Islands offer a special survival challenge to the individual, especially smaller islands lacking resources. However, the greatest challenge will be the feeling of isolation and loneliness. Mental stability is as important, if not more, in all survival situations but especially important is smaller environments. In these conditions it’s especially important to keep the mind active through exploration, work and entertainment. Setting up a daily routine involving these activities will go a long way to keeping your sanity.
For example, you should climb to the highest point of the island, make a sketch and get familiar with the terrain. Start from the coasts of the island, explore every creek, cranny, bay and beach. Then work your way inwards until the island is familiar.
It is possible that the island was previously inhabited. If so, remains of buildings offer a convenient shelter source. Fence posts and wire will be useful to repair your boat or maybe even build a raft. Vegetables may still be found growing and since rats seem to follow man wherever he goes – sometimes they are the only permanent wildlife available.
Setting up a shelter, as with all survival situations, will make you feel better, even if it’s just a ditch in the ground – anything that will provide some protection. If you happen to find caves, make sure they’re not tidal (i.e. the tide won’t come in and drown you while resting or sleeping) before you decide to use one. Keep in mind that even caves that seem safe may be flooded or cut off by spring tides, which are higher than normal.
Resources
On any small island, resources will be limited and a lot of imagination/creativity will be necessary to improve your survival odds. Take care not to over-exploit any one of them. Water is often a problem – a lack of it easily explains why most islands are uninhabited. Lush vegetation will draw attention to springs and streams. Digging above the high water mark may produce fresh water. Catch and store rainwater at every opportunity.
To desalinate sea water by distillation you need a lot of fuel, which may be scarce. Driftwood may be available and some seaweeds will burn when dried. But, you will need wood to get the fire started. If you’re on an island near colder climates, seals may be available – seal blubber makes good fuel. Make a fire only when necessary and always search the shore after the tide recedes. You never know what the ocean may wash up onshore. You may find other items besides wood and everything has a use to the survivor.
Once you are familiar with your island, feel free to venture out at night as more creatures can be seen and foraging may be more rewarding.
Coconuts
Tropical islands are rarely deserts – they will usually offer plenty to eat, both ashore and in the water. The coconut palm is very common and found throughout the tropics and subtropics. Coconuts are an amazing resource as they can provide the following:
- Fronds for Shelter
- Husks for Ropes
- Growing points (tastes like cabbage)
- Milk and Meat
- Shell (can be used as cups and containers)
To remove the fibrous husk around the coconut force it over a sharpened stake or split it with a handaxe, if available. Extract the milk by piercing one of the dark “eyes” of the nut itself before smashing it open to get at the meat.
Coconut milk happens to be safe and refreshing to drink, even for someone like myself who suffers from nut allergies. When I sampled coconut milk in the Philippines, I was certain I would have a reaction. Outside of the thin, fat-free milk type taste, it wasn’t bad and I was fine afterwards.
In any case, a large nut may hold up to 1 ¾ ping (1 litre) of milk. Do not drink from the very young (green) or old (dark brown) nuts, their milk will give you diarrhea. The meat itself is indigestible in large amounts, eat only a little at a time. Personally, I have never eaten coconut meat and I suspect that will be where I have a reaction. So, if you have a nut allergy, be careful and sample the meat before eating it fully. That last thing you want to deal with is an allergic reaction at a time when you need to be at your best.
Extract coconut oil by exposing chopped white meat to heat whether it be the sun or fire and collecting the oil as it runs off. Or, you could boil the meat and skim the oil as it rises to the surface. Rub it on your skin to prevent sunburn, chafing from being in salt water, to repel insects and as a salve for sores or blisters. Additionally, you can mix it with wood ash and use it as a substitute for soap.
Climbing Palm Trees: If coconuts don’t fall on your head and you can’t seem to knock them down, don’t try to climb the tree trunk like a rope. Instead, tie a strong bandage of cloth into a strap and slip it around your ankles. Adjust it to hold your feet close to the trunk and then you can press the soles of your feet inwards and grip the tree trunk with them.
Moving On
In a group of islands, you may be able to move from island to island when the first one’s resources are exhausted. In warmer climates it may be a simple matter of swimming from one to the other. However, in colder climates, you will need to build a raft. If there is nothing to build a raft from, make some kind of flotation aid – even if it’s just an empty box.
If there are seals on your island, you could use them to make a raft. From autumn until spring, seals store a lot of fat in their body. As a result, seal carcasses will float. If several are lashed together, they will hold you weight. This may seem extreme or even cruel, but in a survival situation you should be prepared to do what it necessary to live just one more day.
Be thoughtful in how you plan to travel from one island to the next – study tides and currents between the islands very carefully because they can be treacherous. Float something that you cab observe and note its progress. Time your swim so that the ebb takes you out from your island and the high tide take you into the new island.