survival priority list - what would you take?

Dear survival pro's,

i'm new to your forum to learn more survival emergency.

i have been pre-selected for an adventure race and part 2 in the selection is doing a test!

I have to select the most important to least important items - my sail boat is sinking - and i'm going to swim 1 mile to a dissertated tropical island.

Need to select the most import to least important:

- Sextant
- Shaving mirror
- 25-litres water canister with water
- Mosquito net
- 1 box of army survival supplies
- Nautical Map over the Pacific Ocean
- Floating device (Approved by US Coast Guard)
- 10-litre canister with oilbased gasoline
- Small transistor radio (with sufficient batteries)
- Shark Powder (fending off sharks)
- 2,5 square metres of nontransparent plastic cloth
- 1 litre of Puerto Rican rum (80%)
- 3 m nylon line
- 2 chocolate bars
- Fishing equipment

can anybody be so friendly and help me understand what's most important to realize and think about. Your help would greatly be appreciated.

Thank you for your time and energy

Kind regards
cloie

My first question is whether you have to swim carrying the items, or if you have a raft to pull it on. Once that is known, your priorities are shelter, water and food, in that order.

If you win, will you donate 10% to ETS? This list is straight out of a Tyrone Power movie. I'd take the 3 meters of cord and garrot the scriptwriter.Hint, if your boat is sinking you likely drank the rum while shooting the sun with the sextant. So those two items and the chart are now bottom of your list.

Sextant: If the goal is eventually to make your way back to civilization, this might be useful. Otherwise this is just dead weight, unless it?s a modern sextant and you want to break that sucker apart to make use of the mirrors for signaling, lenses to start fires, shades to make a cool pair of impromptu sunglasses via the sun shades and nylon cord (LOL) and other parts which I would have to view to determine some use for.

Shaving mirror: This could be used as a signaling device.

25 liters water canister with water: Water is at the top of the list, but can you swim a mile with this weight? Think about it as swimming a mile with more than 25kg (55lbs + container weight). Perhaps if there is time before the boat sinks you could dump half of it out and see if the container floats easily, otherwise this weight might kill you quicker than dehydration.

Mosquito net: depending on how tough a net it is, whether it?s easily transported etcetera this is another good item. Smoke from a fire will keep mosquitoes at bay, so it isn?t absolutely necessary, but it can be used as shade if the material is dense enough, or even possibly to corral (maybe weir) fish in or net fish with. This depends on size and quality of course.

1 box of army survival supplies: I have no idea what is in the box, how big the box is, what country?s military put it together or anything. This is very vague. Assuming it?s a modern kit, small, and one put together for general use I?d guess it has some invaluable time tested equipment within and so might well be worth keeping. I hope there?s at least a knife (or cutting tool) in there... LOL

Nautical Map over the Pacific Ocean: Once again, unless your goal is to get back to civilization, this may not help. Depending on size and ruggedness I can think of a number of other uses for it other than what it was intended, but...

Floating device (Approved by US Coast Guard): Again, this is vague. Are we talking a life raft, life ring, or a life jacket? Eh... Take it anyway. It?ll keep your head above water while you?re swimming a mile with gear.

10litre canister with oil based gasoline: Who put together this test? What information are we missing? How are you going to swim a mile with this and the other equipment? I mean I guess it?s useful if you want to start a signal fire, but once again, you?re swimming a mile.

Small transistor radio (with sufficient batteries): I?m not familiar with the use of a transistor radio in the sense of whether or not it can be used for signaling somehow, whether it contains useful equipment if broken apart, etc. I guess with patience you could start a fire with its batteries, wiring and the gasoline. In the end, I?d have to admit that I don?t know about this item.

Shark Powder (fending off sharks): I seriously thought this stuff was a myth and that only some of the newer electronic defenses worked against sharks. Is this that concoction made from Lemon Sole Fish?

2.5 square meters of nontransparent plastic cloth: I?m going to assume this means tarp, and if so it would be handy for shelter, making a solar sill, wrapping around vegetation to get water through transpiration (terminology?), etc.

1 liter of Puerto Rican rum (80%): Is Rum flammable? Is it alcohol capable of use as an agent to prevent infection? I don?t know.

3 m nylon line: 9.8 feet of line is excellent for tying up the plastic sheeting for shelter, to use to make a fire bow, etc. Keep it.

2 chocolate bars: Short-term energy is good, especially after swimming a mile.

Fishing equipment: This is good for acquiring food, obviously...

