For the last two weekends we have been learning from a hypothetical case in which two people are washed up on a deserted island in the tropics. They do not know one another and are different ages. Their cruise ship had a fire in the engine room and a subsequent explosion. Here is a break down of information:
The man’s name: Larry
He has slacks, leather belt, deck shoes with strings, leather wallet with plastic credit cards, key chain with two keys, polo shirt, and a folding pocket knife
The woman’s name: Ginny
She has a cocktail dress, pantyhose, high heels stilettos, necklace and earrings, small purse with a cross body thin handle, mirror, lipstick, chewing gum, cell phone
They find a huge tarp that washed up . They fold it in half, weighing the folded end down with rocks. The top layer they affix to two tree branches with strips of pantyhose, to form a lean-to. They then begin to look for potable water and explore the island. Ginny has abandoned her heels and is struggling in bare feet. They find a coconut palm and several coconuts on the ground that have sprouted. They keep the hulls to use as cups . They find a stream with fresh looking water, and they drink, taking the chance of ingesting bacteria or parasites because they are so dehydrated. They bring back two cups of water to their lean-to. They also find several old boards, two long plastic cargo straps, and they swim out to rescue two deck chairs which floated by. Two large plastic containers float by also. One is empty, the other has residual cooking oil in it.
Actions: Larry sharpens sticks to use to spear fish, and finding a piece of plastic, he makes a solar still for safer water.
Ginny collects several coconuts and uses her stiletto heeled shoe to puncture it and then a rock to crack it open. This gives them coconut and coconut milk. She finds several crabs in a tidal pool.
The second day, they walk the perimeter of the island and find two more people, deceased. One is a crew member. They decide to bury them near the tree line and cover them with rocks, so they can be located later when they are rescued. They are buried in their underwear, because Larry and Ginny want to keep every resource they can , not knowing how long the rescue might take. The second body is of a young man. Here is what they have on them-
The crew member has a cigarette lighter, a small box of wooden stick matches, now wet, a pair of slacks, leather shoes, socks, cloth belt, a wallet with ID, a kerchief, a small tin of mints wrapped in a piece of foil and closed with a rubber band.
The young man has tee shirt and jeans, no ID but they note his tattoos to help identify him later, and he has a pocket CD player and ear buds. He had a chocolate bar on him. He had sneakers with shoe strings and socks.
Run down: So far, Larry and Ginny have a water supply, something to drink out of, some food, shelter, and a way to make fire. Ginny has a pair of sneakers, so she doesn’t end up with infected feet. What must they do next?
Larry spears fish in the tidal pool, while Ginny places branches in an SOS and HELP across the beach, and they use the dry fibers from coconut hulls and also leaf litter for tinder. and place branches in a tepee style, and they have trouble getting it to catch fire, with the lighter. They use a few drops of cooking oil on the tinder and then they have a bonfire.
What would be the next step? Making a raft might be, if no help comes in a day or so. However, this scenario could continue for a long time, as new obstacles are created and then over come.
What would your island look like?
Surviving In Troubled Waters 
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