Desperate Marine Solutions

Fantastic comment Jehardiman - so true. The challenge of doing something because you have to - be it the hard life of the old sailing boats, to life and death survival tasks.

Our memories are never of the days sat in front of the TV - its the battles won that stand out.

 

Ok, you made up for it. I went and looked up the story - a true horror story. I remember now seeing a TV program about it years ago.

http://www.ralphmag.org/AF/whale.html

"The tongue hardens into what McGee describes as "a senseless weight, swinging on the still-soft root and striking foreignly against the teeth." Speech becomes impossible, although sufferers are known to moan and bellow. Next is the "blood sweats" phase, involving a "progressive mummification of the initially living body." The tongue swells to such proportions that it squeezes past the jaws. The eyelids crack and the eyeballs begin to weep tears of blood. The throat is so swollen that breathing becomes difficult, creating an incongruous yet terrifying sensation of drowning. Finally, as the power of the sun inexorably draws the remaining moisture from the body, there is "living death..."

 

Voyages all involve running towards something or running away from something. But you don't necessarily need to know which you are doing.

I've looked over a bunch of craft that made it from Cuba. There is also a terrific movie about the building of a boat in Cuba during the Mariel boatlift.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Against_Wind_and_Tide:_A_Cuban_Odyssey

several of the boats have been made by stealing the skin off the side of a semi trailer. They then had to make the boat and get away before it was noticed.

one boat had just a cut for the prop shaft. A towel was held in place with the helmsman's foot to seal the shaft. V8 motor. No waterpump, no fuel pump, no exhaust manifold, no starter(?). One guy poured cooling water into a funnel and it ran out the bottom and a different guy bailed it over the side. The motor was just sitting on some loose boards. And that one made it to the Tortugas!

 

Thats fantastic, that has to be the ultimate so far - gotta admire the nerve of the guys, what a trip.

 

How about the kid who volunteered to be supper?

I am not sure I could do that ....

 

I presume your are referring about the Essex story. My guess is that he felt so bad that it seemed like a good idea.

You know, a bit like seasickness "First you feel so sick that you are scared you might die, then you feel so sick that you are scared you might not"

 

Yeah. To draw straws to see if you will be eaten .... That ranks above drowning as a way I don't want to go.

I didn't think sea sick was that bad .... but, I have a high tolerance to motion sickness. My aunt doesn't .... I can talk to her about motion sickness and she gets sick.

Not saying I want it, just it was not as bad as I thought it would be, and I COULD not sleep with it. That did seem to make it worse.

 

Eating sick kids is sick.

 

Well, that is what they did ....

 

There is always the largest desperate marine solution ....

The USS Indianapolis.

Not sure if swimming together is considered innovative or not. But, some survived.

 

There have certainly been some "desperate solutions" adopted at sea by stricken sailors with no food left, including the dish known as "long pig" !