I just finished reading The Raft by Robert Trumbull about 3 Navy men who lived for 34 days on a small raft after ditching their aircraft which ran out of fuel in the Pacific Ocean. It is a great read for anyone looking for something interesting. It is told from Harold Dixon's point of view who was the ranking officer in the boat. He was the natural leader of the group as the ranking officer, but it would have been a nice addition to the book to also get Gene Aldrich's and Tony Pastula's observations and point of view as well.
A few years ago I participated in a team building event for work. We traveled to Groton, CT to take an Aircraft Ditching and an Open Sea Survival course. I am horribly afraid of deep water and really can't swim at all. Pushed by peer pressure I said I would at least give it a try. Here's the link to the company http://www.survivalsystemsinc.com/. The hardest part for me was the aircraft ditching in the simulator. I was scared to death. It took every ounce of nerves I had to sit and stay seat belted while the simulator filled with water then turned this way and that until it finally came to a rest at which time we could find our reference point, unbuckle, find our exit and swim to the surface. My first question to the instructor was how many times do I need to do this to pass course? He said three. We had just watched a video of a woman who panicked and had to ditch 14 times. Although I felt panic the instructor said that was normal, it was what I did when I felt panic that mattered. Amazingly, I did the 3 ditching's to pass and even an extra one for good measure and lived. Needless to say I was extremely proud of myself.
The next day we went out into the sound and had to deploy a raft, get in, help the wounded in and such. It was so cold even with dry suits on, my hands felt like they were burning each time they touched the water.
So reading this book seemed appropriate for this month to remember what I had learned. I could not imagine surviving in a raft for even a day with or without supplies. What I learned from the simulated experience is a healthy dose of respect for those who actually survive emergency situations.
3 comments:
Sounds like a good book, It's always good to read about the things that people do survive. I just tell myself I can do anything, just don't make me jump off a high dive.....Yes, I am laughing!
Oh, that is a good memory!
My respect for you just jumped another few notches (not that it was low before :-)). Nothing like a panicky situation to see what we're made of.
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