In 1995, I was part of a geological survey expedition out of Norman Wells NWT Canada, heading about 100 miles (160 km) upstream (i.e., South) on the mighty Mackenzie River. We were being taken by pipeline technicians in their spill-response-team jetboat, which hadn't been used for years (no spills). About 60 miles/100 km along, a gasket separating the cooling system from the fuel supply cracked, and we we adrift on a remote river, perhaps 30 miles from the nearest settlement (Fort Norman/ Tulita).

We were fully prepared for camping, and had roughly twice the food we needed for out 10-day excursion ( built-in safety supply). The events of the day were an eye-opener to me:

- Using the radio operator (we had no sat-phone), we called the chief of the operation at her cottage in Ontario (it was the weekend), about 2500 miles away, and got extraordinary spending authority.

- Using the same radio-operator, we contacted and chartered a Twin Otter out of Norman Wells to pick us up, using our GPS unit to give them our precise location.

- While waiting the four hours for our charter, we surveyed some fresh landslides along the river bank.

- When the plane arrived we loaded it up, left the boat on the side of the river, and proceeded to our site. The plane returned to Norman Wells with our boat's pilot, who arranged for its recovery.

It was a case where only one thing went wrong, with all of the backup working properly. It was no worse (other than the bill for the charter) than being stopped on the side of a freeway.

We were picked up by another jetboat for our return at the end of the trip.