Years ago I read about two British sailors who proved that a stranded sailor could survive drinking seawater if he started drinking it immediately before he became dehydrated. They set out in a lifeboat, drank only seawater, and survived for weeks. Who were these guys, is it OK to drink seawater, and is this now generally accepted and taught in ocean survival training?
I’d be highly suspicious of that story. The problem with desperate measure beverages such as seawater and urine is that the dissolved salts can require more water to eliminate than you drank in the first place. I’m not sure what difference drinking seawater before they became dehydrated would make. I’m skeptical but I’ve seen stranger things.
You might ask ChiefScott but when I was in the navy the made it absolutely clear that we should not drink seawater. Lifeboats are usually equipped with inflatable solar stills, which make it simple to get drinkable water. I’ve made and used solar stills that suck moisture right out of the ground. Better than making like Quick Draw McGraw and plugging a saguaro for a cup of cactus juice. I’ve heard it tastes terrible.
Small amounts of salts will help the body retain its water, so if you had a ton of pure water with you on a life boat, I suppose it would be wise to sip a little sea water from time to time. Surviving on sea water alone is a whole different matter, as it just isn’t possible. You’ll dehydrate faster from drinking sea water then drinking nothing at all. A healthy human being can survive 5 days without water, and a few more if you drink your own urine. I really don’t think you can keep this on for weeks however, and I suggest you check your source again.
p.s. I couldn’t find any authoritative source on the net, but I think you might find this to be of some interest.
In the TV movie detailing the sinking of the Indianapolis, as the survivors were going cuckoo, one of them said something like, “Dive–there’s fresh water 10 feet down.”
Don’t know if that happened IRL.
The story I read, IIRC, said that if you had fresh water in the first place, you could make it last longer by supplementing it with sea water. That makes more sense, I think.
Your brain-in-a-jar,
Myron
Imbibo, ergo sum.
Here comes that urine drinking thing again. Well, at least youllhave something to drink to survive.
Indeed, it did happen IRL. Many men survived the sinking of the Indy, only to drown themselves while suffering from this delusion. In addition to believing that there was fresh water just below the surface, many of the delerious sailors became convinced that the sunken ship was only a few feet below them, and all they had to do was swim down to the galley where the cook would serve them up a roastbeef sandwich and a cold beer.
These delusions would start in the head of one sailor who would mention it to his crewmates nearby. About half the sailors would correctly conclude that the fellow was nuts, but the other half would be in such a sorry mental state, that they would buy into the delusion enough to pass it on to others and/or drown themselves.
This phenomenon is common to several castaway stories and it’s suprising how similar the delusions are. There’s a great book called Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls by Edward E. Leslie. The “fresh water just below the surface” delusion has been experienced by sailors of dozens of nationalities and eras.
As for drinking salt water; do so only as a last resort and in small amounts. Urine, the blood of fish and seabirds, and dew are all much better options.