MEN AGAINST THE SEA 
7 
Exposure at Sea 
As soon as possible, if you are in. a raft or boat, squeeze out 
all your wet clothing but do not take off all your clothes unless 
the weather is warm and dry, and the wind moderate. Undress 
and dry your clothes layer by layer. Pay special attention to 
your feet. If you have on boots and socks remove and dry 
them. If possible, put on dry socks. Carrying a pair of dry 
socks in waterproof wrappings while at sea would here yield 
big dividends. Your feet should be kept dry and covered if 
possible. If your rescue craft is wet, keep your shoes on, but if 
you notice your feet swelling remove your shoes. 
To protect yourself against cold winds, rain, spray, or, in the 
tropics, the sun, put up canvas or other screens, or rig up an 
awning with whatever is available. Do not take off too many 
clothes. They protect you against sunburn, which may occur 
even in cloudy weather. The experiences of men who have 
lived for weeks on rafts, to be rescued eventually, indicates that, 
for the tropics, systematically building up a resistance to sun- 
shine in advance of any emergency will lessen the hardships 
of exposure. Learning how to swim is a good way to do this 
and, as previously mentioned, is also a good form of life insur- 
ance. An all-over coat of tan is a great help, but clothing is 
essential against glare of the sun by day and cold by night. 
You can protect your eyes against the glare of the sun on the 
water by improvising some kind of eye shade or goggles with 
slits. A cloth tied over your nose will hide the horizon when 
you look straight forward, and this cuts off some of the glare. 
Wearing a shirt or vest, and some form of head gear, oc- 
casionally soaked in sea water, will help against the sum 
