“Lost At Sea” ANSWER KEY
According to the “experts” the basic supplies needed when a person is
stranded in mid-ocean are articles to attract attention and articles to aid in
survival until the rescuers arrive. Articles for navigation are of little
importance.
Items of primary importance are:
Shaving mirror - Critical for signaling air-sea rescue
Two-gallon can of oil-gas mixture- Critical for signaling. The mixture will
float on the water and be ignited with a dollar bill and match.
Items of secondary importance are:
Five-gallon can of water - Necessary to replenish loss of water
One case of U.S. Army C rations - Provides basic food rations
The other items can be used in this order:
Twenty square feet opaque plastic - Used to collect rain water, provide
shelter from the weather.
Two boxes of chocolate bars - A reserve food supply.
Fishing kit – Potential food source yet no assurance of catching anything
15 feet nylon rope- May be used to tie equipment together
Floating seat cushion- A life preserver if someone falls overboard
Shark repellant - Just in case
1 rum- Potential antiseptic for injuries
Small transistor radio - Of little value due to being out of range
Maps of the Pacific Ocean - Worthless without additional navigational
equipment.
Mosquito Netting - There are no mosquitoes in the Pacific Ocean
Sextant- Without tables and a chronometer it is useless.
The basic rationale for ranking signaling devices above life-sustaining
items (food & water) is that without signaling devices there is almost no
chance of being spotted and rescued. Furthermore, most rescues occur within
the first 36 hours and one can survive without food and water during this
period.