A friend recently asked me to write a supplemental to his book Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life. Specifically he was interested in how to escape a big city when disaster hits. The following article, which first appeared on the author’s website, won’t tell you how to survive disasters, for that you are going to have to read the book, but it will will give you an idea how to escape disaster via the sea:

Click To Read More About Emergency

It was early 2002 when the telefax on the bridge of my 564’ exploratory drillship started spitting out an urgent broadcast to all Americans living in India: The US embassy was being evacuated of all civilian contractors and non-essential personnel. I was very young the last time these warnings proved deadly. The Iran Hostage Crisis happened in 1979, but years later, when I learned about it in school, I was shocked by one simple question our teacher asked: How could 74 Americans be so stupid? The embassy had been taken over once before, earlier that year, and the State Department had issued plenty of warnings urging Americans to get out of the country. So why did the 74 risk their lives and stay? Is any job worth the risk of torture and death?

Just over 20 years later, my embassy was urging me to evacuate the country while a voice in the back of my head attempted to put my brain in high alert by flashing the pictures of those hostages in my brain.

But I didn’t run.

The threat that year was aimed at India, a nuclear standoff between the country and it’s bitter rival Pakistan. Some experts predicted the tension between the two countries had passed the point of no return and nuclear war was imminent. On July 4th 2009, while building a ship in South Korea, I found myself in the same situation again when North Korea began launching missiles in our general direction. The embassy was not evacuated this time but many civilian contractors left the country.

And again I stayed.

The reason for standing my ground was not self denial, rather it was that my feet were not affixed to the ground; I was floating on a ship.

The key factors to surviving an nuclear attack, as taught in Chemical Biological Radiological Defense (CBRD) training taken by most US mariners, are time, distance and shielding. You want to maximize the distance and the amount of heavy material between you and the impact zone while minimizing the amount of time you spend in the area. And for this, a ship is your best option.

Modern ships are constructed of heavy steel which provides a strong physical barrier between you and fallout contaminates. Ships can also be sealed shut by heavy watertight doors which prevent not only water from entering, but also air. To let workers breathe and prevent mold from growing within the hull, ships force air through ventilation ducts and down into large cargo compartments. But in the event of a nuclear attack, the ventilation can be secured which makes the internal rooms essentially large air tanks.

The amount of oxygen in these “tanks” is limited to a few days, so it’s still important to get far away from the center of an attack. During 9/11, authorities immediately shut down all trains and bridges then secured the air space making it impossible for most residents to leave. There was only one way off Manhattan–by boat. And in just 9 hours that day, over 500,000 people were evacuated from the island by an armada of ferries, boats and small ships. To date it remains the second largest evacuation of history, surpassing another maritime success: the World War II evacuation of Dunkirk.

Leaving on a ship is both fast and effective so it should be considered a primary means of escape for all who live near the water.

This method has a few other advantages. Even if you don’t live on a populated island like Manhattan, when Shit Hits The Fan, the roads will quickly become congested in one direction, away from the city, but should be clear for those heading towards the water. Ports also contain a high degree of trained professionals, equipment and resources for handling disasters. They are self-contained, meaning, if all emergency personnel are called into a disaster zone, the port authorities will always stay behind to keep the port open for incoming military relief vessels. With police occupied elsewhere, city streets will be open to looters, but behind the high fences of a secured port, the police will likely have little to do beyond manning the perimeter.

Prior to 9/11 the perimeters of a port that were open to visitors, most had fences. But a simple lie could get you past private security guards. Today the fences have an extra layer of razor wire and gates are manned by heavily armed police and military guards. You can still enter though, if you have a Transportation Workers Identification Card (TWIC) and seamen credentials. Both are available to every American Citizen.

The process of obtaining these credentials start at a Coast Guard Regional Exam Center (REC). Located throughout the country, these offices are government help desks for people looking to begin a career at sea. The process is not for everyone. The Coast Guard is a military organization and will take your fingerprints to conduct an FBI background check, but if privacy is not your primary concern, then getting seamen’s papers is a simple process of filling out a few forms and waiting for your documents to arrive. The seaman’s papers look like a passport and are accepted as such in many maritime countries. The TWIC card is issued by the TSA and looks like a drivers licenses, allowing you into any port in the country. It also provides special privileges in airport security lines and at small airports nationwide.

Once inside a port you will need to know which ships are departing soon and which may be detained by Coast Guard units. It’s important to have a handheld VHF radio. Available for around $100, a good VHF will give you access to channel 16, the communications frequency of the Coast Guard, and the port’s working channel. It will also pick up NOAA weather and emergency broadcasts as well as reports from vessels already out at sea.

