Fisherman Reveals Tips To Stay Alive At Sea

By Juliet Smith 2 years ago

What ever you do... do not panic!

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It might sound obvious, but the first fisherman's tip for surviving at sea is... do not panic. Whether your boat has capsized, you've lost all engines, or your crew mates have gone AWOL, it can be easy to hit panic mode and not think things through. But to ensure survival you need to be cool, calm and collected.

Firstly, think Boy Scouts and use the STOP method

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The Boy Scouts are taught some great survival skills and one of these is STOP which stands for Stop, Think, Observe and Plan. This is the first thing you should do. Stop what you're doing, think about where you need to be, observe your surroundings for dangers and plan your way out of here.

Now you have to PLAN: find floating devices

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By this point you might've come up with some sort of vague plan, which usually sees you get to the shore either by yourself or having someone rescue you. The first thing you want to do, especially if your boat is going under, is look for anything that floats. This could be the answer to your survival.

Consider calm water back floating

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It's also worth noting that you can float by other means if necessary. Calm water back floating is allowing yourself to stay above water in calm environments. First, lie on your back and secondly allow your body to float but keep your head above water. Finally, start to swim once you're in a safe distance to land.

If the waters are rough, definitely float on your front

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It's good to note that if you're in rough water, you should consider lying on your front rather than your back. Swivel over onto your front and continue to lie that away until you need air. When you need air, lift your head to breathe and exhale underwater.

Use H.E.L.P to keep your body tight and limbs close

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If you find yourself at danger in open water, and the water is freezing cold, you need to consider how you should conserve your body heat. One of the methods of doing this is another acronym, and this one is H.E.L.P. This stands for the Heat Escape Lessening Position and basically sees you pulling your limbs close to your body and your knees to your chest.

Second is SAFETY: check your boat for any ruptures or weaknesses

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What you want to do next is assess your safety and that starts with your boat. Look around to see if it has taken any damage, whether there could be anything that would lead to a leak. If there is and you don't have the right tools, look for things to plug the hole with.

Use anything to insulate your head

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Hypothermia could be your biggest threat if you're out at sea and one thing you need to do is keep yourself from suffering from it. Think about your head first... it's your most integral body part. Try insulating it with whatever materials you may have available.

Pile on any clothes to avoid hypothermia

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The next thing you're going to do to avoid getting hypothermia is piling on any clothes you have in order to stay warm. Make sure you take off any of your clothes that are wet as these can increase your chances of coming down with deadly hypothermia.

Huddle to others if you can

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If you're lucky enough to be with other people, huddle together as close as possible. This can be either in the water or on your boat or raft, but it's the best way to conserve all of your body heat to avoid you dying from the cold, bitter temperatures.

Create shelter from whatever you've got

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Finding or making any kind of shelter is essential if you find yourself stranded in the ocean as it will protect you from all the elements, allow you to rest, and recharge your energy. If you happen to be adrift in warm waters, it can protect you from the perils of overheating.

Warm ocean? Don't panic... try and keep yourself cool

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Speaking of warm waters, you might be wondering what you would do if you find yourself stuck in warm seas. One of the main things you need to do is try and keep yourself cool, which could be drinking any water supplies you might have or dabbing cool water onto yourself.

Although, you should keep your clothes on

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It might feel like a good idea but please don't take your clothes off. The sun can be one of nature's most dangerous attributes and will almost definitely give you sunburn if you're in a tropical sea or ocean, so keep them clothes on to avoid severe sunstroke.

If you're too hot, soak your clothes

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If you're aboard a boat or raft, it might be a good idea to take your clothes off briefly to soak and put them back on - it's an easy way to keep your body temperature at safe levels. If not, you stand the chance of overheating and dehydrating, which isn't good news.

Avoid swimming at night... sharks might be around the corner

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You should do anything you can to avoid attracting sharks, the most common predatory threat in open water. Firstly you shouldn't let any of your blood reach the water. Secondly, try not to swim at night as that's when sharks are at their most active.

