In May 1885, the yacht Miponette, sailing from Southampton to Sydney, was caught in a severe storm. It was not possible to save her, and the crew, consisting of Captain Thomas Dudley, his assistant Edwin Stevens, sailor Edmund Brooks and cabin boy Richard Parker, got into a 5-meter skiff. It had no masts or sails. There was no water or food, except for two bags of turnips.
On the eighteenth day, it became clear that everyone would die if help did not arrive soon. Lots were thrown: the loser had to give himself up to be devoured. But things took a different turn. The captain and his assistant decided that the first victim would be the cabin boy, half-dead from exhaustion. Dudley approached the cabin boy with a knife and slit his throat. The first thing those who survived ate the liver and took out the heart …
Five days later, the German barque "Montezuma" approached the side of the boat. The crew of the ship froze in horror, looking at the bloody skiff with three casualties and the chopped-up corpse of a man.
In 1956, the training sailing ship "Pamir", owned by the FRG, was capsized during a storm in the Atlantic Ocean. The team managed to board the boats, but due to lack of discipline, panic arose. The boats were scattered and flooded with water. 80 people died, and only five were saved, although help came on the second day!
At the end of 1959, during a storm in the Indian Ocean, the British ship "Razbum" sank. Passengers and crew - only 30 people - managed to get into the boats, which had supplies of water and food. However, 26 days later, when the boats approached the coast of the island of Sumatra, only six survived. The rest were killed by their comrades in misfortune or went crazy from the experience.
Intelligence in the ocean
What happens to people who find themselves in a boat or on a raft in the middle of a raging ocean? Why do some die on the second or third day, having water and food, while others remain alive after a month and a half or more with practically nothing? What is the actual cause of death of a shipwrecked person? What dangers can he face on the high seas?
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In September 1952, French physician Alain Bombard undertook an unthinkable experiment to investigate the conditions faced by a man in a life-saving shipwreck. Without food or water, he set out from Las Palmas (Canary Islands) on a solo voyage across the Atlantic in a small inflatable boat called the Heretic. The explorer completed the voyage after 65 days on the island of Barbados.
All this time he ate only fish. He quenched his thirst with juice squeezed out of fish or sea water. The traveler lost 25 kg, suffered a number of serious illnesses, by the end of the voyage, the amount of hemoglobin in his blood bordered on lethal values, his toenails fell out.
The main conclusion made by A. Bombar is that for the survival of the shipwrecked, it is not so much food and water that is important as a psychological factor. Fear kills people! Therefore, the slogan "Don't give up!" should be the moral lifejacket of everyone in distress at sea (and not only at sea). Survival is the one who really wants to live.
Desiring to continue the work begun by A. Bombar to solve the problems associated with the shipwreck, the Liberian doctor Hannes Lindemann embarked on his first solo transatlantic voyage on October 26, 1955. He sailed on a West African pirogue boat 7 m 80 cm long and 76 cm wide. hollowed out from one tree trunk. On this fragile ship, named "Liberia-P", he sailed from the west coast of Africa to about. Haiti in 119 days.
During his expedition, Lindemann collected extensive material that he intended to use for the main journey he planned. Here is what he wrote about his first experience: “Summing up the results of the first trip, I was not satisfied. I have not been able to resolve the issue related to the morale of the shipwrecked. During the voyage, I repeatedly found myself on the verge of despair …"
Lindemann made his second voyage in a small folding boat "Liberia III". Its length was 5 m 20 cm. The Liberian chose Las Palmos in the Canary Islands as the place of departure. Thus he threw the rivalry gauntlet to A. Bombar. It should be noted that Lindemann sailed from Las Palmos approximately along the route of the French doctor on October 20, 1956.
This time the hardest test fell to the lot of the Liberian. One of the December days, a squall overturned the little "Liberia", and only by the morning of the next day, at the cost of inhuman efforts, losing consciousness, the doctor was able to turn the boat over. Extremely emaciated and exhausted, he landed on about. Saint Martin, in the Lesser Antilles group. It happened on December 30, 1956.
The experiment was successfully completed. Lindemann's sailing conditions were very close to those with which a shipwrecked person may face. Repeatedly, a lone navigator had situations that gave reasons for despair, but he always found the strength to escape from the embrace of death.
If a person did not succumb to panic, he warned the tragedy. This is the conclusion of the Liberian.
The names of the brave physicians A. Bombard and H. Lindemann forever entered the annals of solitary voyages. But the main thing is different: the results of their experiments, carried out on themselves, served as an impetus for large-scale scientific research in many "maritime countries", with the involvement of prominent scientists and institutes involved in saving human life at sea.
It should also be noted that the Atlantic Ocean served as the arena for the wanderings of French and Liberian doctors, where, according to official statistics, the largest number of disasters occurs.
José Salvador Alvarengo, found in January 2014 off the Marshall Islands (Pacific Ocean), survived for 16 months in the open ocean, feeding on fish and the blood of turtles. He claims that his companion refused to eat such food. Ezekiel died 4 months later from exhaustion and dehydration. Alvarenga then wanted to commit suicide, but could not.
Shipwrecked
Recommendations for those in distress, formulated by experts from the World Health Organization, are as follows.
If you are not the leader of a group yourself, be sure to follow the directions of others. Try to be cheerful and confident. Discipline and presence of mind are very important in situations like this.
If you have motion sickness medicine, take it.
Your most dangerous enemy is cold. Wear as many woolen clothes as you can to keep you warm while in the water or on the raft.
If an accident occurs in the southern seas, watch out for sunstroke, seek shelter in the shade, and wet clothes to reduce sweating and retain water in the body.
During the first days after the shipwreck, do not drink water at all, then consume no more than 500 ml of fresh water per day. If your water supply is running low, reduce your daily intake to 100 ml.
Never drink sea water. Even if there is not much fresh water, do not mix it with sea water. Sea water is sometimes moistened in the mouth, but it is always tempting to swallow it. That is why this method should only be used by people with a strong will.