The island is big and wooded in parts, How do they survive?

[wolram]

A group of ten to twenty people are ship wrecked on a desert island, they
have basic hand tools and food and water that will last for two days, no
one knows they survived the ship wreck, so no chance of rescue.
The island is big and wooded in parts, How do they survive?

 

[Berislav]

Last man standing dines well?

 

[hypatia]

First build shelter.
find a source of fresh water, if you can't find water, make water traps, collected from organic matters{Watch Voyage of the MIMI}.
Then look for food, never eat anything washed up on shore. Look for fruits and berries.
Make and maintain fires
explore the island..then go have drinks at the resort on the other side.

 

[wolram]

First build shelter.
find a source of fresh water, if you can't find water, make water traps, collected from organic matters{Watch Voyage of the MIMI}.
Then look for food, never eat anything washed up on shore. Look for fruits and berries.
Make and maintain fires
explore the island..then go have drinks at the resort on the other side.

Sorry Hypatia, but there is no resort on the side, if you knew that it could
be years before being rescued, if ever, what things would you have to make?
what about clothing, hygene, medical supplys etc.

 

[hypatia]

well clothing would be optional, at that point, who cares? But I do know how to make palm leaf hats.
Sanitary needs...pits dug a goodly distance from where your shelter is, you can even lay 2 logs on the edge and a make a seat. Put a little sand on top after each use.
Bathing is done with sand in the ocean.
Cuts and bruises and bumps, go directly into the ocean. To bring down fevers, I would also toss you into the drink, or cover you with mud.{keeping in mind the 4 basics of medicen, hot, cold, wet, dry}
Mud also works well to keep bugs off of you. And mixed with a sweet sap, will help sun burns, rashes.
I would start experimenting with different plants/roots and inner tree barks.

 

[Lisa!]

They should cut all the trees!

 

[brewnog]

No matter where this island was, the first priority would be sorting out a source of clean water, although how this was done would depend on the location, resources, and circumstances. Secondly, if stranded in a group (as we are), a leadership system needs to be agreed, with attention paid to morale, discipline, distribution of expertise/ability, and possibly rationing. Loss of morale is one of the biggest indirect killers in these situations. Then we can start to think about things like sanitation (a latrine at least 3 metres deep, at least 500m away, and at least 100m downstream of any point on a river where water is taken from), and food and shelter (again, highly dependent on the environment).

Always been a bit of a survival geek, and have spent many weekends away living off the land, so to speak.

 

[hypatia]

But without shade or cloths..all your bare necessities would burn

 

[Lisa!]

Do we need to play with words to get the answer?

 

[hypatia]

After a few months I would be paying some mind to the stars/moon, wind direction, and make currant buoys, and start plotting seasonal shifts. Days of the week would no longer matter, but monthly cycles, will let you know when its time to celebrate hoildays, its good for moral.

I may begin plans to build a sea worthy raft.

 

[Astronuc]

A group of ten to twenty people are ship wrecked on a desert island, they
have basic hand tools and food and water that will last for two days, no
one knows they survived the ship wreck, so no chance of rescue.
The island is big and wooded in parts, How do they survive?

Please define basic hand tools. Does that include hatchet? Otherwise building things of wood or cutting trees is mighty difficult - although one can build a fire on fallen trunk and do it the way the Islanders did it. Then one could also look for hard and sharp rocks.

Fresh water first. Then half builds shelter and the other half scavenges for food.

Toilet facilities must be well away from freshwater and where fishing is likely.

Any shiny surface or surfaces to flash at passing ships or planes?

 

[rachmaninoff]

The island is big and wooded in parts

Well, if it's a large island, then they should start a fire, and burn the whole forest down. That would send up a large cloud of smoke, which would be visible from the NOAA weather satellites; some geologists or whatever would fly into investigate. In the meantime, they could survive on the barbecued remains of whatever indigenous wildlife used to live there. Also, it would be easier to find any natural water source or spring if there were no trees to block the view.

 

[wolram]

Astronuc

List of tools, hand axe , large bow saw, hammer, flares, needles. all salvaged
before the ship sank.

 

[wolram]

Do we need to play with words to get the answer?

No just think what you needed to do to stay alive, Brewy has mentioned
electing a leader, and some good points have been raised already, so lets
make life as easy as we can.

 

[wolram]

I have found a source of water but it is an 8hr round trip through thick jungle.