That's all off the top of my head. I could be wrong...


Whoever prepared this boat for the sea probably was not thinking seriously about it sinking. There?s no mention of an actual life raft. Small emergency desalinators are not too expensive these days (Katadyn Survivor 06 and Survivor 35 as examples), lightweight, and offer the ability to acquire more water from readily available sea water, than the heavy container on the boat.

Then again, a pot to boil water in when used with the plastic sheeting to catch, condense and channel to something capable of holding the new fresh water in will do the same thing. Even a towel to catch steam will work if you?ve used the plastic sheeting for shelter (Don?t burn your hands wringing out the towel LOL)

There?s no Emergency Distress Beacon mentioned.

No Flares are mentioned.

Was a successful SOS with accurate position made prior to sinking? At that point it might be better to take the time to make sure of positioning and getting the message across that land was very definitely in view rather than lug 55 pounds of water above deck if contact was established. LOL

Where?s Wilson?

Did I just pull an internet faux pas and help out when we were somehow being made fun of? LOL

Malpaso stated a good starting point as a means of making a list of importance from these items, and I?d only add fire (even in a tropical climate) and first aid to it.

And seriously... As alluded to by CK, I have a question. When was this quiz put together? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Errr... I guess the term swimming pretty much means that the US Coast Guard approved flotation device is not a life raft... Oops. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Guys

thanks - i appreciate your input!

its by no means a joke - and i so agree with your assessment on the test. But please keep helping me. It gives me so much more - you wouldn't know how much!

(If i get selected a donation and a nice story for ETS is a guarantee - chris <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />)

so let me share my best list SO FAR:

1) Floating device (Approved by US Coast Guard) - damn long swim better make sure i float - might be a current

2) box of army survival supplies - i presume the essentials for survival are in here - ?!

3) 25-litres water canister with water - i take a little water out so it will float by itself

4) 2 chocolate bars - food (can last a long time if taken in small portions - easy to swim with)

5) Shaving mirror - signal and easy to take along and swim

6) nontransparent plastic cloth - to make shelter - catch water - signal

7) 3 m nylon line - for the shelter but because i need to swim with the rest of the items - i need the line (together with the plastic cloth i can improvise a bouy

8) Fishing equipment - my plan for if i'm stuck long term - eat fish (LOL)

9) Sextant - if i'm not going traveling pull it apart - lenses - have a sharp object - etc (i presume fire starters are in the survival box)

10) Mosquito net - handy for sleeping. fishing, catching stuff

11) Small transistor radio (with sufficient batteries)

12) 1 liter of Puerto Rican rum (80%) - start a fire, disinfect

13) Nautical Map over the Pacific Ocean - only long term planning might involve traveling away

14) 10-litre canister with oil based gasoline - sure nice for a fire or signal but bulky to swim with.

15) Shark Powder - i don't think sharks are that big a risk


This is my priority list - RIPE IT APART GUYS - what would you place higher / lower up on the list?

Once again - YOU ARE HELPING ENORMEUSLY

thanks cloie

Hi, good luck on the Adventure Racing. I have done several Adventure Races up to 36 hrs in length.

..I have to say this is an interesting "test" they have posed to you. I'm not sure how that can screen out the best "racers"....racing carries with it several elements, and although survival/preparedness issues are important, I hope they are not using that as the MAIN criteria for selection.
You probably already know this, but excellent fitness, good team cohesion(each team member can be star racers, but if you don't get along very well, you are screwed!), map & compass skills, love of the outdoors, long term endurance are also key factors in doing well & having a good time.

.....Keep us posted on how it goes!....GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!

I am in no way an expert or can even come close to the knowledge that some of this group have. saying that , I'd like to ask a few questions.
1 life vest , ring or raft?
2 whats in the box?
3.what type of fishing gear? net , line and hook,or rod ,real tacklebox?
4do you know how to use a sextant and read a map?
5 how fast is the boat sinking ?how much time do you have to get your gear together and get off?
6. what else is on the boat?
7 are you alone? captain of your sinking ship or unlucky passenger
8what are you going to do with the radio?
9 if you see sharks , dose the powder become more important <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
10 what was your first test and how did you do? <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

What is "oil based gasoline"? Is that what we would call gasoline in the USA, or diesel fuel? If it is diesel, then it should float by itself. I don't know if gasoline floats in salt water. You may wish to check this prior to your event.

