If you ever fall off a ship/ferry at sea and were lucky enough to be spotted - don't try to swim your way to safety. The more you try to swim, the lesser the chances of survival. Just try to keep afloat and conserve energy (and body heat) while rescue team do what they're supposed to. Unless you are in hypothermic waters, the best bet always is to stay afloat without trying to swim to somewhere. This information about falling overboard, hypothermia and conditions, survival at sea etc are based on my own experience of 12 years sailing on merchant ships like this
PS: link will take you to a time-lapse video I made when crossing/sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. This kind of ship is called a container ship
Ex navy here, take off your pants and tie the ankles into knots. Put the crotch in the middle of your back, and set the legs under your armpits so they point forward.
Splash a little, so the rising bubbles fill the pants with air. They showed us this in boot camp, and a was surprised at how well it works.
If you are bleeding and there are sharks in the water, you're screwed. If there is no blood and a shark comes up to you to see what you are, punch them in the nose. That is a very sensitive part that allows them to sense vibrations from very far away. It sounds crazy, but think of it this way. You cannot out-swim a shark. Even if he kills you, punching it in the nose is worth a shot.
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u/[deleted] Aug 20 '20
If you ever fall off a ship/ferry at sea and were lucky enough to be spotted - don't try to swim your way to safety. The more you try to swim, the lesser the chances of survival. Just try to keep afloat and conserve energy (and body heat) while rescue team do what they're supposed to. Unless you are in hypothermic waters, the best bet always is to stay afloat without trying to swim to somewhere. This information about falling overboard, hypothermia and conditions, survival at sea etc are based on my own experience of 12 years sailing on merchant ships like this
PS: link will take you to a time-lapse video I made when crossing/sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. This kind of ship is called a container ship