 

[1123581321]

first, find fresh water. this is the most important to survival, food and shelter can wait.
then, build a shelter near the water.
next, find berries and other edible plants, and make traps for game. also, learn to fish, PDQ.
Next, don't do anything stupid.
have signal fires ready to ignite in a visible spot
also, have something to signal a plane with.
one way to test if a plant is poisonous or not is to first, wipe it on your skin and wait. if irritation dosn't occur, then put some on your lip. if you are ok after a while, taste some, if ok, swallow a little bit.
i have never used this, i have had no need to, so it may not work as i said, but it should
also, some plants loose some poisonous qualities if you boil them, but not all.

fibonacci

 

[wolram]

Ok, we have ten men and ten women, we have some tools, and we know how
to look for food, should we elect a leader? knowing that we may be there for
years what sort of things should we build?

 

[Astronuc]

Is the island flat or does it have mountain/volcano/hills?

Give me the axe and let me get started on the shelter and dugouts. Interim shelters can be simple lean-to's.

Any reptiles/birds? Birds are good food in a pinch.

Certainly fish - spear fishing.

 

[hypatia]

I say make a council,so that no one person dictates to all. Sub groups, will naturally form with personalities, most people know what they are best at.

Ahh good we have a needle, threads can be made from tree/plant fibers.

 

[hypatia]

ok I've decided, the only 10 hour boat trip I'm ever going to go on with be with PF members.

 

[wolram]

Astronuc

The island Was volcanic, and has a range of hills , most of the island is jungle
with some grass land.

 

[wolram]

I say make a council,so that no one person dictates to all. Sub groups, will naturally form with personalities, most people know what they are best at.

How do we decide a leader? Who wants to be he or she? will laws be made?

 

[Astronuc]

How do we decide a leader?

Whoever is holding the axe. just kidding.

Acutally, I favor a democratic process along the lines of communal consensus. I don't see the need for a 'leader'. Presumably people know what needs to be done, and so each can volunteer for whatever job suits his or her ability.

Just let me build boats and do other heavy work. I also like to climb trees and height is not problem for me.

If I was planning an ocean excursion, then I would likely have a cellphone and GPS system with me - in a watertight bag - which I would likely wear.

Otherwise, I would certainly familiarize myself with the star field and position of the sun/moon, and I would refer to a map of the general region. That's just the way I am. I always know where I am - and I navigate by sun, moon and stars.

 

[wolram]

So do we build a shelter first, what about that long trek for water?
and Astro, you lost your cell phone and GPS with the rest of your gear.

 

[Astronuc]

So do we build a shelter first, what about that long trek for water?
and Astro, you lost your cell phone and GPS with the rest of your gear.

I would be inclined to campout near the water the first night. Presumably one needs vessels in which to transport water - or do we have such vessels with us? Otherwise we make some.

If there is forest/palms, we use natural shelter of the trees. Or we find a cave/caves.

What kind of trees do we have? Any cocounts?

Are we in the Pacific Ocean?

Besides birds, anything like wild pig or boar?

 

[wolram]

Astro


Are we in the Pacific Ocean?

Besides birds, anything like wild pig or boar?

We have wild boar, and yes let's be in the Pacific, i have not seen cocnuts yet
but there may be some elswhere, and we have to make every thing, we even
need clothing as we were all by the pool when the ship sank, we only had time
to grab the few tools we have.

 

[Andy]

If the waters 4 hours away i would suggest drinking lots before you come back to base camp. Either that or just set up camp near the water.

 

[Astronuc]

Well, with wild boar on the island, we'll have to be careful, especially the males and sows with young.

I'd say first camp by the water. Make water vessels if necessary. Make simple shelters. And look nearby for food.

As soon as we feel comfortable that the food and water is supplemented beyond 2 days, then we can start building boats, bigger shelters, plan for a signal tower or two. We certainly need more than two days water supply.

When I start working hard - my calorie intake goes way up. If I am doing heavy labor, I am consuming several thousand calories/day.

I would start looking for traces of boar, finding the trails and setting traps.

 

[DaveC426913]

A group of ten to twenty people are ship wrecked on a desert island, they
have basic hand tools and food and water that will last for two days, no
one knows they survived the ship wreck, so no chance of rescue.
The island is big and wooded in parts, How do they survive?

They wake up.

This is clearly a dream, as it cannot possibly be real.

Since when does a desert island wooded?

 

[Astronuc]

They wake up.

This is clearly a dream, as it cannot possibly be real.

Since when does a desert island wooded?

I think the term is deserted island - although lots of folks say desert island. Although it could be a dream and we are on a desserted island with lollipop trees, and streams of chocolate sauce and root beer, and gum drops - sounds like Willy Wonka.