WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Mystery of the Sarah Jo

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the Short Stuff. Josh here, Chuck here,

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<v Speaker 1>let's get going with short stuff because I love this one.

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<v Speaker 2>That's right, yet another maritime disaster our most popular sub field,

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<v Speaker 2>it seems like.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I want to give a huge shout out to

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<v Speaker 1>Strange Company, a great website. They have a Friday link

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<v Speaker 1>dump every week. It's really great. But they also just

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<v Speaker 1>write on strange mysteries and weird stuff and that's where

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<v Speaker 1>I first heard of this. But also hat tip to

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<v Speaker 1>the Maui Times and the La Times for some help

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<v Speaker 1>with getting our facts straight on this.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think we could maybe even do maritime disasters.

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<v Speaker 2>You should know as its own separate little short podcast.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>People love maritime disasters, can't get enough of it. They're

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<v Speaker 1>all sickos, all right.

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<v Speaker 3>So this is the story of the Sarah Joe.

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<v Speaker 2>It takes place in nineteen seventy nine when a guy

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<v Speaker 2>from California, a twenty seven year old named Scott Mormon

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<v Speaker 2>who is living in Hawaii, went with four construction worker buddies.

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<v Speaker 2>Went to them and said, hey, guys, let's not do

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<v Speaker 2>our work today. Let's go let's go fishing. It's a

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<v Speaker 2>great day.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's do it.

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<v Speaker 2>One of the guys, Ralph mala Yacchini. He had a

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<v Speaker 2>access to a boat from his brother Robert, who did

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<v Speaker 2>not go on this trip, but a seventeen foot Boston

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<v Speaker 2>whaler named.

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<v Speaker 3>The Sarah Joe. And the five of these guys.

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<v Speaker 2>Who were you know, they weren't super experienced fishermen, but

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<v Speaker 2>they knew their way around a boat and ocean set

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<v Speaker 2>out for you know, probably not a three hour tour,

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<v Speaker 2>but maybe a six hour tour.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, from Hannah, Hawaii, I believe, on the island of Maui.

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<v Speaker 1>And because this was not supposed to be more than

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<v Speaker 1>a few hour tour, they didn't pack a ton of supplies.

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<v Speaker 1>They were just going fishing. It was a beautiful day

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<v Speaker 1>and like you said, they skipped work to take advantage

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Robert, Ralph mala Yacchini's brother, later said that

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<v Speaker 1>the sea looked like a lake that day. But within

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<v Speaker 1>two hours of them setting out on the Sarah Joe,

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<v Speaker 1>it just completely turned. And within a couple hours of that,

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<v Speaker 1>there was a gale that had whipped up and it

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<v Speaker 1>was just not a good scene for somebody to be

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<v Speaker 1>out in an open boat on.

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<v Speaker 2>No and it disappeared that boat was gone, the Coastguard

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<v Speaker 2>went looking. Obviously, they spent about a week searching. They

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<v Speaker 2>eventually called off their search, and then friends and family

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<v Speaker 2>kept looking for about another month and never found anything

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<v Speaker 2>at all, no trace anywhere of any of these guys,

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<v Speaker 2>anything on that boat, any part of that boat. And

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<v Speaker 2>I guess it seemed like that was probably the end

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<v Speaker 2>of the story at the time, until a decade later,

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<v Speaker 2>in September eighty eight, when marine biologist named John Naughton

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<v Speaker 2>was doing some research on an uninhabited island, actually a

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<v Speaker 2>string of islands, the Tamgi Atoll, the Marshall Islands, and

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<v Speaker 2>he saw a boat and he was like, wait a minute,

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<v Speaker 2>it's got a Hawaiian registry. I think that's the Sarah Joe.

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<v Speaker 2>And the reason I know that is because I was

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<v Speaker 2>one of the guys ten years earlier.

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<v Speaker 3>That was looking for it. Yeah, in that nuts, it's amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, what was just a crazy twist of fate,

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<v Speaker 1>because if he hadn't been in the search, he said,

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<v Speaker 1>he immediately thought of the Sarah Joe. If he hadn't

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<v Speaker 1>have been, you know, primed already ten years before to

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<v Speaker 1>be thinking about that boat, who knows if anybody would

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<v Speaker 1>have ever done anything about it. But John Naughton. He

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<v Speaker 1>started looking around and found near the boat there was

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<v Speaker 1>a pile of rocks and it turned out to be

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<v Speaker 1>a burial mound. On top of it, kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>dead giveaway is was a driftwood cross and a part

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<v Speaker 1>of a jawbone. And when the rocks were removed, he

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<v Speaker 1>found more parts of his skeleton. And then there was

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<v Speaker 1>one other thing, a little pad or a little stack

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<v Speaker 1>of paper that had been partially burned. And that was it.

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<v Speaker 1>John Naughton looked around the rest of the beach. He

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<v Speaker 1>didn't find anything else. He didn't find any other remains.

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<v Speaker 1>He didn't find anything but this weird assemblage of clues

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<v Speaker 1>and human remains.

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<v Speaker 3>That's right.

