Surviving on a deserted Island

 SURVIVING ON A DESERTED ISLAND

 

 

Islands offer a special challenge to the survivor, especially small islands and those lacking resources. The feeling of loneliness is emphasized on an island and the sense of isolation acute. The problems are mental as well as physical. To help overcome them explore the island thoroughly and establish a daily routine.

  
Climb the highest point to make a sketch of the island and get a mental picture of the terrain. Explore every creek, cranny, bay and beach of the coastline. Then take you reconnaissances inland until the island is familiar.

 
The island may have been inhabited in the past. Remains of building offer a basis for shelter. Fence post and wire will be useful to repair your boat or build a raft. Vegetables may still be found growing and rats seem to follow man everywhere, sometimes they are the only permanent wildlife to be found.

 Shelter... Shelter will make life seem better and even a scrape in the ground will give some protection. If you find caves ensure that they are not tidal before you decide to use one. Remember that even caves that seem safe may be flooded or cut of by spring tides, which are higher than normal.

   On a barren rocky outcrop shelter may simply mean finding a place out of the wind. Water may depend on you collecting rainfall and distillation. Food will be whatever clings to the rocks, birds and bird eggs if you are lucky, and what you can haul from the sea.

Resources... On any small island resources will be limited. Take care not to over exploit any one of them. Water is often a problem, lack of it is the reason many islands are uninhabited. Lush vegetation will draw attention to spring and streams. Digging above the high water mark may produce water. Catch and store rainwater.

  
To desalinate sea water by distillation you need a lot of fuel, which may be scarce. Driftwood may be available and some seaweeds will burn when dried, but you need wood to get the fire going. Seal blubber also makes good fuel. Have a fire only when you really need one. Search beaches after every tide, not just food wood, but for plastic bottles or containers, netting, and other trash. Everything has a use for the survivor.

  
Once familiar with your island, venture out at night, more creatures can be seen and foraging may be more rewarding.

Coconuts... The coconut palm is found right through the tropics and subtropics and can provide many valuable resources. The fronds can be used for shelter, the husks for ropes and as tender for fire, growing points taste just like cabbages, the milk for hydration, the meat for calories, and the shell for cups and containers.

 

Removing The Coconut Husks... To remove the fibrous husk around the coconut force it over a sharpened stake, hit it on a sharp rock or split it with a hand axe. Extract the milk by piercing one of the dark 'eyes' of the nut itself before smashing the nut open to get the meat.

  

Coconut milk is a safe, refreshing, and very nutritional drink. A large nut may hold about 1 liter of water. Drinking the very young green or old dark brown nuts will give you diarrhea, so take that into consideration before drinking to many of those, Use them as an emergency back up, when you have no water at all to drink.  If you happen to get the coconut that still has what I like to call the "cotton candy" part of the coconut, where the center is a spongy edible delight, enjoy it, you don't find them often and it is the very best part of the coconut, full of rich nutrients and vitamins.

Extract coconut oil by exposing chopped white meat to heat, sun, or fire, Then collect the oil as it runs off, or by boiling and skimming the oil as it rises to the surface. Rub it on to  protect from sunburn, and chafing from saltwater, to repel insects, as a salve for sores and blisters or mixed with wood ash as a substitute for soap.

Climbing Palms... If coconuts don't fall on your head and you cant knock them down, or if you need to reach some high bananas, don't try to climb the tree trunk like a rope. Instead, tie a strong bandage of cloth into a strap and slip it around your ankles. Adjust it to hold your feet close to the trunk and then you can press the soles of your feet inward and grip with them while shimmying up the tree.

                  ATTRACTING RESCUE

• LAY OUT SIGNALS TO ATTRACT SEARCHERS BY ARRANGING ROCKS, SEAWEED AND ANYTHING THAT GIVES CONTRAST AND MOVEMENT WITH ITS SURROUNDINGS.

• SAND IS EXCELLENT FOR POLISHING METAL TO MAKE MIRRORS TO SIGNAL WITH.

• IF YOU CAN SEE A SHIP YOU CAN TRY AD MAKE CONTCT ON A VHF RADIO (IF YOU HAVE ONE)

• A BIG  'X' IS ALSO KNOWN AS THE MOST URGENT SYMBOL OR LETTER FOR AN INTERNATIONAL RESCUE SIGNAL

• 3 LINES IS ALSO KNOWN AS AN INTERNATIONAL RESCUE SIGNAL

• WRITE   SOS  AS BIG AS YOU CAN WITH DEADBRE, SEAWEED OR ANYTHING THAT IS A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN WHAT THE BACKGROUND IS.

• FIND SOMETHING BRIGHTLY COLORED THAT DOESNT GO WITH THE SURROUNDINGS, PUT IT ON A LONG BRANCH OR STICK, STICK IT IN THE GROUND AND MAKE IT LIKE A FLAG SO THAT RESCUE PERSONAIL KNOW THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE ON THE ISLAND

• MAKE A HUGE FIRE, USE TRASH AROUND THE ISLAND THAT HAS WASHED UP FROM SEA, LIKE FLIPFLOPS, STIROPHOME, RUBBER, ANYTHING THAT WILL PUT OF ALOT OF DARK OR BLACK SMOKE.

• NEVER GIVE UP, KEEP TRYING, KEEP YOUR EYES AND EARS OPEN TO EVERYTHING AROUND YOU.

• MAKE 3 CONTROLLABLE FIRES THAT YOU CAN HAVE READY TO LIGHT AT THE FIRST SIGN OF POSSIBLE RESCUE

And always remember... These methods can be used no matter where you may find yourself when trying to achieve self rescue or become found.

Thanks for reading, please check out my other post that are related to this one, I have the links below.
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Eric from Ruff Survival

Hi guys!! We wanted to update our post today (5/20/15) and let everyone know that we have a couple of new things to share, First off, I know its been a while sense we have added a new post, Don't worry, We haven't forgotten about our blog, We have just been incredibly busy with our new baby which is fixing to turn 1!! Yay!! We will be posting fresh info for all of you survivalist out there at least a couple times a week.

In other news, We have added a New Blog and New YouTube Channel

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 http://ruffsurvival.blogspot.com/2013/03/seashores-and-survivor.html
http://ruffsurvival.blogspot.com/2013/03/getting-water-from-plants.html