Avoid making sudden movements and splashes

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Sharks will look for movement on the surface of their water to hunt their prey. This means that if you find yourself in the ocean or sea, try to keep your splashes and movements to a minimum. Also, another helpful tip, ditch your glittery metal accessories... they'll see them too!

Now consider SURVIVAL: You MUST find water

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Survival is your next big thing to consider... how will you survive your treacherous conditions? Water is your number one priority. Humans can only last about three days without water, which means that the clock literally starts ticking if you're out.

Consider recycling your urine (disgusting, I know)

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There are accounts of castaways who, out of desperation, resorted to re-hydrating themselves with their own urine. But it's risky business. Numerous survival guides, like the US Army Field Manual, warn against the practice of using pee for hydration. Avoid consuming your own urine if you can and drink it at your own risk.

Rain water can be a good resource

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If you're in rainy conditions, prepare to catch rainwater and direct it into containers as much as possible. Rainwater that collects in the raft should be filtered to remove any salt that may have been splashed in from the ocean before being stored in bottles.

If all else fails use fish to hydrate yourself

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Fish are useful because they are edible, but they also store water in their bodies, which can be great for any dehydrating castaways. The water content of a fish can be extracted by slicing open the fish, cracking the vertebrae, and sucking the liquid right out.

Should you drink the seawater as a last resort?

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The risk of kidney failure is high after drinking ocean saltwater. The fisherman advises against drinking seawater, but others may disagree based on research conducted by Dr. Alain Bombard. Dr. Bombard set out to prove survival based only on plankton, saltwater, and raw fish. It's not known how much seawater he drank compared to how much rainwater or fish-squeezed water he drank.

Lastly is your RESCUE: if you know the stars use them to your advantage

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Now time for rescue. Learning to navigate by the stars greatly improves your chances of surviving at sea, as it will lead you to land or other ships. If you want to get started with sea navigation, just keep in mind that the Sun rises in the East and sets in the West. Mark out a rough course and follow it until you reach land or other ships.

Knowing how to blow your whistle properly might just save your life

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Not many people know the correct way of blowing their whistle, and some might have only seen it used in the Titanic. In order to properly attract attention from others nearby, blow into your whistle hard three times, pause and repeat the rhythm again.

Don't exert all your energy swimming...

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If you find yourself drifting on your own, try not to swim all of the time. You'll soon realize that it's costing you more energy than it's worth and that energy could be stored until you in swimming reach of any kind of land. It can be tempting, but act sensibly.

Don't waste your energy fighting the current either

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Likewise to the point above... the ocean is stronger than you, there's no doubt. That means that you won't beat the currents that come with it. Instead, you should let the current take you where you need to be and only once you see land should you start to do something.

Make sure you know the signs of nearby land

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There's a number of ways that you can spot land nearby, and here's a few tips to help you out: the lighter the sea, the shallower it is; pieces of wood and some leaves; birds (and look for where they're flying at night); green hues of sea; tidal waves.

As soon as you see reachable land... paddle!

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When you finally see land, you should start to consider your descent towards it. Try and utilize the current of the water as much as possible, as you want to be within a safe swimming distance. If not, you run the risk of exerting yourself for no reason.

Don't head towards the cliffs...

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While cliffs might be tempting to head towards because they're an indication of land, you might not want to. Once you reach a cliff side, you have many elements stacked against you like harsh waves, falling debris and rocky waters. Plus... what do you plan on doing, climbing it?

Count the waves to get you to shore

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It's a fact that waves actually go in rounds of seven. If you're closer to land, and are trying to prepare your landing properly, look out for the rhythm of the waves. If you're able to spot which of the seven is the lightest one, head to your rescue on that one.

Preparation is key for disasters like this!

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Finally, from the fisherman himself, you can never be too prepared when it comes to disasters like this. Reading a guide like this one can be your first step of survival, but putting it into practice is a different case. Try and get yourself an at-water survival kit to ensure you have the right resources in case of disaster.