SCIENCE AND THE SEA 



Assuming that the emergency message was properly sent by 

 your ship prior to abandonment, help from one of our many Rescue 

 Coordination Centers should be on the way by the time you reach 

 one of the life craft. Rescue Coordination Centers, operated by the 

 Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, are always on the ready. Upon 

 the receipt of an SOS or Mayday, they immediately begin to effect 

 assistance and recovery. 



Thus, one's stay in a life craft will ordinarily be but a short one. 

 However, if the SOS was not sent for some reason, or if the position 

 in it was in error, then a prolonged stay in your lifeboat or liferaft 

 may be required. Under these conditions survival is still likely. 



Command aboard a life craft is assigned by the Commanding 

 Officer of the ship. If the assigned life craft commander is not 

 present, the next senior should then assume command. His responsi- 

 bilities are great, for chance of survival is greatly enhanced by his 

 ability to assume responsibility, maintain morale, enforce discipline, 

 assign jobs, take charge of rations, and deal with emergencies. 



Generally, it is best to remain near the position of abandonment 

 until reasonable hope of rescue craft arrival has to be abandoned. 

 The sea anchor should be rigged, put into use immediately, and left 

 out for two or three days. 



When departure from the scene is decided upon, the course set 

 should be in accordance with the prevailing winds and currents 

 shown on the Pilot Chart. It is rather useless and disheartening to 

 attempt to sail or row any great distance against contrary winds 

 and currents. 



During times of weather too heavy in which to safely sail, the 

 sea anchor should again be put into use. When this is necessary, 

 remember that it should always be veered to lie in a trough when 

 the life craft is at the wave crest. The length of line to the sea 

 anchor should not coincide with the length of the sea, or the boat 

 and sea anchor will both be in wave crests at the same time and 

 the drag effect will be lost just when it is needed most. As the boat 

 will be making some sternway, the rudder should be unshipped to 

 prevent damage. If it is possible to rig a small sail fore and aft 

 it will act as a weather vane and tend to keep the boat's head into the 

 wind and sea. When, for any reason, this isn't possible, one set of 

 oars should be manned in readiness to keep the boat headed into the 

 approaching sea. 



When rescue becomes a possibility and a ship or aircraft is seen 

 by the lookout, the signaling equipment becomes an all-important 

 item. 



It is most difficult to spot life craft from an aircraft above 

 3,000 feet. If a sea is running, it is also quite difficult to see life 

 craft from a surface ship. 



Experience has shown that the signaling mirror is a very effec- 

 tive signaling device. It takes considerable concentration to use ic 

 properly, but the small pocket-size mirror is capable of reflecting 

 sunlight so that it can be observed from a distance of 8 to 10 miles. 

 The mirror is tricky to use; but if instructions accompanying it are 

 closely followed, it should not be too difficult. Signals should be 

 continued until it is positive the rescue craft can not lose sight of 

 you. In a liferaft with a sea running, this literally means on top 

 of you. If rescue is to be made by aircraft, however, be careful not 

 to flash the mirror in the pilot's eyes— especially when he is making 

 a landing approach. Pyrotechnic signals should probably not be 

 used until rescue craft are actually seen. For, beyond 2 to 4 miles 

 they are not likely to be observed. 



The most commonly used night signal is the flashlight. This is 

 a very effective device and a waterproof model is standard equip- 

 ment in nearly all life craft. The only note of caution here is to 

 conserve the batteries as much as possible, using it only when 

 really necessary. 



The dye marker is a good aid to discovery during daylight. It 

 consists of a can of fluorescein dye powder, the contents of which 

 are sprinkled on the water surface. The yellow-green dye should 

 be visible from the air for a period of 4 hours at a distance of 10 

 miles, at an altitude of 3,000 feet. Rough seas will shorten its 

 longevity, however. 



Another very useful item in a life craft is the tarpaulin. A 

 brightly colored one may be used to attract attention. It is also a 

 survivor's best aid in collecting water. 



In tropical waters one's greatest hazard from exposure is 

 dehydration. This is usually the principal cause of exhaustion and 

 death of those adrift in life craft. Under favorable conditions a man 

 can survive without water from 8 to 10 days, on the average. With- 

 out food, but supplied with adequate water, he may live for 30 days 

 or more. Thus, when the water supply is limited, available water 

 should be used efficiently. Dampen your clothes with sea water 

 during the hottest hours of the day. Keep exertion to a minimum 

 and sleep when possible. If you have no water you should not eat, 

 as the amount of food the body can assimilate depends upon the 

 amount of water available. This is one of the reasons emergency 

 rations are purposely made bland. Others are that well-seasoned 

 foods induce thirst and highly palatable ones, under extreme con- 

 ditions, may make rationing difficult. Life craft rations are a 

 compromise between an adequate diet and a limited supply of water, 

 being high in carbohydrates and low in proteins, thus yielding 

 maximum calories with a minimum demand on the kidneys. 



Water will be your most important need. When it is in short 

 supply and cannot be replaced by chemical or mechanical means, 

 but only by chance rain, use it efficiently. Men on short water 

 rations during an extended survival period have usually experimented 

 with some substitute for water; i.e., the drinking of sea water in 

 moderate quantities, juice expressed from the flesh of fish, etc. 

 However, the fact still remains that under survival conditions at 

 sea, unless means for chemically or physically separating the salts 

 from sea water are available, the only safe fluid to drink is rain. 

 For, sea water is inimical to the human body and will shorten rather 

 than prolong survival time. It aggravates thirst and increases water 

 loss by drawing body fluids from the kidneys and intestines, 

 resulting eventually in serious convulsions and delirium. 



As previously mentioned, the tarpaulin, sail, or poncho will be a 

 great aid in collecting rain water. Plans for its exact use should 

 be made in advance, keeping in mind that these sheets may be 

 difficult to handle in the high winds and rough seas that accompany 

 a squall. Watch the clouds and be ready for any chance shower. 

 If the paulin is encrusted with dried salt, wash it in sea water. If 

 the shower appears to be a light one, every available drop should 

 be collected by first wetting the canvas with sea water, so that 

 fresh water will not be absorbed by the fabric. The amount of salt 

 water contaminating the rain water will be negligible, but the 

 amount of fresh water lost through absorption, if the cloth is not 

 first wet, will be considerable. In a driving rain, water can be 

 collected by holding a canvas or any flat surface at an angle. 



Store rain water in any available receptacle; even the bladders 

 of inflatable life jackets have been successfully used. The human 

 body can store water very well and, therefore, one should drink all 

 he can when water is plentiful. Little of the water taken in 

 quantity when one is dehydrated is lost through perspiration or 

 excessive urination. Rain water, however, does not always satisfy 

 the thirst as it lacks minerals and is tasteless. It has been recom- 

 mended it be mixed with a little sea water, coffee, or tea solubles; 

 or that some of the hard candy from the emergency food kit be 

 dissolved in it for taste. 



FOOD 



If fresh water is available to the survivor, there is little cause 

 for him to starve. One pound of body fat will provide your system 

 with an equivalent of two good meals. The rate at which body fat 

 can be converted to heat and energy is dependent upon air temper- 

 ature, physical activity, and mental state. It follows then that 

 longevity can be extended by relaxing mind and body, and reducing 

 exposure to extreme temperature. 



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