Twenty months stranded on a sub Antarctic island

The ship was captained by Musgrave with Raynal, a Frenchman, as the first mate, three other crew were hired as cook and seamen. When they got to Campbell Island and searched it thoroughly they were unable to find any ore, so they left that island and pulled up to the Auckland Islands determined to see if there was anything there, even seals for a load of seal oil. a common commodity in those days before petroleum. As they navigated close the the shore in a sort of harbor, they dropped anchor, soon finding that the chain was not long enough nor of sturdy quality, due to tight funding of the investors, to securely grab bottom, and under gale force winds they soon crashed into the jagged rock along the shore, tearing the bottom into gaping holes.

In the end it was 20 months before rescue, during that time the investors had not made any real effort to mount a search. The crew endured through a tough winter, but it was never really warm and pleasant any time of the year. About six months after the shipwreck of the Grafton another ship, the Invercauld, a larger vessel with a crew of 25 shipwrecked on the other side of the same island. They were rescued 12 months later.

In the end both crews were rescued, but with far different results. From the Grafton all five crew survived with little long term ill effects. From the Invercauld 22 of the 25 crew died, leaving only three survivors.

There were some factors which caused the Invercauld to lose more men, these due to the type of wreck and the time of year; however, one of the most significant factors was a near total lack of leadership by the captain or anyone else. In both cases and in most survival experiences what is done in the first hours or days sets the tone, and has dramatic consequences on the outcome, be it weeks or months later. Below are a list of some critical things done or not done by each crew. The accomplishments by Captain Musgrave and his crew are truly amazing, and are due to his overall optimism and getting the most value out of each crew member. This is not to say Captain Musgrave was positive 100% of the time, there were many times all of the crew wondered if they would ever make it out of there, but optimistic thoughts and plans kept rising to the top like cream in a jar of fresh whole milk.

• Immediately set about getting all usable items from the wreckage
• Quickly set up emergency shelter for all
• Once established organized new leadership, since they weren’t on the ship anymore old positions and jobs no longer mattered. They elected Captain Musgrave as leader. This made them willing to follow him and contribute.
• Built a 16 x 24 foot shelter with wood walls and thatched with 5000 bundles of grass, it had a chimney made of stones, a wood floor, and even windows salvaged from the wreck
• Made thread by unraveling sail cloth and spinning it into new thread
• Saved a gun from the wreck to hunt seals and other animals
• When they decided to try to build a boat to escape, they built a blacksmith forge and made hundreds of nails, bolts, saw blades, other tools and needed items
• When they had extra meat they salted and smoked it to try to preserve it for times when they could get nothing.
• They started a school in the evenings, realizing that each man knew something the others did not, so they took turns teaching each other. This strengthened the bonds with each other and developed a good camaraderie.

• The ship sank at once so not much of supplies could be gathered
• The captain was despondent most of the time and made little effort to lead the crew. He continued to act as captain of a ship and the lower hands were his servants, and he did nothing
• There was no unity, almost an every man for himself attitude
• The Crew split into many factions going different directions
• Even when better circumstances were located, there was no leader encouraging the men to move on. Many lay down and died.
• There were a couple of cases of cannibalism
• There was little trust by one man of another, leading to many sleepless nights
• There was much apathy and laziness as others mimicked the captains demeanor
• If not for one lowly seaman, Holden, none would have lived. He explored found and built shelter, gathered, hunted and found food, while most of the others lay around doing nothing.

These are just a few of the significant points. Without a doubt the Invercauld would have lost many crew due to circumstances alone, however the deaths may have been half as many had Captain Dalgarno exercised the kind of leadership that Musgrave did.

In some of the courses I have taken related to survival and disaster response, it was noted that when disaster strikes the vast majority of people wait to be told what to do. It is then incumbent on each of us to train and practice to the best of our abilities, and if the need arises, to stand up and be leaders. Not to be a leader for aggrandizement, but for the welfare of all. In the stories of these two shipwrecks leadership made the difference between life and death.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Here’s the deal, none of us know what each new day will bring us, we have no idea about an accident, a natural disaster, civil unrest, a breakdown or any of hundreds of possible scenarios. To help out in determining what your minimums are, which is what EDC really is, the least gear you can tolerate having on hand at all times, look at your life Sunday through Saturday and imagine if something serious came up during your normal every day schedule, what do you think is essential?

Most EDC’s seem to be more geared around the minimums carried when in the wilderness, but the fact of the matter is, for most people they are only in that situation weekly or monthly, what about the rest of the time? How about travel to and from work? It would seem more likely that something, were it to happen, would eventually occur during the activities where we spend the greatest percentage of our time.