The remaining problem is getting aboard a ship. One option is a program provided by the US Maritime Administration, known as MARAD. The Mariner Outreach System is a government database of mariners who are willing to help in the event of a national crisis. Registering for the program is simple and comes with no obligation. And there is one major advantage: If a crisis happens, you will be called to help move ships out of the port. MARAD also has programs for volunteers interested in emergency management but your best option is the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

The auxiliary is best known for providing boaters awareness classes and assisting yachts within the confines of a harbor, but all members have access to two critical things: boats and uniforms. The uniform of the auxiliary looks very similar to that of a navy officer and will pass as such to all but the trained eye so walking up the gangway of a ship, in uniform and willing to help, is an excellent way to get a free ride out of town. And if the big ships won’t let you aboard, you can commandeer a boat to assist in the evacuation efforts.

If government cooperation isn’t an option for you, consider volunteering at the port’s seaman church. Each major port has a recreation room and kitchen sponsored by a local and national religious organization which give foreign seaman a place to relax and make phone calls home. In the event of a terror strike, these organizations will be busy getting bibles and last minute supplies to the ships departing. They are also an excellent hub of information about each ship and the people who work aboard them.

Useful Information Links:

• Navy CBRD Manual
• Getting Seaman’s Papers, FAQ
• Getting A TWIC Card
• Mariner Outreach System (MOS)
• Seaman’s Church
• Coast Guard Auxiliary

If survival is important you I highly suggest you read  “Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life“ , which was a New York Times Bestseller and includes survival tips not found in any other book….  and stay tuned for Emergency the movie which is rumored to be starring Robert Downey Jr.!

Have a tip on survival at sea or suggestion for improving this post? Then please share it in the comments section below.

It was a great story before, but now it’s just epic: The three Pacific Island teenagers who were rescued after being lost at sea for 50 days had been on the trail of a cute girl. It seems she had caught their eye while visiting their island for a sports tournament. After she returned to her own island about 100 miles away, the boys—ages 14, 15, and 15—decided to steal a small boat that night and follow. Crucially: Beer was involved in their decision-making.

The teens eventually became disorientated and went hopelessly adrift, managing to survive on 20 coconuts they brought along, along with rainwater, fish, and a seagull. They were being examined today in Fiji after their rescue by a fishing boat but appeared to be in relatively good shape. “You should have seen the village,” one of the boy’s uncles tells CNN. “Everybody was crying.” Monsters and Critics has more details on their hunt for the girl.

There are many more details to this story still emerging including the capture of seagulls and floating coconuts but none of them are consistant. Soe we will have to wait for the full details but for those interested I suggest you run out and purchase the New York Times bestselling book Adrift: Seventy Six Days Lost at Sea – By Steven Callahan to get an idea of what these boys experienced.

The book itself is a bit dated, Callahan was lost at sea in 1981, but is an accurate protrayal of the grity details of life and survival aboard a small liferaft. And its a book that every mariner should read before he finds himself in alone at sea.

Stay tuned as gCaptain seperates fact from fiction and continues coverage of this amazing story.

Here is a unofficial pick of 10 things that you should remember if you are shipwrecked. These tips come from Yan Martel’s prize-winning novelLife of Pi, via listverse.com

1. Shelter yourself. Exposure can kill faster than thirst or hunger.

2. Do not drink urine. Or sea water. Or bird blood

3. Do not eat jellyfish. Or fish that have spikes. Or fish that have parrot like beaks. OR that puff up like balloons.

4. Turtles are an easy catch and make for excellent meals. Their blood is a good, nutritious, salt-free drink; their flesh is tasty and filling; their fat has many uses; and the castaway will find turtle eggs a real treat. Mind the beak and the claws.

5. If a castaway is injured, beware of well-meaning but ill-founded medical treatment. Ignorance is the worst doctor, while rest and sleep are the best nurses.

6. Put your feet up at least 5 minutes every hour

7. Do not go swimming. It wastes energy. Besides, a survival craft may drift faster than you can swim. Not to mention the danger of sea life. If you are hot, wet your clothes instead.

8. As long as no excessive water is lost through perspiration, the body can survive up to 14 days without water. If you are thirsty, suck a button.

9. Beware of far-off clouds that look like mountains. Look for green. Ultimately, a foot is the only good judge of land.

10. Don’t let your morale flag. Be daunted but not defeated. Remember: the spirit, above all else, counts. If you have the will to live, you will. Good luck!

Have an Iridium, VHF or SSB handheld radio aboard? What about a portable GPS? Create an Abandon Ship Ditch Bag that is waterproof, floats and will survive a fire.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Buy a Pelican Case
• Stencil it with the ship’s Name
• Apply Solas Reflect Tape
• Laminate copies of the electronics’ manual
• Print and Laminate a list of emergency contact numbers

That’s pretty much it.

(This tip was suggested by Jean Pierre de Lutz. in his post “Sailing in Severe Weather Lessons Learned“.)

