If you happen to be stranded in the open water, the first thing you need to do is assess your risks. The primary risks of being in the open water are exposure, dehydration and hypothermia. If you don’t have a vessel (like a boat), than you have to worry about hypothermia the most. If you do have a vessel, than dehydration is probably a more dangerous threat.
If you have no vessel, you can float until you are rescued. If the water is calm lie on your back, relax and let your body submerge slightly so it can float. Keep your head above water and breathe slowly. If the water is rough, you have to float on your belly. Relax and submerge your face. Lift your head out of the water to take a breath and submerge it again. Do this until you are rescued or until you are close enough to land to start swimming.
If you have a vessel, the first thing you do is create a shelter for yourself by making a “tent” with poncho or clothes. Assuming you have food, water, and other survival supplies, begin to radio for help as soon as you figure out that you are stranded. Conserve food and water.
If there are limited to no survival supplies on board, you need to find water as soon as possible. If you are stranded on a giant freshwater lake, you may have to take a risk and drink the lake water. If you do have some survival supplies, you can use iodine to disinfect the water. If you are out at sea, keep in mind that under no circumstances should you drink sea water. The salt content will actually make you thirstier a depending on the amount you drink, it can cause liver failure. Drinking your urine will produce similar results so please abstain from that.
You can extract some water from fish – there is some water content in their eyes and spine. You can eat the eyes and drink the fluid from their vertebrae. Remember though, that you are taking a risk getting sick from eating raw fish.)
The best source of fresh water is rain, so if you are lucky enough to get rained on, set out whatever vessels you have and lay out clothing, blankets, etc to collect water, which you can then squeeze into your mouth. Be careful though, your clothes may have absorbed sea water, too.
Your next concern is food. You can try fishing or getting some seaweed. You may be lucky enough to kill a bird if you have basic weapons. If you have a metal pot, you can try making a fire in it with whatever materials are available to cook your catch.
Hopefully, someone is searching for you. Wave and scream like crazy whenever you see or hear a boat or an airplane. If you are floating though, you are better off conserving your energy.
Practice these prepping skills:
- Whenever you get on a boat, make sure you inspect it, verify that the fuel tanks are full and that the boat has a working radio.
- Make sure there is a life vest for each member of the group.
- Always take a first aid kit and at least 5 days worth of food and water for each member of the group.
Remember, when it’s you vs. the ocean, the ocean has an advantage.
To your survival,
Richard Marshall
