Lost at sea: a man who vanished for 14 months (2015) • Hacker News Board

Re: Lost at sea: a man who vanished for 14 months (2015)

#31

Post by Mz » Sat, Oct 28, 2017, 3:53 PM UTC

gaius wrote: post #30

Mz wrote: post #13

I think this fascinates people in part because we sort of think it can't happen anymore. With 7 billion people, GPS, satellites, airplanes, cell phones, we think you can't get lost like this, you can't be so extremely alone. We think space is the only frontier left. It flies in the face of our mental models of our world. On top of that, it is an extraordinary personal experience that is fascinating for that aspect. S…

I think this fascinates people in part because we sort of think it can't happen anymore. Over 10 years ago, I did the training you do if you want to be offshore crew. Loads of fun stuff like righting a capsized lifeboat in a training pool in full kit while someone sprays you in the face with a firehose. Anyway even back then we were taught: the era of epic survival stories is over, because with the proliferation of P…

Yes, we are so convinced it cannot happen anymore that people are claiming he made it up, it is fraud. All the verifiable evidence seems to suggest veracity of the story, but many people simply cannot accept that this is even possible anymore.

Re: Lost at sea: a man who vanished for 14 months (2015)

#32

Post by KGIII » Sat, Oct 28, 2017, 4:57 PM UTC

Mz wrote: post #13

I think this fascinates people in part because we sort of think it can't happen anymore. With 7 billion people, GPS, satellites, airplanes, cell phones, we think you can't get lost like this, you can't be so extremely alone. We think space is the only frontier left. It flies in the face of our mental models of our world. On top of that, it is an extraordinary personal experience that is fascinating for that aspect. S…

I live in the continental United States. Hell, I'm not even that remote. I have DSL and cell service that borders on effective, depending on the season and weather. It's not like I live in Alaska.

People get lost here, all the damned time. They even have cell phones but don't realize they are useful for more than driving directions. Yes, I have gone out and 'rescued' people (plural) who had no signal but had GPS on their phone.

However, once in a while, we don't find them. Sometimes, we never find them. This is just northern Franklin County, Maine. If you follow some pretty simple rules, you'll be just fine. If not, Mother Nature is a powerful force and may very well kill you.

This is nothing compared to the vastness of the ocean.

Re: Lost at sea: a man who vanished for 14 months (2015)

#33

Post by ObeyTheGuts » Sat, Oct 28, 2017, 6:18 PM UTC

Mz wrote: post #13

I think this fascinates people in part because we sort of think it can't happen anymore. With 7 billion people, GPS, satellites, airplanes, cell phones, we think you can't get lost like this, you can't be so extremely alone. We think space is the only frontier left. It flies in the face of our mental models of our world. On top of that, it is an extraordinary personal experience that is fascinating for that aspect. S…

i voluntierly sail alone for months in very small boat, i never understood why people start talking inanimate objects and such, i feel great alone and cut off, but ye in vast ocean you realise civilization is still just small pockets on earths surface

Re: Lost at sea: a man who vanished for 14 months (2015)

#34

Post by emilga » Sun, Oct 29, 2017, 5:51 AM UTC

chrissnell wrote: post #5

I read a great book back in the '80s called "Adrift", the story of Steven Callahan, who survived 76 days lost at sea. At the time, it was believed to have been the longest solo survival-at-sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Callahan https://www.amazon.com/Adrift-Seventy-six-Days-Lost-Sea/dp/0... Unlike the man in OP's story, Callahan was adrift in a small life raft and had only a tiny emergency kit aboard with…

Ray Mears explored this event on Extreme Survival: https://youtu.be/cIJ7cI2aIwc

It includes an interview with Steve and a demonstration of how he patched the hole in his raft.

A brilliant show!