Video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

In August 2001 the Bulk Carrier Windoc was lined up on the Welland Canal’s Bridge 11 in Ontario Canada. After recieving the flashing amber approach light indicating that the bridge operator was aware of the vessel the captain lined up on the centerline and maintained a speed of 5 knots. Minutes later while the vessel was half way through the bridge started descending.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Bridge Team’s Story

When the vessel was approximately halfway under the bridge, the third officer observed that the bridge signal lights were solid red and the lift span was descending. At 2053, the master sounded a few blasts on the ship’s whistle. The master, without identifying himself or the bridge in question, called the TCC on VHF channel 14 about the lowering of the bridge. The master quickly stopped the engines and ordered an evacuation of the wheelhouse.The master and third officer left the wheelhouse by the starboard navigation bridge wing. As they proceeded down the external bridge access ladder, the span of the bridge struck the vessel in way of the wheelhouse front windows, subsequently destroying the vessel’s wheelhouse and funnel. The wheelsman remained at his station in the wheelhouse and lay down on the deck as the bridge span passed overhead. He freed himself from the debris and descended by the deckhouse stairwell alive.

Miraculously no one was killed in the event.

For detailed information on the incident visit:

• Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada’s Report
• The TSB’s brief synopsis
• TSB Photos of the incident.
• Huge list of Windoc Related Photos
• Photos of the bridge before incident.

Damage To The Wheelhouse

Remains of the Ship’s Radar

The Windoc During Better Days:

INTERVIEW WITH USCG RESCUE HELICOPTER CREW

This past July, in a gCaptain and Robin Storm exclusive, we brought you the Lessons Learned by North Atlantic freak wave survivor Jean Pierre de Lutz. Just two months prior to that article Jean was aboard the sailboat Sean Seamor II when he found trouble in the north Atlantic. In the final logbook entry he writes:

On or around 7 May 2007 the s/v Sean Seamour II was struck by a what is believed to be a “freak wave”, during Subtropical Storm Andrea. The sailboat was broadsided by a wave that did an great deal of damage to the boat and sent the crew flying about the cabin doing 360’s and causing its Master to break his ribs. The wave caused the sailboat to immediately list starboard.

After a harrowing time riding the waves a EPIRB signal was received by the USCG and a C-130 over fight located the wave riding crew. A J-Hawk Helicopter was dispatched to the area and launched a rescue swimmer, who injured his back during the insertion into the water, when a wave dropped from beneath him and he dropped some 50 to 70 feet. All of this done in 50 to 70 foot seas, with winds estimated at 80 knots.

Today we bring you an MAIS Podcast interview with the entire crew of the J-Hawk Helicopter that came to their rescue. It’s a story of survival in nature’s harshest conditions so be sure to listen.

THE HEROS

Aviation Survival Technician Second Class Drew D. Dazzo, H-60 Rescue Swimmer
Lieutenant Commander Nevada A. Smith, H-60 Aircraft Commander
Lieutenant Junior Grade Aaron G. Nelson, H-60 Copilot
Aviation Maintenance Technician Second Class Scott D. Higgins, H-60 Flight Mechanic

Read the Award Ceremony Minutes HERE.

THE VIDEO

Click here to view the embedded video.

Background Reading

• 10 Lessons Learned For Sailing in Severe Weather
• s/v Sean Seamour II – the final log entry
• Rogue Waves – A Call To Action
• EPIRB Failure aboard the “Sean Seamour”
• Top 10 Rescue at Sea Videos from the U.S. Coast Guard
• The Deadliest Catch – Rogue Wave Edition
• The Sean Seamour III

MAIS Special Report – Rescue on The High Seas;

The BBC has a great photo slideshow of the M/V Ice Prince sinking. You can find it HERE.

Last night the timber ship M/V Ice Prince became unstable and was abandoned in the English Channel. The Press Association tells us:

Attempts are to be made to take in tow a storm-hit cargo ship from which 20 crew were dramatically rescued in the Channel on Sunday night.

The Greek-registered Ice Prince is still listing heavily and drifting around 33 miles off the south Devon coast.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokesman Fred Caygill said salvors were on the way to the abandoned vessel, and it was hoped they would try to take it in tow around mid-morning.

It has not been decided where the stricken ship will be taken, said Mr Caygill, adding: “It depends where we can get her in.”

He said the French tug Abeille Liberte was standing by the vessel, which still had a 40-degree list and was drifting east. Read More…

The BBC has video of the difficult rescue HERE.

It was a bad day for mariners world-wide as tradewinds reports of two more incidents:

• Bulker sinks off Taiwan, 12 missing
  
• Car Carrier aground off Norfolk

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Here’s the arial view;

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Finally, here’s how they test these boats:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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For more info on the history behind these types of lifeboats visit NOVA’s “Pioneers of Survival – An Interview with Martin Verhoef“.

This week’s topics include;

• Listener Comments
  • Antarctic Cruise Ship Sinking
  • Sinking of the Texas Clipper
• Pasha Bulker Incident Report – Photos HERE
• 9 Days on raft after losing keel

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