Allison Lassieur - Can You Survive Being Lost at Sea?: An Interactive Survival Adventure

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YOU are sailing on the ocean when something suddenly goes wrong. Youre at the mercy of storms, dehydration, and sharks. How will you stay alive?

In this book youll deal with extreme survival situations. Youll explore how the knowledge you have and the choices you make can mean the difference between life and death.

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your device's back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

YOU CHOOSE the path you take through your adventure.

It happens in a blinka freak wave, an unexpected accident, a fast-moving storm. Suddenly a pleasant day on the ocean turns into a nightmare of survival.

Of all the places in the world to be lost, the sea is the worst. At sea, there is no food, water, or shelter of any kind, other than what you manage to have with you. Youre exposed to extreme heat and cold, as well as storms, waves, and wind. Most people who die at sea dont drown. They die of starvation, .

Sharp coral reefs can sometimes cause boat accidents.

It seems odd that you could die of thirst in a huge ocean of water. Ocean water is about three times saltier than your blood. That makes it impossible for your body to process safely.

A few swallows of saltwater will make you feel sick and vomit. More than that will causes , and death. Finding fresh water is necessary for survival.

In case of emergency, the sail of a sailboat can be used for shelter from wind and rain.

The second most important thing, after finding fresh water, is protection from the elements. The heat from the sun and the ocean winds will dehydrate you and make your skin burn, blister, and crack. Extra clothing, plastic tarps, rubber mats, life jackets, rugs, or even seaweed can help shield you.

A big problem for anyone lost at sea is hypothermia, which occurs when your core body temperature drops below 95 degrees Fahrenheit. You lose the most heat through your head, arms, legs, and groin. The best way to avoid hypothermia is to get out of the water.

Water and shelter will keep you alive for a few days, but after that youll have to find food. Anything edible will keep you alive, including fish, birds, and seaweed. But not all sea creatures are safe to eat. Puffer fish and jellyfish can be deadly. Its important to know which fish will keep you alive and which fish will poison you.

Even if the odds are in your favor, its your will to live that will end up deciding your fate. If you have that, along with clear thinking and skill, its likely youll survive being lost at sea.

A jellyfishs sting is painful and can be deadly.

You walk across the small airport tarmac and take a look back at the evening sunset. Youve spent the summer hiking, swimming, and relaxing with your family on this remote Canadian island. Its time for you to get back to school on the mainland, so youre leaving a few days early.

The small 10-seater airplane quickly fills up with other vacationers on their way home. You stash your backpack under the seat, strap on your seatbelt, and settle in. Theres a sign overhead that says everyone must put on a life jacket. No one else has one on, so you dont bother. You doze off, barely feeling the plane taxi down the runway and lift into the sky.

Small airplanes usually have only one engine.

A shaking sensation wakes you. Youre horrified to realize that its the plane thats shaking. Your heart hammers in your chest, but you try to stay calm. Miles of ocean stretch below with no land in sight. The engine makes a loud coughing sound as the plane continues to drop. The water is getting closer. You hear the pilot, Sam, over the intercom.

Were going to hit, folks. Brace yourselves.

You put your head between your knees, grasping your legs with your arms. Everyone else does the same. The planes engine whines loudly, and then you hear a loud explosion. Something hits the back of your head, knocking you unconscious.

You wake up minutes later. The plane is in the ocean, broken into sections. The part youre in is sinking fast. Your head is throbbing from the injury. Sputtering as you swallow the cold water, you flip the seat belt buckle and swim free.

Then you remember your backpack. Theres a bottle of water, some trail mix, your wallet, and a wad of dirty clothes inside.

The water is one of the most dangerous places for a plane to crash.

You dont have to search long. The backpack is floating a few feet away. You wrap one strap around your wrist and swim away from the planes wreckage.

The choppy waves make you feel sick to your stomach. A large chunk of the plane floats past, and you manage to grab it. This is goodstaying afloat is key to survival. Too bad you didnt grab your life jacket when you had the chance.

A familiar smell stings your nose and burns your throat. Fuel! It must be leaking out of the airplane. If it catches fire, youre in trouble. But you want to stay close to the plane to anything useful and find any other survivors.

Taking a deep breath, you dip your head beneath the water and swim away from the fuel slick. When you come up for air, youre clear. By now its almost dark.

Help me! someone shouts from somewhere in front of you.

Sure enough, you see a dark figure waving his arms. He goes under the waves and then comes up, sputtering.

Help! he cries again, but its much fainter. Hes drowning. Drowning people are dangerous. In their panic, they could drown anyone trying to rescue them. You have to be careful about how you approach him.

You swim around and surface behind the man. As he goes under, you pull him up by the hair, ducking his flailing arms. Grabbing him under the armpits, you swim backward, pulling his face out of the water. Hes coughing and vomiting, but hes alive. After a few strokes you stop, exhausted. The man has relaxed. He says his name is Bill.

Thanks, Bill gasps between gulps of air. I cant believe I panicked like that.

Just then you both see a flashing light. Shouts ring out over the water.

Is anyone out there?

Together you start yelling as loudly as you can. A large rubber life raft looms out of the darkness. A life preserver lands near you both with a splash.