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View Full Version : Whats harder - stuck in the middle of the ocean on a liftraft or lost in the forest?



tunick001
04-03-2008, 07:40 PM
Lets say you're on a sailboat in the middle of the ocean. A major storm hits you with 50 foot waves and sinks your sailboat. You're forced out on a liferaft with nothing more than a emergency kit. 1000 miles from the nearest land with no emergency beacon. Or you're hiking in the mountain wilderness in Montana and get off the trail and you're suddenly lost. You're lost for months. What would be worst?

My answer, no doubt, being stuck in the middle of the ocean on a liferaft.

Rick
04-03-2008, 07:48 PM
I can't imagine being lost in the woods for months. Not in North America anyway. While I'm inclined to say the ocean it would depend on what I have in the emergency kit. You didn't give me a backpack or survival kit for the woods so I'm totally dependent on my skills and what nature can provide. It also depends on the season and where I am in the ocean. If I'm in the northern latitudes I could be hosed in short order. If I'm in the middle of the woods in the winter with nothing, same thing. So....it depends.

beerrunner13
04-03-2008, 07:50 PM
I have a better skill set for liveing in the forest, so there is no way I want to be in that life raft.

crashdive123
04-03-2008, 07:50 PM
Would need a bit more info to answer. Does my kit include a solar still? time of year? location? If in the woods do I have any gear? I've sailed quite a bit and wouldn't be that far from land without an epirb and having left a detailed voyage route.

Rick
04-03-2008, 07:54 PM
Beerrunner - Would you want to be in Montana in the middle of winter without so much as a match? Brrrrrrrr. Not me. And if that dingy is in the south seas....well...how far can Polynesia be (he asked straightening his tie)?

tunick001
04-03-2008, 08:02 PM
Would need a bit more info to answer. Does my kit include a solar still? time of year? location? If in the woods do I have any gear? I've sailed quite a bit and wouldn't be that far from land without an epirb and having left a detailed voyage route.


lets say for the montana scenerio, its summertime June. you only have the stuff you would normally have for a weekend of backpacking and hiking.

as for the ocean scenerio, you're on a solo sail to honolulu, hawaii from los angeles. the storm hits you and sinks you exactly in the middle of the trip. its the middle of winter, january.

Rick
04-03-2008, 08:03 PM
Not much of a choice is there. The woods would be a picnic in comparison.

Tahyo
04-03-2008, 08:13 PM
I'd rather take my chances in the woods at this point. All my skills are land based and even my most casual backpack or hiking gear would give me cause not to panic.

Alpine_Sapper
04-03-2008, 08:26 PM
lets say for the montana scenerio, its summertime June. you only have the stuff you would normally have for a weekend of backpacking and hiking.

as for the ocean scenerio, you're on a solo sail to honolulu, hawaii from los angeles. the storm hits you and sinks you exactly in the middle of the trip. its the middle of winter, january.

lol. My daypack has enough stuff that I can live for a week and not worry at all. Might feel a little hungry living on short rations, but c'est la vie. At that point it's time to start thinking about food, but, I'd have done that the first day with some snare wire and a trout line to try and make the stuff I carry stretch. Geared for a week-end? Who wants to be the dingy in the dhingy with nothing to do, no water, etc etc?

beerrunner13
04-03-2008, 09:02 PM
I stand by my choice

crashdive123
04-03-2008, 09:07 PM
lets say for the montana scenerio, its summertime June. you only have the stuff you would normally have for a weekend of backpacking and hiking.

as for the ocean scenerio, you're on a solo sail to honolulu, hawaii from los angeles. the storm hits you and sinks you exactly in the middle of the trip. its the middle of winter, january.

Thought I posted a reply. Must have messed up. Anyway with this scenario it's an easy one for me. Montana wins hands down. The storm that you describe is not uncommon in the Pacific that time of the year. At sea with no or little supplies would be very ugly.

Ridge Wolf
04-03-2008, 09:18 PM
Stuck on a life boat in the ocean is the worst because it is foreign to you and not like if you're in the forest with familiarity (think land lubber 99.9% of your life). You have limited resourses in a life raft on some models... also, there is always the possibility of sharks which I wouldn't know how to deal with as opposed to a mountain lion or bear in the forest.

