Your boat or plane went down and now you find yourself on a small island surrounded by the merciless ocean. You take off into the jungle on what appears to be a path but after an hour, realize you are very lost. You attempt to get back to the beach but have not found it as the sun sets. You hunker down near a tree and begin to shiver from the drastic temperature change. By morning, you have the sniffles as you start wondering again. By sunset, you are coughing. Within days, this will turn into pneumonia and since many rescues at sea comes weeks or months after the wreck, you will not survive being a castaway. And you really only made one mistake. You left the beach. Rescuers will not comb the jungles of a deserted island unless they have very good reason to believe you are there. Do not leave sight of the water until you have a plan.
First. Food, water, and shelter.
You cannot survive being a castaway without these things. Scour the beach for things like fish, crabs, eggs, and small animals. If you see them, set a trap or snare first. Do not scare them off. Improvise. Nature really does provide. Gather a few days food at a time, burying them in the coolest parts of the sand that you can protect even during high tide. You are building a stock. During bad weather, these things will be scarce. For good weather, set up a lean to near the jungle but in full sight of the water. Stay on the side where you washed up. This is where rescuers will look for you after consulting their charts for tide flows.During bad weather, move to higher ground to survive being a castaway. Tidal surges come far inland.
Water is harder to find. Before you go looking for it, you need to gather a few items. A weapon. Make spears if nothing else. Two days food and water packed on you in a way that it will not fall off even if you go over a waterfall. A way to mark your trail. Using a stone with an edge is fine but take a few of these. Some type of foot protection. The jungle is alive with poisonous animals. A walking stick, long and with a sharp point. The jungle is full of dangers. Something to carry the water in that will not leak. All sorts of debris washes up on beaches and if you are a castaway, there is probably wreckage to search through, something that may yield you more supplies.
Before heading off to find water, leave a message on the beach, even if it is only SOS, spelled out with stones and driftwood.
Getting water.
Comb the edges of the beach where it meats the jungle. The animals that use beach must also have fresh water. Follow the tracks, remembering to mark your trail every ten feet or in sight of the last mark so you can look back and see your own trail.
Watch the birds. If they are headed toward the ocean, that is the wrong way. They also need fresh water during their breaks between flights.
Listen for the sound of water around the edges of the beach first. You may get lucky and be able to follow the sound of it.
You can also try digging a hole in the sand about half way up the beach but chances are high that this liquid will also be salt water.
If you cannot find water the first day, do not panic. Scour trees for coconuts. To know which berries or plants are safe to eat, watch the birds and wildlife. If they eat it, it is probably all right. All of these things will help you to survive being a castaway.
Fire. You must make a fire. Planes overhead will notice this light where there shouldn’t be one and radio it in. The rescuers will be there a short time later. If you can get a passing jets attention. This is easier said than done. The ideal thing is to create a fire that spells out sos. Guaranteed to get attention.
Wait. Pay attention to your surroundings, keep gathering useful items from debris, stock food and water, and keep your message lit. Keep track of the days that pass. When you reach three weeks, it is time to consider that you may be there for a while. Under those circumstances, you must then do all of the above, only not on the beach. Seasonal storms will make living on the shore deadly. get up higher and resume stockpiling. Find a way to put your message back up.