What EDC do you carry to work, to your kids football game; what EDC gear do you have on you when you go to church, or to a business meeting? If it’s truly Every Day Carry, shouldn’t that be what you never leave home without?

Here are some ideas to use in analyzing what a real EDC should contain

• Multi Functionality in order to maximize the value of the item
• An indispensable tool
• Shelter, either a shelter item or means to create one
• Fire, at least one reliable way to produce fire
• Water, not likely water itself, but means to obtain, although I am seldom without my water bottle
• Medical, a few small items

Our Wilderness Innovation Mini EDC, or equivalent  is an absolute bare minimum. The kit contains our Fire Starting Kit (FSK), and a Victorinox Hike/Camper knife. The FSK allows nearly anyone the ability to easily create a fire, it is exceptionally reliable. The Victorinox multi function knife is a sturdy top quality tool with two knife blades, a saw, drill/reamer, awl, openers, screw drivers, tweezers, etc. I feel it is essential to not compromise on this tool as it will likely be used in an abusive manner in tough situations and any inferior copy cat type tool may likely fail you when you need it most.

This Mini EDC can be worn on a belt and hardly noticed, it can be special ordered without a logo in order to be more discreet. I carry mine in a suit pocket if that’s what I have on, or at times I hang it inside my pants with a short loop of paracord looped around my belt and through the “D” ring, in this manner it is unnoticeable except during a pat down. I always stash a 20 foot hank of 550 paracord in a pocket as well.

I carry this kit or it’s equivalent everywhere. Also my Bug-Out-Bag (BOB) is always with me or near me. Even so the key thing to consider is that anything not on your person is separated from you and there is the possibility that if it is not on you, it might as well be in Timbuktu. The more you can reasonably have on your person, the safer you are.

Realistically it would be ideal if you also had a container to boil water in, but that can be difficult if you are in an office setting. A space blanket could be stowed without too much trouble as a shelter aid, I have experimented with vacuum packing the space blanket to make it thinner.

In reality EDC is one of the toughest preparedness kit items to do properly in every day life, it does not lend itself very readily to a modern office environment, for example. I can do it pretty well and am always refining things in a way that is convenient, and discreet, yet functional. I welcome your ideas, let me know what you have found helpful. It would be very profitable to collect these ideas and publish them for others to use as they evaluate how to work what is really essential into a personal EDC.

Thanks so much for reading these blogs during the past year, watching our videos on our YouTube Channel, for your comments and your incredible support at our website. We have many new and improved products and ideas coming up in 2012, including a nicer delivery of these blog posts to you.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

What is Needed:

• PET plastic bottles, clear, labels removed, free of scratches and no larger than three liters in volume. I recommend keeping it at two liters just to be sure (less than 4″ diameter). These are the bottles typically used for bottled water, and soda. Look on the bottom to determine if a bottle is PET.

• Reasonably clear water, you may have to strain it to make the water transparent enough. You should easily be able to read a newspaper headline through the bottle of water.
• Six hours of sunshine

• No chemicals needed
• No filter cartridges needed
• No fuel for stoves or fires to boil water is needed
• PET bottles are everywhere just save the ones you use already
• Virtually unlimited number of gallons can be made usable

A Brooklyn girl in her twenties, Helen Klaben, who had never been anywhere, but had recently relocated to Alaska just for the sake of adventure and to find some meaning in her life answered his ad, she thought it would be fun to see California and San Francisco in particular.

After leaving Fairbanks they went to Whitehorse to stop and refuel. They wound up being laid over there a couple days due to bad weather. Finally it was good enough to take off. At eleven a.m. the plane lifted off headed for Fort St. John, British Columbia some six hundred miles away. During this leg of the trip the weather turned on them and while trying to find a way to get clear, the plane crashed in the vast spruce forest, the wings were ripped off and the plane was violently battered before coming to a stop. Helen’s first thoughts once the commotion was over, was the realization that they had survived, and she thought to herself, “Hey, I’m alive.” Little did she know what lay ahead for her and Ralph.  Both of them had sustained injuries that limited what they could do and their mobility. Helen’s arm was broken and her foot injured. Ralph was severely cut and bleeding.

Once they took care of the first aid needs, they started to assess their situation. For one it was stormy and forty below zero. Below is a list of what they had to work with.