Anyway, here is another idea. If you have time, and the sea state permits, what about tying together the floating water container (with some water removed) and the floating fuel container with the cord. If the army survival kit floats, add it to your improvised raft. Put on your life jacket and push your supplies the one mile to your island. You will have to be a strong swimmer, but you might get the most equipment ashore this way. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

On the other hand, you might NOT have to be a strong swimmer, if you lash together a raft from the mentioned supplies, and RIDE them into shore <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />(picturing Roy Scheider, in "Jaws", riding barrels back to Amity... LMAO)



Troy

I thought I should clarify the point about the water. Salt water is heavier than fresh water so the container should stay relatively close to the surface even if it's full. However, if it is in an a barrel any pushing or pulling is probably going to cause water to ride over the surface and cause it to submerge somewhat.

The same goes with the Fuel. Depending on type, it will more than likely be lighter than saltwater.

Either way, both will act like a sea anchor and make that mile of swimming rough.

25 liters of water is about 6.6 gallons, so a container big enough to carry that is going to cause a lot of drag in the water. If you add the 2.6 gallon container of fuel, and other equipment as well...

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that this seems to be set up as a pretty tricky question if you think about the logistics.

I'm assuming the boat is going down faster than it would take to improvise a raft.

Can you provide the list in the form of an essay with different scenarios? LOL

If you are going to a dissertated tropical island, you may want to consider taking a word processor and an English professor to read your dissertation.

What would the sextant be for? If you're only a mile from an island, I would hope you would already have some idea where you are. Ditto the map.

What's the gasoline for? Can't see why you would need it. Ditto the rum -- pointless.

Shark powder? I doubt you've got a mile's worth!

Wrap all the other stuff (except the water) in the plastic and attach it to the flotation device, then push all toward the island.

Sue

guys - i keep getting wiser ... <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />)

just for the record its a theoretical question ! Not practical. I don't know anymore about the articles than you do. Just whats mentioned in the list. And yes - i agree some are not CLEAR.

So based on that - would this priority list make sense - to grab before the ship sinks??!! Most important first!

1) Floating device (Approved by US Coast Guard) - damn long swim better make sure i float - might be a current

2) box of army survival supplies - i presume the essentials for survival are in here - ?!

3) 25-litres water canister with water - i take a little water out so it will float by itself

4) 2 chocolate bars - food (can last a long time if taken in small portions - easy to swim with)

5) Shaving mirror - signal and easy to take along and swim

6) nontransparent plastic cloth - to make shelter - catch water - signal

7) 3 m nylon line - for the shelter but because i need to swim with the rest of the items - i need the line (together with the plastic cloth i can improvise a bouy

8) Fishing equipment - my plan for if i'm stuck long term - eat fish (LOL)

9) Sextant - if i'm not going traveling pull it apart - lenses - have a sharp object - etc (i presume fire starters are in the survival box)

10) Mosquito net - handy for sleeping. fishing, catching stuff

11) Small transistor radio (with sufficient batteries)

12) 1 liter of Puerto Rican rum (80%) - start a fire, disinfect

13) Nautical Map over the Pacific Ocean - only long term planning might involve traveling away

14) 10-litre canister with oil based gasoline - sure nice for a fire or signal but bulky to swim with.

15) Shark Powder - i don't think sharks are that big a risk


This is my priority list - RIPE IT APART GUYS - what would you place higher / lower up on the list?

cheers cloie

I'd put the sextant, map, and shark powder last. The first two are almost useless unless you plan on building a raft and trying to find civilization, and chances are you don't know how to use the sextant anyway. The shark powder is even more useless. As far as I know a transistor radio refers to a radio that can only receive, not transmit radio signals. If this is correct, then it's only possible use is to start fires, unless you have a degree in electrical engineering(and you probably wouldn't be able to make a working transmitter in the proper range and frequency anyway).

I'd put the chocolate bars lower on the list, other items on the list such as the fishing kit would be much more useful in the long run.

The army supplies probably contain some fishing items, but that depends on the kit, and the more fishing supplies the better. Since it's the only item on the list that probably contain matches or another firestarter, I agree with it's priority on the list. However I wouldn't say that it has all the essentials, or even close to that.

I'd put the 10 liters of fuel a bit higher on the list - 10 liters is a lot, and it can help start fires if used carefully, in addition to being used for signal fires. This is especially important with limited fire supplies and likely someone inexperienced with creating fires in the wilderness.

