How long can you stay afloat in the ocean?
If you've ever been scuba diving, the scariest thing would be to surface and find that you have been left behind by the dive boat.You are bobbing in the middle of a lonely ocean, feeling like a shark.
It actually happens, as horrible as it sounds.Tom and Eileen Lonergan were left behind by their diving party after diving off the Great Barrier Reef in 1998.Although their bodies were never found, investigators believe that the pair survived the first night.A message written on a dive slate was found 100 miles from where they were stranded.The message was read.
The life vests and wetsuits that washed up on the shore did not indicate a violent end for the couple.They succumbed to dehydration and exhaustion.The film "Open Water" was made in 2003 and is based on this incident.The couple in the film were bitten by sharks.
Paul Lucas was stranded in open waters in January 2000 after drifting far out to sea.Lucas found an island after spending 24 hours floating in his wetsuit.Lucas was rescued after 15 hours on the island.He was fine despite being exhausted, sunburned and dehydrated.
Being adrift in a boat is not a good experience.A 62-year-old man named Richard Van Pham lived for nearly four months in his 24 foot (7 meter) sailboat after high winds broke his mast and sent him drifting out to sea.He was going to take a quick trip from Long Beach, Calif., to Catalina Island, but it turned out to be something else.Over the course of the next 15 weeks, Van Pham ate fish and seagull that he collected in a bucket.He was found in good shape.
How long can you survive in the ocean?It depends on the conditions and what kind of vessel you're in.Some of the dangers you'd face in the wide-open ocean will be explored in this article.
There are many dangers in the ocean if you're sailing or power boating.While your chances of survival decrease, the dangers increase if your boat is suddenly rendered useless or capsized.There are three things that are most likely to cause trouble.
This is going to be your biggest problem.If you're stuck in a boat, life raft, or just floating in your wetsuit, you won't have a lot of fresh drinking water to drink.It's never a good idea to drink seawater.Humans can go four to eight weeks without food if they have water, according to most doctors.Dehydration can set in within an hour in hot conditions.sweat, feces, urine and even breathing are some of the ways in which we lose water.If our organs are going to work properly, we need to replace this water.You may be able to survive for three to five days without water if you're in good shape and adrift.How long can you go without food and water?
Unless you're in the Caribbean, you will most likely be in some pretty cold water.Hypothermia is something to watch out for if you're adrift at sea.Hypothermia happens when your body loses more heat than it produces.Even if you made it into your raft, you're going to be wet.Hypothermia can be caused by getting wet.You should dry yourself as soon as possible to combat this.It's a good idea to cover up with blankets, sleeping bags or pillows.If you lose most of the heat through your head, cover it.If you suspect that someone is going to be cold, make sure to keep them horizontal and calm.If you want to create warmth, get into a sleeping bag and hug.You can read about how to avoid hypothermia.
If you've made it through dehydration and starvation, you still need to worry about sea creatures, especially if you are floating in a life vest or wetsuit.If you're hungry, sharks may mistake you for dinner and bite you.You may be able to fight off a shark if you punch it in the nose, grab its eyes or pull its gills.If you're floating neck-deep in the ocean, the chances of fighting off a hungry shark aren't very good.It is possible that these defensive techniques could work, so it is worth a try.Do your best to stay in the life raft or disabled boat.You can read more about how to survive a shark attack.
On the next page, we'll look at three different open water scenarios and figure out how long you might be able to survive each one.
There are many variables that affect how long you can survive at sea.Aside from the basic scenarios, there are many other factors to consider, including your physical condition, supplies you might have on hand and good old-fashioned will to live.A theory on how long someone could live is dependent on the situation.We can break it down into the following basic scenarios.
You can survive on a boat for a long time if you have a good supply of food, fishing equipment and fresh water.People have been known to survive for months adrift in a boat that's still sound.Overhead cover and blankets will keep you warm if it's cold.You should be able to protect yourself from cold weather illness.If it's warm, you can use the same coverage for shade and avoid sunburn.If you don't have a lot of water, you can use a tarp or raincoat to collect it.Place buckets in the rain.You can live for a long time at sea if you drink at least a liter of water a day.Even though storms can capsize or sink your boat, just think of it as an extremely slow sailing trip.
Being adrift in a life raft is just as bad as being on a boat.Life rafts can be damaged.Modern lift rafts are very durable and come with a lot of bells and whistles to help you survive.They can be either small two-person rafts or large 16-person models.Any combination of the following is a top-notch raft.
A good life raft is pricey, with a four-person model costing about $4,000, but it's worth it.You can survive adrift in a raft as well as on a boat if the raft stays afloat and you have some luck collecting water, fishing and keeping dry and warm.
You have your work cut out for you if you're in the ocean like the couple from "Open Water."You should have an inflatable safety vest.This will keep you visible to rescuers.You will not be able to collect water or drink sea water.Fishing is not a reality.If you're in cold water, hold your knees to your chest and keep warm.This is called the H.E.L.P.The position of the heat escape is shortening.Assuming you're in warm waters and wearing a life vest, you could potentially survive for as many as three to five days, at which point you will most likely succumb to dehydration.Unless a shark gets you first.