wrenching for the families and friends of the five men who disappeared mysteriously,

as if they had been swallowed by a black hole. It took a year for hope to die in Hannah, and a memorial service was then held for Ralph, Patrick, Peter, Benjamin and Scott. Finally, in the absence of their remains, the five men were laid to rest. And so were the hopes of their loved ones to find the truth to their mysterious vanishing. As we all know, we don't have control over fate.

But when destiny takes its own course, it can spring a surprise at a time when everyone least expects it. As mentioned earlier, one of the good fellows who helped John Hatchett see, senior search for the Sarah Joe the day after went missing, was marine biologist Johann Naughton of the National Marine Fisheries Service. On September 10, 1988, he led a wildlife expedition, which was commissioned by the East-West Center and the government of the Marshall Islands to seek a site for a wildlife sanctuary. Part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands is the Teongi atoll, a small group of tiny islands and circles. a 30 square mile lagoon, which is 2,200 miles away from Hanna.

The atoll was uninhabited because it was a poor fishing ground for the Marshallese. It was semi-arid due to limited rainfall and had no fresh surface water. In order to reach the lagoon safely, a boat could only enter one narrow break. Sibylla Island was one of the narrow strips of land at the edge of the lagoon. It was occasionally occupied by a handful of migratory. bird, and none of the few species of plants that grow there were palatable for human consumption since the climate is dry for the most part of the year. This makes Sibilla Island one of the loneliest places in the vast Pacific, and on that hot September day, not in four other

scientists went ashore on Sibilla looking for green sea turtles and nesting birds. But what they discovered was truly more surprising. They stumbled across a partially buried fiberglass hull of a battered boat that resembled a Boston whaler. Upon a closer look, Norton noticed the letters H-A imprinted on the wood, which meant it was registered in Hawaii. It was, however, the visible prints of the letters S-A-H-N-J, that made Norton decide to stay longer and search the island thoroughly for more clues. Nine years and a few failed search operations later, the answer to Sarah Joe's disappearance was in Notton's hands.

They were astounded to find a crude wooden cross marking a shallow coral-covered grave about 100 yards from the boat wreckage. So the more important question was, were there any signs of the Sarah Joe's passengers? Atop the grave protruded a human jawbone, but Notton and his team weren't certain yet if it was connected to the Sarajeo tragedy. They reported their discoveries to the Coast Guard, which subsequently went to the site, and positively identified the boat as the Sarah Joe. When they dug the grave, they found a pile of human skeletons down below.

The forensic examination of those remains determined that they were Scott Mormons based on his dental records back in California. However, the exact cause of his death couldn't be ascertained. As for his four pals, a search of the islands in the area didn't yield any clues. Strangely, investigators instead found papers deliberately buried in the grave. They were in an unbound stack, three-quarters of an inch by three-quarters of an inch, alternated by slips of tinfoil material placed between the pages. As to why, they were buried together with Scott's skeletons was unknown.

The families of the five men hired private investigator, Steve Goodnow, who made sense of the discoveries using weather data, information from officials of three government, and his personal search of Sibylla Island. His team found a few remaining pieces of skeleton from Scott and the boat's engine wedged underwater in a nearby coral reef. He theorized that before the Sarajeo swung southwest, it was carried by the storm northwest, very close to the Kauaii Island in Taongi Atoll. At that point, some of the men tried to swim ashore but drowned in the rough seas. Scott, though, stayed on the boat and survived starvation and dehydration

until the Sarajeo drifted to the atoll after two months of sailing. This explains why Scott's body was the only one left aboard when the boat crashed over the reef of the Sabilla Island. A few years later, a crewman of a Taiwanese. fishing boat, found Scots from mains. He buried them there in a Chinese burial right in which papers, as well as gold and silver foil, are provided to the dead as currency and a source of fortune in the next life. Since the Taiwanese man was fishing illegally in the Marsh Lee's territory, though, he didn't report it to the authorities. For pragmatic individuals, the tragedy of the Sarajeo could have been certainly prevented at any of the five friends.

check the weather forecast and the island on that day. But can we blame them? The divine beauty of the ocean and its promise of serenity is a welcome temptation. No one can say no to. Often we just forget that beyond its surface lies a mysterious force that has given rise to unforgivable maritime tragedies.

The town of Hannah has made sure it does not forget the Sarajeo or Ralph, Peter, Patrick, Benjamin, and Scott. On Hannah Bay, a memorial plaque in their honor is in place. Engraved as a simple yet touching line, Hannah remembers her sons, which eases the pain from knowing that the remains of the four other men may never be found at all. So that's it for this week's episode of Everytown. Tune in next week for another episode filled with scary, strange, and mysterious stories. Because who knows?

Maybe your town's going to be next.