The Sea Wind was a luxurious, state of the art yacht. They could have sailed anywhere and everywhere. Why the hell did they hang around stinking, rat and bug-infested Palmyra for such a long time? Were they addicted to Jennifer's baked goods? Were they unable to tear themselves away from the company of the ever-charming Buck? What a pair of knob grobblers! I'm in NO WAY excusing their murder, but COME ON!
shareIn the book, "And the Sea Will Tell," on which this movie was based, the authors explain that Mac Graham, after years of traveling the world's oceans, had a dream of living on an uninhabited south seas island. That is the reason why they were there to begin with. What Mac and Muff didn't expect was to find other people on the island when they got there. They stayed hoping that the other people there, including Buck and Stephanie, would eventually leave.
shareI know that they wanted solitude. That's my point. There was always someone stopping by the island. And Stephanie and Buck were going NOWHERE soon. Palmyra couldn't be the only place they could try. Why not try somewhere else for a while? The Sea Wind could have taken them anywhere with ease. Even if there were still other people there, at least it wouldn't be Stephanie and Buck with his dogs, his tree felling for coconuts, and his endless tobacco cravings! They could return later and maybe the A-holes would have left or died or something...
shareThe book actually covers the question of why the Grahams did not leave Palmyra.
Vincent Bugliosi noted that Mac Graham was a rather stubborn person and also, that he did not fear Buck Walker. As we all know, it turned out that he actually had much to fear.
"Mac Graham was a rather stubborn person."
Very often it IS stupid to be stubborn. The movie showed this as well. Mac attitude was that Buck was not going to run him off the island. To re-hash an old cliche' "Don't bite off your nose to spite yer face." I've read 2 other of Buglioso's books and will read this too.
Regardless of the reasons, once everyone else was gone and it was just the Grahams alone with Buck and Jennifer, the Grahams were doomed. Buck and Jennifer knew they would never be able to get off the island with that broken engine and leaking boat. They knew neither the Grahams or anyone else would ever give them a ride anywhere because of those dogs and...well Buck.
These murders were done out of desperation and greed.
Finally read the book, and the Grahams shoulda SNUCK out! At night! And if Buck tries to stop them shoot 'im in the haid!
shareFinally read the book, and the Grahams shoulda SNUCK out! At night! And if Buck tries to stop them shoot 'im in the haid!
You know, I said the same thing and then I studied up on the tides off Palmyra. I really don't think they could get through the channel in the dead of night because high tide didn't hit until the morning. Also there were a lot of obstacles in the lagoon that they would have to watch out for in order not to damage the boat. They would have to leave during the day.
It is a real shame that the Grahams didn't leave when the last sailors who were there left.
The Grahams, ironically, decided that San Diego .. where they were living prior to the event... was getting a little more crime prone than they liked.
I saw a photo of "Buck" (not his real name) in the court room trial. From a distance, he didn't have body language that suggested violence. At least not in the still photo. In person, maybe he was more threatening.
I had to laugh at your post.
But I have a photo and description of the Sea Wind. It was NOT luxurious. It was utilitarian. It was built and maintained only to get around. The movie producers had the option to use the actual boat in their movie and decided NOT to because it wasn't nice enough looking so they used a better, newer boat.
i.e. the Sea Wind's exterior cabin, for example, was covered in canvass that was covered over with a marine water proofing product.
But, if I had been in their shoes, I would have left when others left. Same as you go a different direction when you see a thug on the street. Whether they're crazy or just mean, they have nothing to lose. All they have is prison time..... with more prison time in store. Thats why thugs are dangerous... they have nothing to lose because they've been losers since about age 10.
Well Vince's BOOK describes it as luxurous, it was a ketch, which is always upscale, and every witness at the trial and every person quoted in the book describes it as a remarkable boat: far above average. The photo I'VE seen shows a well-appointed, large, well equiped sailing vessel.
I wasn't really trying to debate. I was merely repeating what I was told by a boatyard employee who saw it in Hawaii. Also, as I mentioned, I saw a photo of the boat, also, but it was in newsprint.
Where did you see your photo? I'd like to take a look myself. Although there are plenty of the Sea Witch boats still around, I suspect the one involved was less than you think it was. It was wood and rotted away & sunk. If you have seen something other than a pure wood boat, its not the same category of boat.
Also, I just found the best photos I've seen of the killers... Buckeroo Bad Guy & his sidekick slut.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/07/13/news/art4c.jpg&imgrefurl=http://archives.starbulletin.com/2007/07/13/news/story04.html&usg=__U7kTuLYF3zYdkOycsQ1cKlGun3U=&h=351&w=240&sz=25&hl=en&start=5&tbnid=Hwc01DqIppu2wM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3DStephanie%2BStearns,%2Bthe%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
"Where did you see your photo?"
The book; "And the Sea Will Tell." :)
It depends when the boatyard employee saw the boat. In the years after the murders it sat around in a Marina and was sold more than once. I dont think anyone ever maintained it or took it out to see, so it just deteriorated to a mouldy rotting hulk. Any of Mac's sparkling brass instruments would have corroded, they and other fittings would likely have been sold off. At the time it was owned by the Grahams the Sea Wind had 14 years of loving care and upgrading lavished upon it so that it was a well appointed luxury blue water ketch. Even ocean liners have a fairly short life span before being broken up for scrap.
shareAlthough I agree that they should have left when things weren't looking good, but then again, we don't really know what happened. The movie can't be trusted. The interaction between the people there might not have been as stressful as the film made it out to be.
However, one thing I do know & that is that the Sea Wind was NOT a "luxurious" boat. The film makers actually tracked it down and chose not to use it because it wasn't "luxurious" enough to suit film fans. They had to use a newer boat and one that was more of what the audience was expecting.
the filmmakers made the movie 17 years after the murders. who knows what kind of changes were made and what kind of condition it was in. if i had a brand new car 17 years ago and now a movie studio wanted to make a movie about me driving my car back then when it was new, i imagine they wouldn't use my old car, they'd get a newer one that looked like what the audience expected from a brand new car. They wouldn't use the ACTUAL car i drove 17 years ago, because it would not look even close to brand new. this would not be evidence that my car wasn't nice 17 years ago.
When Bugliosi described the boat in the book, he made it sound like a garbage scowl. It had sat unattended for many years after the murders. It was passed from one owner to the other until it just went into disrepair. What a shame that a boat that was so well cared for by the Grahams was allowed to go down hill like that. You have to have a love for it I guess.
If the film makers saw it in disrepair, I am sure they probably thought it just wasn't worth the money to get it back into ship shape. They just chose to use a modern boat that bore no resemblance to the real Sea Wind.