• 4 cans of sardines
• 2 cans of tuna fish
• 2 cans of fruit salad
• 1 box of saltine crackers
• 1/2 bottle of protein pills
• 1/2 bottle of multi-vitamins
• 5 pieces of chocolate
• 2 tablespoons of Tang
• 1 box of matches
• 3 books of matches
• Helen’s suitcase of clothes
• 2 mirrors
• 1 Binocular
• Several quart oil cans (in those days the cans were metal)
• 3 small knives

There was no survival kit of any kind on the plane, although there were a few tools, like a hammer and a chisel. Helen had brought only clothing for California weather. There were no sleeping bags or blankets, no boots, no snowshoes, no tent. The second day after the crash the temperature dropped to 48 deg below zero. They felt it was best to use the plane as shelter, which meant that they could have no fire while in the plane, due to fire hazard.

Helen and Ralph were rescued 49 days later!!

The only pots they had were the oil cans, that is what they used to melt snow in for drinking. As you can see from above there was little food available. They went the final five weeks with no food at all, after the first two weeks with very little. Helen said the hunger pains went away after about three days without food. When she was rescued and offered food, she was not hungry and had to make herself eat.

The hammer and chisel were used by Ralph to get firewood. They made crude mukluks by wrapping their feet in sweaters, then they took canvas they ripped out of the plane and  tied it around to make a covering. They were pretty resourceful in making use of what they had.

Two things that really hurt them were staying in the plane for shelter and Helen had decided to limit her water intake since she hated to get out of the plane in the bitter cold to go to the bathroom. In the last two weeks before they were rescued Ralph made snowshoes and started exploring; he found an area with an open meadow where he stamped SOS in 75 foot tall letters. During his eight days away exploring he found a nice spot to move to and built a lean to. He went back and got Helen, he made a sled out of fuselage metal, and hauled it piled with all the gear they could fit to the new location. To Helen it was like heaven being in the lean to with a fire going all the time in front of her, she could finally actually sleep.

The mirrors they had were the means of attracting planes and finally the rescue.

The story is interesting, there are so many things they did wrong and they had so little in terms of food and gear to help them. Helen says she never once thought she was going to die, and Ralph was always on the go, persistent, positive, and never giving up.

After their rescue, while being checked out in the hospital, it is amazing that they were found to be very healthy, except for the result of their injuries. Helen had lost about 20% of her body weight, Ralph lost almost 60 pounds.

The book is an interesting read, I had read it probably 20 years ago and recently got a copy and read it again. The first time I read it in kind of a sterile manner, just searching for the survival facts, this time my experience was more organic, I was drawn very much to their feelings and attitudes. One can conclude that the mental state of these two is what got them through it all, really they should have died many times, but did not, they pushed through and kept trying. Helen’s part in the experience was very emotional and mental, while Ralph seems to be the one working hard physically to improve things and to find a way out.

If you find a copy of the book, get it, it is very worth while to read, there is much a person can learn from what Helen and Ralph went through.

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”

Grandpa had such an interesting life and was always full of stories, interesting anecdotes, and wise counsel. He had quite a sense of humor, I think that’s where I got mine from, he could laugh or make a joke out of anything, so much so that grandma would chide him at times for being a bit too jovial, one too many jokes in his talk at church for example.

During the summers he was a beekeeper and was very busy with that, in the winter he tinkered with woodworking and with slicing stones such as geodes with his diamond saw, to see what was inside.

One thing I distinctly remember was a wooden plaque with a thought on it, he had a number of them he had collected, this one though, I was always drawn to, so much so, that at a young age, I memorized it, and amazingly enough, I still remember it. It applies very well in our lives. It goes like this.

Why Worry?

Exhaustive research of rescue reports over decades of time, shows that food for example is almost never a factor in living or dying during a survival episode, that alone eliminates a lot of hassles.

Barring medical or first aid difficulties, a normal person who can make themselves comfortable enough to sleep about eight hours a day and drink plenty of water will be able to maintain their core body temperature at acceptable levels, and can live a month or more with little else.

Where knowledge, skills and gear come in, is that your abilities with these things is what allows you to adapt to a given situation and take care of those couple of essential things until you are rescued, which incidentally, is usually less than two days.

So there are Only Two things to Worry About!

Note on picture above, this is my late grandfather on the left and my father on the right who died earlier this year, to both of whom I owe so much and also miss deeply.

Most likely you’ll only really need your survival gear when you don’t have it, so if you ALWAYS take it, it’s kinda like insurance against Mr. Murphy and his crazy law.

