Adrift by Steven Callaghan is a true story of a single hander who was lost at sea for 76 days in the Atlantic ocean. It is an awe inspiring story of courage and endurance.
Without spoiling the plot, it is safe to say that he survived (how else would he have written the book).
What I took away from the story is a few things with regards to abandoning ship.
1. A satellite phone of some sorts is almost essential as no one would know that you are lost until many days after your expected arrival date in the next port. Imagine abandoning ship 1 week into a 4 week passage that could take up to 6 weeks. There are at least 5 weeks before people would start to wonder where you are…
2. EPIRB used in conjunction with the sat phone to help with pinpointing your position and notifying the authorities.
3. A handheld VHF is very useful as 9 ships passed him by and did not see his flares.
4. Handheld GPS to let the world know where you are.
5. Some form of solar still should be included in your grab bag (and jerry cans of water available to take into the life raft with you)
6. A small speargun proved very useful for catching life sustaining fish (line and hooks included in the liferaft kit bag less so)
7. Good book on survival at sea and how to cope would probably also be high on my list of what to stuff in the grab bag.
If the right people know within hours that you are in your life raft, the chances of rescue increase significantly.
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