How to Survive a Shipwreck

If your ship is sinking, you need to act fast. Gather as much food and water as you can and get your life raft ready. If you have time, you should grab these additional items:

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The good news is that life rafts have come a long way since the small rubber crafts of days gone by. Modern life rafts have tall walls, covers, paddles, insulated flooring, bailing buckets, ladders and a variety of emergency items -- flares, water pouches, signaling mirrors, reflective tape and fishing kits. A good life raft isn't cheap, with a deluxe four-person model costing about $4,000 in today's market.

Life rafts are packed by the manufacturer and require regular servicing to ensure their usability. Unfortunately, even the most expensive life rafts aren't always leak-proof. The ocean is tough on a small vessel, and you may end up with water coming into your safe haven. All modern rafts come with pumps and repair kits for this reason. You'll also make good use of your bailer to help empty your raft of water.

One of the most challenging aspects of being lost at sea is the psychological toll it takes. To look around and see nothing but open water can cause a great deal of mental distress. Additional anguish comes when you see passing boats and planes, or come close to land before drifting away. If you're with someone else, occupy yourself by playing word games or talking about future plans.

Heatstroke is another cause for concern. If your raft has a cover, stay under it during the day. Some symptoms of heatstroke are:

If you're suffering from heatstroke, try the following:

[source: Mayo Clinic]

Drifting is your only hope for finding dry land, so the more you drift, the better your chances. Most life rafts are equipped with sea anchors that help stabilize the vessel. While a stable raft is a good thing, the anchor will slow your drifting rate. Try pulling up the anchor during periods of calm weather and drop it back in when the winds pick up. At a rate of two knots, you can drift as far as 50 miles per day -- in calm weather you can bob in place for hours.

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In the next section, we'll look at what to do once you've reached land.

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If you're fortunate enough to drift to an island, you'll have more opportunities for food, water. The first thing you should do, aside from kissing the sand beneath your feet in gratitude, is set up shelter. If you're weak, don't spend too much time searching for the perfect spot -- you can improve your shelter after you rest. Look around the island for any washed-up garbage -- almost everything can be of use.

If your life raft has survived the trip ashore, use it as a temporary shelter. It will keep you off the ground, away from scorpions and snakes, and protect you from the sun and rain. If you ditched your raft and swam to the island, you'll need to build your own shelter.

Chances are there are palm trees and maybe even bamboo on the island. Palm fronds are excellent for providing cover, and bamboo is one of the strongest woods you can find for your frame. Don't get too fancy -- start with a simple lean-to:

Don't sleep directly on the ground. Instead, line the floor with more palm fronds, which will insulate you and help keep you dry. You can also add walls to block the wind. (More detailed information on shelters can be found in How to Build a Shelter.)

Now that you have your shelter, you need to collect fresh water. Never drink ocean water -- the salt will dehydrate you. The easiest way to collect water is by building a solar still. You'll need some kind of clear plastic sheeting and a container to collect water.

The moisture from the greenery will react with the heat of the sun to form condensation on the plastic. This water runs down the center of the sheet and into your container. (This is just one method for collecting water. More information can be found at How to Find Water in the Wild.)­

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In the next section, we'll look at finding food and making fire.

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Food and fire are next on your list for shipwreck survival. Fire is important for many reasons and provides the following:

Collect your wood -- you need tinder, kindling and larger sticks and logs. The tinder can be anything dry and small. The "hair" from palm tree trunks works well. If you have matches, use those to start your fire. If not, there are many other methods for starting one. You can read all about them in How to Start a Fire without a Match.

As a last resort, use a flare to light your fire. Once you've made your fire, keep it going. Build your signal fire, but don't light it -- it should be large and full of dry brush and palm fronds. Top it with green fronds to increase the amount of smoke, and light it as soon as you hear or see a plane or boat.

Aside from coconuts and fruit trees, the best opportunity for food will come from the ocean. There are toxic fish that can make you sick, so a good rule of thumb is to not eat the following:

Specifically, the following saltwater fish are toxic to humans:

If you don't have a fishing kit from your life raft, try your hand at spear fishing. Bamboo makes for a great spear.

­Now you have a four-pronged fishing spear. Actually nabbing a fish is the tricky part. There are two different methods -- diving and standing. If you have good swimming skills, try diving first. It's easier to spear a fish against something, so head toward rocks. If you aren't a good swimmer, try to find a rock to stand on or simply wade into knee-deep water. Fish scare easily, so move slowly and deliberately.

Once you have your fish, cook it to improve the taste. You don't need a skillet or deep fryer -- all you need is a fire and some rocks for a primitive oven:

If the fish aren't biting, make a meal from slow-moving conchs and sea snails. The white meat inside the shells can be boiled or eaten raw. Sea snails are found clinging to rocks near the shoreline. Conchs are located in shallow waters and tend to hang out in sea grass.­

In the next section, we'll learn how to make a primitive raft.

If you've had enough of island life and feel gutsy enough to try to float to rescue, you'll need a raft. The first thing you should know, however, is that this is a very dangerous move, and the likelihood of building a raft that can survive the rigors of ocean storms over a great deal of time isn't very good. Add to that the fact that you'll have no signal fire and only a limited amount of food and water -- you may wish you were back on the island.

To build your raft, you'll need a lot of wood and vine for lashing. As with the spear, bamboo is the best thing to use for your raft. The hollow culms, or stems, of bamboo are filled with air, making it extremely buoyant. Cutting down a large bamboo plant is virtually impossible because of its strength, so your best bet is to burn it at its base until it falls. Pierce the lower culms to release the air and prevent an explosion.

Before you start construction, place two large bamboo trees on the ground about 8 feet apart. Build the raft on top of these to help slide it into the water -- it will be extremely heavy. You should also build it close enough to the water to get it in with ease, but not so close that it's in danger of floating away with high tide.

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The construction of the raft is pretty simple, but takes time -- something you'll have plenty of. Build your frame first:

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Now that you have your frame, begin making your floor and complete the pontoons:

The most important thing to do now is test the raft -- get it in the water and climb aboard. If you have any doubts that the raft is seaworthy, don't attempt to use it. Being stranded on an island is a much better alternative than having your raft sink a mile from shore in shark-infested waters.

To find out more information on survival techniques and shipwrecks, please investigate the links on the next page.