If you don't have medical assistance and supplies with you, I certainly wouldn't try to start a fire with gasoline! ESPECIALLY if you aren't familiar with starting fires to begin with. Burns are something you don't need in a survival situation, and could conceivably kill you, an awful, agonizing death.

Whenever I see guys trying to start a fire with gasoline, I figure they're future Darwin Award recipients. If a person can't start a fire without gasoline, they probably shouldn't be allowed to play with fire at all.

Sue

Such powder never worked to begin with. This is a joke. This stuff is straight out of a 1940s movie, one of the bad ones. The gear seems only about 60 years out of date.

Just who the devil is dreaming this stuff up? I'm waiting for the punchline.

-- Craig

I disagree. In a survival situation fire is extremely valuable, and based on the items in this list, firemaking supplies are very limited. Keep in mind that in this scenario the survivor would have just swam a mile, and despite being a tropical island, hypothermia is still a possibility. It also could be night time and raining, since time of day and weather was not specified. Even in perfect conditions, finding proper tinder can be difficult if you're not experienced in wilderness firemaking, and most poeple aren't.

Soaking a small amound of the fuel, whatever it is(oil based gasoline?!) in some grass, leaves, a pice of fabric, or even dirt would make it much easier to get a fire going, and would have minimal risk if a little common sense is used.

Survival gear is all about having options you wouldn't otherwise have. Personally, I'd much rather have the option.

And having medical gear shouldn't make any difference about your decision to use fuel. There's not much that even the best FAK can do for burns, especially major ones. If you think getting burned is a likely outcome, then you shouldn't be doing it.

As far as the Darwin award goes, chances are someone in this situation, without a life raft, survival kit, or plan, not to mention the sinking boat is likely a candidate anyway. Of course starting a fire with gasoline is stupid in normal situations, but I think we can all agree that things are a bit different in a survival situation.

Or, the "oil based gasoline" might be the ONLY fuel source on the island. We just assume that things will be growing there that we can burn. What if it is just a lump of sand?

If so, you're probably going to die anyway. Like money, you can't drink it or eat it.

Sue

Not necessarily. Even if it's just a lump of sand, it's possible to survive on just rainwater and fish, and maybe even some birds. You can't eat or drink the fuel, but you can use it to boil seawater for rudimentary desalination, and to cook the fish. I don't know much about fishing, but maybe the fire could also be used to attract fish at night.
And that signal fire becomes all the more important in such a situation. Even with no food or water, you may survive long enough to be rescued if you're very lucky.

Here is my take:

Your first priority is to make it to the island alive. Flotation is #1 if you can't swim the distance.

Once you arrive safely, you probably would have a difficult time living there for a couple of years (think Tom Hanks in "Castaway"). So, your #2 priority should be getting rescued. The mirror is your best bet for this. You stand a chance if making fire using natrual materials ("Castaway" again). You stand NO chance of improvising a mirror. A signal mirror can reach out 10 miles on a good day. So, to me, the signal mirror is your second priority.

You have the army survival supplies listed as #2. At some point those supplies will give out and you may die. Once again, your best shot is to get rescued, so these are less important than the mirror.

Without water, you can live 2-3 days (maybe less if you swallow a lot of salt water). So the water would be #3, to me.

The plastic sheet would be the next priority. It can be used for many things, including water collection (depends on the weather, though).

Cordage should be next. You can improvise with vines, but real cord is better.

Fishing kit would be next (at least to me).

Of course, this assumes that you are not using some things to float other things, as others have suggested. If you can float the water and fuel, and use the cord to tie those things together, then of course you should take whatever you can.

My priorities also assume that somebody will miss you and be looking for you. If this is NOT the case, then some things might change.

I would say there's very little to no chance of making a fire with natural materials. I don't remember how Tom Hanks did it in castaway, but this would entail a bow drill or hand drill or other methods which are even more difficult. Using a bow drill made from scratch would take hours even for survival experts, and even that requres shoelaces or some other cordage, I doubt it could be done with natural cordage unless you're an expert in making natural cordage.

As I've said, the army kit is likely to have some tools for igniting a fire, unlike everything else on that list(most radio batteries don't have enough voltage to create a spark, and who knows if the lense from the sextant is powerful enough, or if it can easily be seperated).
It is primarily for this reason I support it's place on the list, and that it may contain fishing gear or other useful supplies. However, I would consider putting the water and the plastic sheet above it, with the army supplies as #4, since water is certainly more important than fire.

