How do you survive a month adrift at sea?

Seeing that most of the survival techniques are for land based I found an interesting article on the BBC to help survival at sea enjoy.
www.bbc.co.uk...
Also wow to Richard Van Pham who survived 4 months at sea just wow!

reply to post by boymonkey74


i eat myself and drink my pee...

well if you can't distill the sea water and have no water you might be able to get a week other wise you are dead.... painful death. and a week is generous as hell

there are tricks to use the sun to distill water ..... and if you are stuck on a raft and have nothing at all find land fast

That depends on what you have as an EDC policy. My EDC fanny pack would allow me to survive 90% of SHTF situations. This includes the survival at sea scenario. The downside is that i cannot carry my EDC on me on airplanes and most likely on cruise ships. Thus I avoid both.

reply to post by DarthMuerte

Sorry fella what's an EDC? sorry for being thick

Too bad the article didn't contain any information on just how these fishermen survived a month at sea, other than some basic common sense.

When I was in boot camp we had a Navy dive instructor share his little tip for surviving at sea with no source of fresh water - it was to dip your denim jeans into the ocean about half way up the leg, then stand them upright and wait as they start to dry, the water will wick it's way upward and leave the salt behind - you can then suck on the dampened cloth above the salt line. I suppose if you are stuck in an open air raft with no means of collecting water at all and no solar still, this method might keep you alive a little longer.

reply to post by Blackmarketeer


Great tip cheer's
Iam restoring a sea worthy speedboat (got it for £100 ) and one day I may take it out to sea, but seeing my mechanical skill's are not the best I will probably need this tip star for you

reply to post by boymonkey74


EDC = Every Day Carry bag.

It is a survivalist purse.

It is like a B.O.B (Bug Out Bag) except smaller and easier to carry.

It is designed to have just enough to get you out of a jam or get you back home in case of an emergency.

reply to post by GodofWar411

well if you can't distill the sea water

Distilled water will not rehydrate a human being.

reply to post by boymonkey74


Retain RAIN water in any clothing you have ( I know not the best drink but better then sea water)
try to do close to raft or boat dives for any thing swimming near you non toxic like a blow fish
use part of captured meal to capture more meals if you have Fishing/Spearing equipment available of some kind
and PRAY...

Originally posted by purplemer
reply to post by GodofWar411

 

well if you can't distill the sea water

Distilled water will not rehydrate a human being.

edit on 30-11-2011 by purplemer because: (no reason given)

Explain?

It is H2O. I drink distilled water instead of bottled water all the time. A gallon of distilled is the same price as a fancy little bottle of anything else.

It will certainly rehydrate, it just won't supply electrolytes. Hopefully you are getting electrolytes from the bugs, and fish you are eating. Maybe a sip of sea water every now and then in extremely limited quantities for electrolytes.

Distilled water is way, way, way better than sea water or no water at all!

reply to post by getreadyalready

All water does not hydrate efficiently. Distilled water, for example, is dead and devoid of all minerals. It is extremely acidic and will tend to dehydrate you. The average pH of distilled water is 4.5, this is almost 1000 times more acidic than your blood, which is a pH of 7.3. Distilled water must be neutralized within the body, and as a result if there is insufficient calcium in the diet, it is leeched from other sources of calcium within the body. Reverse Osmosis water has many of the same problems, no minerals and an average pH of 5, more than 100 times more acidic than your blood. Remember that most bottled water and even some purified spring water use reverse osmosis in their bottling process.

www.tibetanacademy.org...

Im not knocking, if it was the only thing I had I would drink it.

Distilled water from rain does not act the same as lab induced distilation. For some reason unknown to me when it is frozen it still forms crystals. Distilled lab water does not do this... It has lost its integrity as water when it is pure form and can have weird effects on the body when you drink it.. ie it can cause aging or cause the colour to leach from your hair...
The sad thing is that soft drinks are often made with distilled water..

I don't think water distilled by a solar still would have the same effects. I do take vitamins(which include calcium) when drinking it, but have never noticed the type of problems you mention.

EDC=Every Day Carry. Mine is a fanny pack, not a "purse"

ETA: My EDC is designed to get me back to my BOB which is 99.99% of the time in my van if not on my back. Since I drive my van everywhere, my BOB is always pretty close. My EDC contains the things I think I would need to survive almost any situation I could realistically end up in. It only weighs a little over 3 pounds and all fits into a standard leather fanny pack.

Originally posted by DarthMuerte
EDC=Every Day Carry. Mine is a fanny pack, not a "purse"

I'm thinking that is even worse.

At least make it a backpack, or old brown paper sack, or something cool.

Mine is a cloth case for CCW carry. It is set up perfectly, looks like more of a briefcase than a purse, and isn't too intimidating if I carry it into my office (which I rarely do). Usually, I just leave the EDC in my car, and have my weapon concealed on me.

There is a side note on the article about another in 2002 that was adrift for 4 months thankfully in a fishing boat.

-Richard Van Pham was adrift for nearly four months off US west coast in 2002
-He was picked up near Costa Rica (in boat above)
-Survived on fish, birds and rain water
-Used turtle meat to attract sea birds and then killed them

reply to post by getreadyalready

In Orlando, where I live, fanny packs are ubiquitous. They go completely unnoticed. Thus I can wear one all the time without question(except in courthouses and the like). Wearing it leaves my hands free and it is fairly comfortable even in the heat of summer. Days like today, I carry my pistol under my coat. In the summer, it is usually in my computer bag. I have been considering getting a smaller EDC pistol for summer time, as I chose my current pistol while living in Philadelphia. Honestly though, in most "survival situations" I would not "need" my pistol. I definitely prefer to have it though.

reply to post by DarthMuerte


I'm in Florida too, and I can believe that about Orlando.

I carry a very small .380 under my shirt. Nobody notices unless they hug me, and even then they don't know what it is. I used to carry a 1911 .45, but it was a little too cumbersome and I found myself leaving it at home too often.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by DarthMuerte

 

I'm in Florida too, and I can believe that about Orlando.

I carry a very small .380 under my shirt. Nobody notices unless they hug me, and even then they don't know what it is. I used to carry a 1911 .45, but it was a little too cumbersome and I found myself leaving it at home too often.

What are your thoughts on the .380? That is one model I am considering. What ever I choose, it's only function would be to get me back to my van. I keep a pistol grip 12 ga pump easily accessible and my current weapon would probably go in .the van as well.

reply to post by DarthMuerte


I like it better than a .40 or a 9mm. It is smooth, easy to shoot, easy to conceal, and accurate. I really loved my 1911, but I just didn't carry it often enough because of its size.

I also have a double pistol grip 12 gauge with a 500k candlepower xenon light. It is tricked out! Beauty and the Beast all in one.

Damn, that light would almost be a weapon on a dark night. I don't use tactical lights like that, my personal doctrine is to avoid battle where possible and a light like that is a clarion call to those wishing you ill. When battle cannot cannot be avoided, I engage with overwhelming firepower to kill my target and then evacuate as quickly as possible. Rambo, I am not.