Having survival skills isn’t all about having skills to survive during an apocalyptic situation, it also means being able to survive when a situation goes bad during normal activities.
One prime example of this is having the knowledge on how to survive when lost at sea. Let’s face it, there are many things that can happen on a boat, and when it happens, you will want to know what to do in order to stay alive.
Preparation of the Boat
Every boat should have a raft and an oar. Every boat should also have some basic survival tools that have been placed with the raft. Things like water, a tarp, a dry suit, fishing twine, fishing hooks (metal wire can work as well), motion sickness pills, small fishing net, flare gun, non-perishable food, a little bit of plastic wrap and a pocket knife. All of these items should be bagged in airtight containers and placed in the same place as your life raft.
Some of these items may seem pointless, but I assure you, they are not. Non-perishable foods like nuts, granola and/or energy bars, candy bars and other small things will help you be energized enough to catch more sustainable food sources.
You know what fishing hooks will be good for, and the metal wire can be bent and shaped into hooks of various sizes. The tarp will be placed over your body to keep you from being exposed to the weather for too long. Plastic wrap can help you collect freshwater, no matter where you are lost.
The First Step
The first thing that you should do when you find yourself in a life raft is take some sea sickness medication. Even if you do not normally get sick, it is better safe than sorry. If you begin to throw up, you will become dehydrated much quicker. When you are lost at sea, there is plenty of water, but none to drink.
Preparation of your Raft for the Long Haul
After you take your medication, you need to start preparing your raft for an unexpected, extended stay. You will need to find a way to place the tarp over your head. Even if you can only cover half of the raft with it, you will be less likely to do from too much exposure to the sun if you can be covered for the majority of the day. After you are finished with the tarp, you will want to start devising a strategy to catch food and collect water.
Water Collection
Since the human body can go no more than three to four days without water, under normal circumstances, it is important that you start collecting clean water right away. You may have a couple of liters in your bag, but that will not last forever. If you start collecting now, that gives you some time to discover a method that works best for you. Aside from that, you will begin losing energy, so you want to have all of the hard work out of the way.
To collect water, you are going to need a large container, a smaller container, plastic wrap, and something small and lightweight. You will place the small container inside of the large container. The larger container should be about halfway filled with water. Using the plastic wrap, you want to cover BOTH containers while making sure that there is a small area left uncovered for ventilation, and then you will place the small object (possibly your closed pocketknife) on the wrap over the small container. Voila! You have a water distiller.
Catching Food
You will need to ration your snack supply because it is going to be a little difficult to catch food. The small net will help you catch smaller fish, small turtles and birds, but the hook or wire will help catch an actual meal. When you catch your food, you will need to clean the guts of the fish out before eating it.
The guts are what contains parasites, so be careful to remove them all. In the even that you cannot catch anything with your net, you should use your twin and hook to try to catch something a little bigger. When catching bigger prey, you need to be careful that it is something that is still small enough to safely wrestle into your raft.
To be honest, living on the ocean will be no easy task. You will need pure will and determination in order to survive longer than a few days. Once you have decided that you have the will to survive, you will need to ensure that you are using your energy for the right tasks. Eating, signaling for help, drinking clean water and making sure that you are not exposed to the elements are your top priority in this situation, and everything else should be left alone.