Excalibur
04-03-2008, 10:03 PM
its the woods for me I get sea sick

BraggSurvivor
04-03-2008, 10:07 PM
The bush for me unless I had my SCUBA gear and endless supply of gas. :)

Excalibur
04-03-2008, 10:45 PM
the woods would provide some protection from the elements. Open ocean provides little shelter. if one was lucky enough to grab a few items befor the ship went down it might be survivable but your still stuck for months in the ocean. there are very few places left that I cant walk one direction for more than a week with out hitting a road or some version of civilizaton

canid
04-03-2008, 10:58 PM
in forest land there is also very often [read: usualy] the ability to find varying habitat by traveling from one altitude/watershed to another, and thus, a dynamic source of resources. in open ocean, you're at the mercy of currents for any substantive change in resources, and still most of them are under a lot of water.

i'll take the forest.

nell67
04-04-2008, 02:46 AM
Lost in the forest is my choice,I don't do the water outings,since I can't swim.

canid
04-04-2008, 03:00 AM
that would be a compelling reason indeed.

Aurelius95
04-04-2008, 06:35 AM
I'd definitely choose the forest. Certainly the chances of finding water would be better, and that would be the most crucial need if you're stuck in a life boat. Not to mention that in a lifeboat you really don't have control over your course of direction. A lot more is left up to nature, as to whether or not you will survive (read- being picked up). All that being said, there were 3 fisherman (Mexican, or Central America) whose fishing boat became disabled in the Pacific. They survived for an extraordinary amount of time- 6 or 7 months. Obviously, they were still in the small fishing boat, but had all their gear. They drank rainwater and turtle's blood to stave off dehydration.

vagrant
04-04-2008, 08:58 AM
Actually i voted for the forest, because of the fact you said no emergency beacon. But if I was on that sailboat, I would have at least an epirb or plb attached to the life raft. And since someone would know my course and plans, I think rescue would be quicker on the raft. Nowadays anyone with a brain(and knows how to use it :) ) would have a proper life raft aboard any vessel. If the scenario is strictly me and my clothes then definitely forest.

trax
04-04-2008, 01:00 PM
Ocean's harder, I'd be pretty comfortable in most forest situations anyway. Me floating on a dingy looks to a shark exactly the way a bit of a cold cut looks on a Ritz cracker to me. Think swimming matters? Shark can swim better.

go2ndAmend
04-04-2008, 08:08 PM
What if in the woods you were stuck with your annoying neighbor who you can't stand, but in the lifeboat with you was the supermodel of your dreams? Change anyone's mind?

crashdive123
04-04-2008, 08:13 PM
What if in the woods you were stuck with your annoying neighbor who you can't stand, but in the lifeboat with you was the supermodel of your dreams? Change anyone's mind?

Nope. Because I have my gear with me, my annoying neighbor will work out just fine (or become survival food). A supermodel in the lifeboat would get me killed (when I got back).

Rick
04-04-2008, 08:15 PM
He hasn't been married all that long. My wife told me to tell ya'll she's the only supermodel I need.

(How's that dear?)

Excalibur
04-04-2008, 08:23 PM
stuck on a life raft with a supermodel...hmm that could lead to more mouths to feed
my annoying neihbor weaighs in at just under a buick so i would easily leave him in my dust especially if i pop some bangers and bear spray at him

Tahyo
04-04-2008, 08:23 PM
What if in the woods you were stuck with your annoying neighbor who you can't stand, but in the lifeboat with you was the supermodel of your dreams? Change anyone's mind?

I'd use my neighbor for food and then have self gratification on a full stomach over the thought of a hot supermodel.

crashdive123
04-04-2008, 08:25 PM
Uh-oh everybody, hold your ears. Excalibur is gonna start playing with the new bear bangers again.

Excalibur
04-04-2008, 08:27 PM
lol next is the bear spray news tomorrow if I can see afterwards

Rick
04-04-2008, 08:29 PM
Can't drink ocean water? Then again, maybe you can:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,817611-1,00.html

crashdive123
04-04-2008, 08:38 PM
Drinking ocean water goes against everything that I've ever learned about ocean survival. For me, solar still is the way to go for fresh water. I had one of these that was about 4 ft across. On hot days you can get quite a bit of water. On cold, cloudy days - better have some left over.
http://uploads.abovetopsecret.com/ats41130_survival-still.gif

Rick
04-04-2008, 08:41 PM
I think the point is you could survive if you follow his guidelines. What if you didn't have that solar still on your dingy? Then what?

crashdive123
04-04-2008, 08:54 PM
Oh, I know what you're saying. Have just never heard it before. It is interesting though.


What if you didn't have that solar still on your dingy? Then what?

In this case, hope you opted for the woods.

Excalibur
04-04-2008, 08:57 PM
not a plan I want to try unless last chance pushed me to it to much depends on "if you catch fish""gather plankton" not the best idea not to mention my doc is gonna have a stroke when he hears how much sodium I had...

Rick
04-04-2008, 09:00 PM
I had remembered reading about him some time ago. I don't know if it works or not. Don't know that I'd want to try it but it's always good to have "one more plan" in the old noggin.