Well I was all set to write a blog on another subject when my automatic web search plopped a story in my lap that was too good to pass up, perfectly timed for the season as well. Let me begin by stating that people sometimes try to poke fun at me, because I always have my Bug Out Bag with me. I tell them I’d just like to be more comfortable if something were to go wrong. Before getting into the story from the Anchorage Daily News, I’d like to note the following observation from about a week ago.

It was just beginning to get light outside, I had let my car warm up for about 10 minutes to defrost all the windows. The temperature outside was 8 degrees F, and a steady wind was blowing as it does about 364 days out of the year in my town. I stopped by the gas station to top off my tank, before heading South twenty five miles to the Wilderness Innovation shop to work for the day. I got the gas pumping, and while waiting I started to look around at all the others. I saw a number of people dressed for the chill, and I saw others dressed for a day at the office driving a desk. On the next island over a young man was pumping gas for his car, he had on a thin cotton casual shirt, short sleeves. I watched him intently as he braced himself against the wind, waiting for that familiar click, signaling the tank being full. I could tell he was anxious to get back in his warm car.

What it is and what it is not

• It is not insulation nor is it an insulator. The material itself quickly becomes the same temperature as the environment
• It is not actually a blanket, it is more a sheet or film, although I’ll refer to it that way due to common convention
• It is PET film coated with a thin layer of aluminum
• It is compact and light in weight
• It is not breathable at all
• It is somewhat fragile
• It does not generate any heat
• It is a reflector, like a mirror
• It can be used as a large signal mirror
• It can reflect as much as 90% of infrared radiation
• It is in our Core Survival Kit at right, (formerly Off-Road Survival Kit)

Many years ago shortly after graduating from High School, I was a guide on Deer Hunt when we got trapped in the tops of some mountains by a sudden snow storm. The day had been warm and nice, we were in shirts and had some thin windbreakers with us. The storm seemed to appear out of nowhere, as can be common in the mountains. We were not able to get back to camp till morning. I remember pulling out my space blanket and wrapping it around me expecting to soon feel the warmth. I was sorely disappointed as anywhere I had direct contact with the blanket it was freezing cold, and the wind did not help as it pressed the blanket against me. I did find that if there was a space between me and the blanket I could feel the warmth, I soon abandoned it however, as it seemed useless to me at the time. We got through the storm very well, by making a tall circular windbreak of sage brush and building a fire in the middle. We slept through the night, awaking to a nice layer of snow everywhere except our little alcove shelter.

Today I still carry the Space Blanket and I love it, I love it for what it does so well. After that first experience I learned more about the material, it’s nature and what it could realistically do for me.

In a survival situation use the Space or Emergency Blanket as a mirror. It functions much the same as a solar oven or a reflector oven, changing the direction of travel of IR radiation. My favorite way to use the blanket is as a lean-to or incorporated in the wall or roof of a shelter that uses fire for heating, see picture at right. It can be used alone in cold but not too windy weather, here’s a link to a video on this application. Duct tape can be used to reinforce stress points.

Using duct tape alone or with pins the Space Blanket can be attached to a tarp. This makes it much more durable and versatile. If you can set up a shelter facing South with a clear view of the sun, the blanket can even be laid on the ground to reflect energy from the sun up into your shelter.

Medically it has been used in a mild environment next to the skin to reflect body heat back and to humidify the air around the body of a patient. In hot weather the blanket can be used to reflect heat away. In short just think of it as a mirror to reflect heat and it will simplify things for you. Since it is waterproof, it can shed rain water, either wrapped around a person, or incorporated in a shelter roof. It can also be used as a catch basin for rain water, when supplies are short.

So there’s the short story on using the Emergency Space Blanket, be sure to watch our YouTube Channel for upcoming additional videos showing various uses.

Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival.”

It’s still dark, just after five a.m., the air is freezing, a biting breeze scours my face as I walk the two miles to the bus stop, and as is often the case my mind wanders to assorted thoughts. This morning I seem to be captivated by a certain theme, thankfulness.

I’m thankful that I am in good enough health to make this trek early each morning and return each night, for a nice cabin to live in, for the warm fire, for my sweet and unbelievably encouraging wife, for my children and grandchildren, for my ancestors, and for my freedom. The list could go on and on I know, I look at the stars in the dark sky and wonder, imagining all that is out there, and yet here am I, down here, with my life and the world all around me.

It’s a quiet morning on the bus, all the University students are off, many of the various workers are off as well, tomorrow being Thanksgiving Day. Our driver Doug is not in his usual “petal to the metal” rush, I hope I make my next connection, normally there’s just a moment to spare.

