http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/asiapcf/auspac/11/12/wsamoa.survival/

Wow! 6 months adrift at sea. It's almost unfathomable.
I seriously thought this was going to be a case of a typo.

Yeah, that's pretty amazing!

I wonder how they sucessfully caught birds to eat, as they say in the article... Did you ever try to catch a bird bare-handed? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Since it was a fishing boat, they probably had some nice barbed fishing hooks around. You can catch birds relatively easily with baited fish hooks. The birds take a bite, and you hook up pretty quickly. Of course, it's an ugly scene at that point, but, easy to get a few birds that way in a survival situation. I have "caught" birds by accident while casting into fish breaking the surface. The birds were diving on the bait being driven to the surface by the fish I was trying to catch. My surface popper looked like a tasty treat to a hungry gull... I'm glad my wife wasn't on the boat to see the scene as my son and I tried to get the hook out without killing the rather upset bird. <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

In any case, I think in a survival situation, I think your odds catching birds using a fish hook that was baited with something might be better than catching fish!

There have been quite a number of books about boaters surviving for extended periods at sea - in boats disabled and adrift, in capsized boats and in life rafts.

Check the boat section in the sports area in your local bookstore. They are a fascinating read and quite an education in resourcefulness.

Oddly enough, the biggest problem with being adrift in the ocean is - a lack of water!!! Drinkable water, that is. From the accounts I've read, survivors had to develop a taste for sushi and dried fish.