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<v Speaker 2>Which raises some very big questions which will answer after

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<v Speaker 2>the break, namely, how did this boat get twenty three

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<v Speaker 2>hundred miles away, how did this guy die, when did

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<v Speaker 2>he die? Who buried this guy? And where are the

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<v Speaker 2>other four guys.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a lot of questions. We'll be right back, So, Chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>you just rattled off a lot of questions. And first

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<v Speaker 1>thing we should say is that after Naughton got the

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<v Speaker 1>remains back into the hands of the US Army Central

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<v Speaker 1>Identification Lab in Hawaii. They couldn't determine how this person

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<v Speaker 1>died or when they died, but they did determine that

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<v Speaker 1>it was Scott Mormon, the Native Californian who was one

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<v Speaker 1>of the guys who shipped out on that boat with

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<v Speaker 1>the other four dudes. It definitely was somebody from that

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah Joe Expedition fishing trip, and it definitely was the

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<v Speaker 1>Sarah Joe boat. But that was about all of the

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<v Speaker 1>questions that you just said that they could answer.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they you know, of course, his family was like

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<v Speaker 2>coming up with ideas how he could have made it

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<v Speaker 2>that far, whether or not he was alive when he

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<v Speaker 2>got there. His family thinks that he may have gotten

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<v Speaker 2>there alive, but then you know, died of from the

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<v Speaker 2>elements and not having water. Other people say, well, maybe

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<v Speaker 2>he strapped himself to the boat and actually died out there,

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<v Speaker 2>but that's how he finally reached land because he was

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<v Speaker 2>strapped to that boat.

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<v Speaker 3>And we just don't know, and we also.

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<v Speaker 2>Don't know who would have buried him, but that stack

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<v Speaker 2>of papers is a pretty good clue.

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<v Speaker 1>I think, Yeah, there's a theory that he was buried

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<v Speaker 1>by Chinese fishermen, and the reason why is because that

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<v Speaker 1>stack of papers, they were like little three by three

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<v Speaker 1>sheets of paper. Altogether the stack was less than an

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<v Speaker 1>inch thick, but one of the major characteristics of the

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<v Speaker 1>stack of paper was that there was a sheet of

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<v Speaker 1>foil in between each sheet of paper. And the reason

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<v Speaker 1>that some people think that this is a Chinese fishing

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<v Speaker 1>expedition that found and buried him is because there in

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<v Speaker 1>Chinese funeral customs something called joss paper, which is burned

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<v Speaker 1>and it's considered spirit money, so it's a gift to

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<v Speaker 1>the deceased to use in the afterlife. And the defining

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<v Speaker 1>characteristic of joss paper is that it has a foil

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<v Speaker 1>lining on at least one side. The big suggestion for

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<v Speaker 1>why they would have put across is that they may

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<v Speaker 1>have recognized this guy as Caucasian, which would suggest that

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<v Speaker 1>they found him while he was still relatively intact. But

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<v Speaker 1>that also still leaves the question, Chuck of when this

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<v Speaker 1>burial took place, and they think they got it within

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<v Speaker 1>like a six year window of when when he would

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<v Speaker 1>have washed up onto the shore.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, they found out that there was a survey of

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<v Speaker 2>that atoll conducted in nineteen eighty two. The incident took

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<v Speaker 2>place in seventy nine. The report didn't say anything about

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<v Speaker 2>a boat. You would think it would be included. I

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<v Speaker 2>also saw that it's possible, you know, when you're at

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<v Speaker 2>these tiny remote islands, that they could have missed something

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<v Speaker 2>like that. It's those surveys aren't the most like detailed surveys.

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<v Speaker 2>But if they didn't miss it, then that would mean

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<v Speaker 2>that something happened over the course of three years.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, in that eerie So imagine that if he had

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<v Speaker 1>strapped himself to the boat and died in the storm

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<v Speaker 1>or shortly after, that would suggest that he was adrift

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<v Speaker 1>in the Pacific for three years, dead and strapped to

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<v Speaker 1>the Mary Sarah Joe. That freaky.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. I don't know enough about how big the ocean

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<v Speaker 2>is to know if three years is if you could

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<v Speaker 2>drift around for three years without anybody seeing you ever,

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<v Speaker 2>that seems lovely to me in the eighties.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, yeah, but I don't know, man, this is a

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<v Speaker 1>pretty remote part of the world. I think this is

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<v Speaker 1>where that Point Nemo area is, you know, the most

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<v Speaker 1>remote part of the world that's furthest away from any land. Masks.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm pretty sure it's in that area, that region.

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<v Speaker 2>I guess it's possible, but it also had to get

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<v Speaker 2>from Hawaii to there over three years.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I don't know. I don't speculating.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. And if it wasn't just a drift

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<v Speaker 1>for three years, who knows what happened then, Like, I

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<v Speaker 1>have no clue and it will probably never be answered.

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<v Speaker 1>But the reason that they think the Chinese fishing expedition

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<v Speaker 1>didn't tell anybody is because it was probably an illegal

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<v Speaker 1>fishing expedition, which is, you know, they didn't tell anybody

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<v Speaker 1>that they found these remains, but at least they took

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<v Speaker 1>the time to bury them and give them like some

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<v Speaker 1>sort of funeral service, which is pretty top notch for

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<v Speaker 1>illegal fishermen if you think about it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I think that's the kind of coolest part of

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<v Speaker 2>the story, is that they've had enough respect for this

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<v Speaker 2>human that they didn't even know to take care of

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<v Speaker 2>it in that way.

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<v Speaker 1>For sure. I think that's it for short Stuff, right,

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<v Speaker 1>I got nothing else. Short Stuff is.

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