Comments on: Incredible survival story

By: Steve57

Steve57 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 06:25:12 +0000

I mean, NOTHING always works.

I didn’t mean that.

By: Steve57

Steve57 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 06:21:08 +0000

So it’s good to know that, you know, it doesn’t always work.

By: Steve57

Steve57 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 06:15:46 +0000

It’s not a new technique

By: huxley

huxley — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 06:02:11 +0000

If you are smart the ocean terrifies you too.

Steve57: Indeed.

One time while surfing mere five-foot waves, I got pulled down and held down much longer than I expected. My the air tasted sweet when I reached the surface!

That was in San Francisco. Because of the Bay there are a lot of weird rip currents. SF beaches have signs warning of the risk. People, especially small children, can get pulled out to sea in only a few feet of water.

https://www.inside-guide-to-san-francisco-tourism.com/beaches-in-san-francisco.html

By: huxley

huxley — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:48:51 +0000

We were also taught, as I am sure you were, to make a rudimentary flotation device out of our trousers. I think that some of the sailors I mentioned as survivors used that technique

Oldflyer: I seem to recall the Hardy Boys using that technique once when they got marooned far out at sea.

No, really.

By: Steve57

Steve57 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:45:38 +0000

I want to make sure I am very clear.

The ocean scares me. I am worried I might come across as something of a b** **s. I’m not. Nothing near.

If you are smart the ocean terrifies you too.

By: Steve57

Steve57 — Sun, 09 Feb 2020 05:26:56 +0000

I don’t believe you can use the word “best” when talking about survival at sea stories.

All the stories are about really truly miserable experiences.

Yes, when I practiced drownproofing it was in a pool or relatively sheltered water. In a pool I can tread water for hours even in a flight suit and boots.

I don’t know how long I would last in the open ocean. Minutes, maybe, if I was lucky.

The ocean is always trying to kill you.

By: Edward

Edward — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 20:12:07 +0000

The most fantastic survival story is that of Donald Trump. He survived everything that the corrupocrates, jour-no-listees and deep state threw at him for the past 3+ years.

No other candidate/president could have survived that. He did and came out stronger.

P.S. If you want a great survival story, consider those who survived the sinking of the cruiser Indianapolis, treading shark infested waters for days — so long that their skin would come off when they were lifted from the water.

By: Oldflyer

Oldflyer — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 16:15:29 +0000

Huxley, the method you describe is exactly what we were taught. As I said, it works great in a pool. Not so sure about the ocean, where with any turbulence you were just as likely to get a big gulp of sea water whenever you raised your head to get air
.
We were also taught, as I am sure you were, to make a rudimentary flotation device out of our trousers. I think that some of the sailors I mentioned as survivors used that technique. Of course the irony of my training was that if I went into the ocean I would be wearing boots, and a heavy flame resistant flight suit, among other weighty accouterments–but, hopefully, a functioning flotation device as well.

By: Steve57

Steve57 — Sat, 08 Feb 2020 12:48:58 +0000

I too have never had to employ drownproofing in extremis. The best form of drownproofing, I found, when I served, is you fight the ship to win. If you keep your ship alive you don’t end up in the water.

Problem solved.

But I never had to fight the ship. We, the United States of America, have sea supremacy. We are the thousand pound gorilla wherever we sail. So nobody challenges us.

That warms the cockles of my heart. And I didn’t even know I had cockles, although I suspected I had a heart.