Last weekend Beau and Ben and also my son Jacob went camping. There was a forecast for snow and we wanted to be in it. We had a great time cooking dinner, and chatting around the fire till late in the night. Just as we were making our way to our beds, snowflakes began to fall, and I was thankful. I love the quiet that comes as the snow begins to fall, a certain peacefulness and calm surrounds us.

I make my last bus transfer that takes me near our shop, not the familiar smiling Evelyn, our normal bus driver, but a holiday substitute, I’ll have to watch more carefully today so I don’t miss my stop, since he doesn’t know my routine.

In the morning as I awoke comfortable in my hammock, I peeked out from under the little canopy overhead, my mind raced, I got a little adrenaline rush as I saw the thick layer of snow on the ground. My feet were cozy in two pair of thick wool socks as I emerged from my little cocoon type sleeping shelter. I put my feet into the soft fresh snow. It felt similar to the days at the beach, my feet in the deep sand. I walked around camp stocking footed, like a kid on Christmas morning, looking at how nature had decorated all around us with the exquisite white snow.

Daylight is just starting to emerge over the snow-capped peaks as the bus climbs the hill that signals entry into the small town where our shop is located. And again I am thankful for a wonderful day, for the possibilities that await.

Beau and Ben had pitched their hammocks under the large PST or tarp, there was snow all about, and bare ground underneath. I walked past their quarters to the edge of the trees, I looked down to the creek, it’s chilly waters tumbling over rocks and winding down the canyon, it’s edges outlined by puffy banks of snow. Looking back towards camp I see the beauty of our tarps and hammocks suspended above the snow.

I pull on the cord to signal the driver that my stop is next. I put away the computer and put on my backpack. As always I exit the bus at the front, telling the driver in my usual way, “thank you, have a great day.” The streets look deserted this morning as the holiday is underway for many. The air has warmed some since I started out from home earlier, I can see the mountains plainly now as I walk the quarter mile to the South edge of town to the shop. It’s a beautiful day, and I am thankful.

I am reminded of a story I read in the paper on Sunday about a group of girls on their way to an activity in Wyoming when their car slid on icy roads, through a guardrail, then plunged 150 feet landing in an icy creek. The vehicle was smashed, some were seriously injured, to ease the tension the girls began to sing a church song titled, “Count Your Many Blessings.” Now who in that circumstance does that? For most people it’s instantly about the serious trouble they are in. Singing that song showed they had hope and though injured, thankful to be alive, and that’s a perfect place to start. For the full story and pictures read here

“Survival is about being thankful every day, for without it there is no hope, and without hope there is no survival.” -PDP

 

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival.”

There is something called the “Rule of Three’s” the common version goes like this-

• Three minutes without air
• Three days without water
• Three weeks without food
• Three months without social contact

There are lots of memories of the past, and of all the things that don’t really change is the news stories of lost hunters, stranded hunters, unprepared hunters, bad turns in the weather with rain and snow. This year will likely be like all the rest that I can remember, same things, different people.

Nothing will ever change unless people change, you can’t change the earth, it’s going to do what its going to do. It’s guaranteed that equipment and transportation will fail for a good number of hunters, that’s not going to change, odds are a certain amount of that will happen.

“Don’t worry about everything, just the things you can control, the rest will take care of itself”

The only way we get an edge up on the things beyond our influence, is by preparation. We get ourselves ready for the eventualities by preparing. When Mr. Murphy comes calling we have an option, we have a plan.

All summer long I’ve seen people out sighting in their rifles, and shooting round after round, so as to be in practice. The sad thing is so many will go to all that trouble with the gun, then for everything else it’s just throw it in the trailer, hardly any thought given.

Some suggestions:

Have some personal gear that you always have on you while hiking around

• Personal Survival Kit with items like in our Off Road Survival Kit
•  Personal Shelter such as a tarp or our 3 function PSS Personal Survival Shelter that is a Poncho, Tarp, and Hammock all in one, (available now via email on contact page, soon to the website). Video
• Water and means of procuring more
•  Have a knowledge of the area you are in, where roads are and some general directions
•  Travel safe, most people that wind up in serious trouble don’t have on their person the things they need for survival.

Remember Sir Edmund Hillary’s goal to be the first to climb Mt Everest, his goal was not simply to climb it, it was to climb it and return safely. Have the same goals for yourself, above all to return safely.

Look for us at the Self Reliance Expo, booth 303, in Sandy, UT Oct 7&8, 2011

Until next time this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”