Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean • Hacker News Board

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#91

Post by philbarr » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 1:59 PM UTC

narag wrote: post #73

philbarr wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? You said: > Divers' suits are not dry Wetsuits are wet. Drysuits are dry. Sometimes divers wear wetsuits, and some of the more experienced ones wear drysuits.

It's getting ridiculously difficult to write something in HN without receiving some absurd answers like that. The comment I responded to said that divers use drysuits so this guy should be wearing one. No matter how you put it, the article says that the guy used a wetsuit. Please, stop for a moment and let this little fact sink: the guy wore a wetsuit and the article clearly states this much. Yes, I could have said t…

> Oh, and the fact that people use downvoting to "win" these petty fights.

I didn't downvote you - and in general I don't downvote.

You stated a factually incorrect statement originally and I corrected you. Maybe you meant to say something else but you actually didn't.

> Yes, I could have said that NOT ALL Divers' suits are dry.

That would have really helped. This is HN, a lot of us are coders, you can expect us to be picky.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#92

Post by jessaustin » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 2:05 PM UTC

juliendorra wrote: post #33

mixmastamyk wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the Philippines?

Hypothermia starts at relatively high temperature (naked, below 25°c if I remember well) There are records of people dying after hours of being exposed to 14°c without proper clothing (actually in the Philippine, if memory serves me well) Our body (without technology like clothing or homes) are really just adapted to live around the equator at constant 27°c :-)

There is wide variety in human resistance to cold, including cold water. It isn't surprising that someone who had lived in Russia could spend a great deal of time in the tropical ocean. Some people who live in the tropics can do that!

Incidentally, this variation seems not to be genetic, or maybe it is epigenetic. When visiting India during the "winter" with a friend who was born there but had lived in USA for decades, his family was shocked at how both of us were comfortable in short sleeves while they shivered in heavy coats.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#93

Post by cityzen » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 2:20 PM UTC

There is an episode of I shouldn’t be alive (Season 6, Episode 3: Dive of Terror, streaming free on Prime Video) about this guy. Crazy story and he openly states he should have known better. Great episode and great show in general.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#94

Post by jlgaddis » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 2:28 PM UTC

wellboy wrote: post #61

soperj wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Al Howie ran across Canada(7295.5 km) in 72 days, 10 hours and 23 minutes. Which is about 2/3 of Courtney's speed but for 72 days straight.

72 days straight means without sleep?

According to Wikipedia [0]:

> ... the holder of the scientifically documented record for the longest a human has intentionally gone without sleep ... stayed awake for 264.4 hours (11 days 25 minutes).

So I'm gonna guess "no", it doesn't mean "without sleep".

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Gardner_(record_holder)

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#95

Post by kitd » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 2:47 PM UTC

kiliantics wrote: post #9

aslushnikov wrote: post #8

This reminds me about Stanislav Kurilov [1], who successfully escaped USSR by jumping off the cruise ship with a snorkeling mask and swimming for the following 2.5 days towards Philippines. He wrote an interesting book called "Alone In The Ocean" [2] where he described his endeavor. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Kurilov [2]: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HYLLOZ2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?...

Reminded me of the Icelandic man who survived a shipwreck and several hours in ice cold waters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gu%C3%B0laugur_Fri%C3%B0%C3%BE...

This is the story I was reminded of too.

Not mentioned in that link though is that the doctors who examined him believed his resistance to cold came from him eating a traditional diet that included seal meat in his youth, and that his body fat had accumulated a not inconsiderable amount of seal blubber.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#96

Post by macintux » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 2:57 PM UTC

mabey wrote: post #23

Recently finished In Harm's Way by Doug Stanton. Extremely interesting read about a navy ship that sank near the end of WWII. The crew were not rescued for over four days.

Must be the USS Indianapolis (I'm from Indy, so we hear about it a bit more often). Incredible series of utter failures by the Navy, and just two weeks of fighting left. Tragic story all around.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#97

Post by shangxiao » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 3:09 PM UTC

narag wrote: post #73

philbarr wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? You said: > Divers' suits are not dry Wetsuits are wet. Drysuits are dry. Sometimes divers wear wetsuits, and some of the more experienced ones wear drysuits.

It's getting ridiculously difficult to write something in HN without receiving some absurd answers like that. The comment I responded to said that divers use drysuits so this guy should be wearing one. No matter how you put it, the article says that the guy used a wetsuit. Please, stop for a moment and let this little fact sink: the guy wore a wetsuit and the article clearly states this much. Yes, I could have said t…

Nobody is downvoting to win a petty fight. It just looks like you haven't understood the thread of the conversation and are trying to argue about something when there is no argument.

I wouldn't take it personally.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#98

Post by mncharity » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 3:41 PM UTC

hudibras wrote: post #79

qplex wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does one inflate an uniform?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNTSoKg6xHM

Socks also work to tie the leg ends closed. And shoelaces. Especially with thick, stiff, or slippery leg material, with socks you can get a stable knot while sacrificing less air volume. With rubberized gear, you can fold over the end first.

As others have pointed out, beware planning for one environment, and finding yourself in an very different but adjacent one. Warm air, cold water, no pants.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#99

Post by rrhyne » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 3:58 PM UTC

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #87

EGreg wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did he combat hypothermia?

Swimming continuously. It's one thing to sit neutrally bouyant in a Scuba suit, or in a flotation device, with nothing but shivering to keep warm. Asleep, you can get hypothermia in water that is nearly at body temperature. However, endurance athletes (like this 2.5-day-swimmer apparently decided he was) can keep warm by exertion. Competitive swimmers will keep warm, and actually sweat a great deal, in a very cold po…

He wouldn’t/couldn’t have swam continuously for 72 hours. He would have floated, treaded water, etc. the wetsuit kept him warm.

Re: Surviving 75 hours alone in the ocean

#100

Post by simonebrunozzi » Thu, Jan 25, 2018, 4:09 PM UTC

jeffhuys wrote: post #54

joevandyk wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Salt water is buoyant. If you know how to float, it doesn’t take much energy.

Some people simply cannot float. Me included. I've had 3 different instructors try to tell and show me that everyone can float. I can't. I have 5 swimming certificates, I'm fit, but I think I just don't have enough body fat? Even in the Red Sea (if it's called that in English) I can't float. Not for more than 5 seconds.

You might have low fat, a lot of "white" muscle (explosive sprint), and not a lot of "red" one (endurance). White is heavier than red. Also, bone density and lung volume might be factors.