Have you ever actually started a fire with a bow drill?
I have, after putting together the neccessary parts (au naturel) except for the string (the leather lace from my deck shoes worked just fine) during a 15 minute walk through a local park. I find it hard to believe that cordage couldn't be improvised from SOME source... did I/you/whoever leave the boat naked? By the way, for what it's worth, I wouldn't consider myself an "expert" at any given survival skill, just someone who goes to the time and effort to try them out, and practice the tougher ones until I'm comfortable with my skill level. Oh... and while we're at it, I know of two people who made fire on their first attempt with a bow drill (I took a few turns before I got there).

Troy

P.S. Hey Frenchy, pardon my mis-spellings (in parentheses) if I got that wrong.

Sextant -as I understand they are brass , so you could make yourself a knife out of it.
Learn firemaking using bow-drill, I leant it yesterday. But you will need some good tinder. I guess you could try put some fuel on some very rotten and very dry piece of wood and it should irnite. But read about bow drilling, I used Ray Mears' book, other sources did not give me enough information (but I am not native english speaker, so it was also difficult for me to understand)

You just proved my point. You said you used leather laces from your shoes as cordage for the bow drill. I'm not saying it's impossible to use natural sources as cordage for a bow drill, but it would be extremely difficult to fashion cordage with the sufficient strenth and durability necessary for a bow drill without a considerable amount of experience. And it is very likely that the person swimming to shore would not be wearing shoes, either having taken them off intentionally, lost them in the water, was not wearing shoes to begin with, or simply not wearing shoes with laces. Creating cordage from clothing is not something the average person will know how to do, or even think of doing(and it is certainly possible that they would be leaving the boat naked). Then again, the aveage person will also have no idea how to assemble and use a bow drill.
It's also very different to use a bow drill that has already been assembled, after seeing the proper use demonstrated, than making one from scratch in the field. Bow drills also require very dry tinder, which may be unavailable.

And to answer your question, no I have not started a fire with a bow drill, or even come close. I have done some research and spent some time trying to build a bow drill, using para cord and various natural materials, and come nowhere near success (I do plan on figuring it out eventually). Granted I haven't spent all that much time on it, but the fact that I've been so unsuccessful even under ideal conditions shows me that making and using a bow drill is no elementary matter, and not something most people should depend on. In fact even experts would be foolish to depend solely on the bow drill as a means of fire making, in my opinion. I remember watching the video of 'survivorman' Les Stroud making a fire with a bow drill, and it took him hours. He made the drill from scratch except for his shoelaces, one of which he broke in the process. I don't know how extensive his survival knowledge is, but it's a hell of a lot more than mine.

Tom Hanks used a friction method, with a grooved log seated so it wouldn't move. He then put a good tinder at the bottom of said groove and rubbed another stick along the groove where it made a lot of contact. Eventually he stroked it fast enough to produce some heat to ignite a fire.

I'm pretty sure I remember reading that the movie was pretty heavily researched (if improbable - not impossible). The only thing I found a bit silly was the raft pulling him out of the water as the plane sank, but I suppose you have to jumpstart the story.

He made cordage from local weeds, had fish, etc.

I went through a similar exercise as this, although the test was much better stated. It was a team building test and our class was divided into teams where none of us knew the other people. We had to decide the order of what items to bring with us (out of 12). The items were clearly described, as were the parameters of the test. A small prop plane went down with your team on a partially frozen lake, where it began to sink. You only had a few minutes to get everything out and you might not get it all, so the order was important. The whole point was to get the team interacting, making decisions (good and bad) and to discuss who would likely survive the longest and why. The survival lessons were secondary here...

I remember some facts from this exercise: 1) Taking any navigational equipment (maps, compass, sextant) are largely pointless for your average Joe as it's MUCH safer to stay where you are and get rescued. 2) Alcohol isn't nearly as important as those cartoons with St. Bernards carrying a small keg around their necks led us to believe <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> 3) Even a small understanding of survival principles can make you a team leader rather quickly.

My guess is that this is to "get you thinking" and to have you explain your choices. Perhaps some answers aren't necessarily wrong if they are explained properly. But it seems to me that this "test" they gave you isn't well done.

I can pretty much guarantee that, unless you are handicapped somehow, if you were to spend 15 minutes with someone who knows how to use a bow drill to make fire and watched them do it, you would be able to reproduce successful results at will, depending on your availability of supplies.

Bowdrilling seems to be one of those things that is best mentored. You can develop the skill independently, but it takes a signifcantly greater time investment.

Heartily agreed!

Troy