Survival tips · Based on official sources

Desert Island Survival Tips: What to Do, in Order, Until Rescue

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What separates those who survive being stranded from those who don't is usually not strength but order. On a hot shore, move in the order shade and shelter → water → rescue signals → food, and stay where rescuers can easily find you. This guide arranges common rules from the Korea Coast Guard, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and National Institute of Fisheries Science, the US Coast Guard (USCG), NOAA and survival manuals in the order you would actually face them.

1. Before reaching the beach: breaking surf and rip currents

• Tighten your life jacket in advance. Once you're in the water, it's hard to put on or tighten. Keep it on until you're rescued.
• A rip current is a narrow, fast stream of water flowing from the shore out to sea. Swimming against it only wears you out, so swim sideways, parallel to the shore to escape, then head for shore; if you're tired, float and wave for help.
• If you see someone drowning, rather than jumping in yourself, throw them something that floats or a rope. A thrashing person easily grabs their rescuer and drags them under too.
• Standing up on a shallow coral reef or rocks means the waves sweep you off and cut you badly.

2. The first few hours: people, shade, the high-tide line

• Check that everyone is together and whether anyone is hurt. You need an exact headcount when calling for rescue.
• Make shade and shelter first. Even on cloudy days, heat and UV on the shore are strong, and shade cuts the water you lose through sweat.
• Keep your shelter, raft and supplies above the line where dry seaweed piles up (the high-tide line). At night and in storms, the water can rise higher than that.
• Do heavy work in the cool of morning and evening, and rest at midday.
• Wash cuts from coral or rocks with clean water and cover them. In hot, humid places they fester quickly.

3. Water: never seawater

• Don't drink seawater. Flushing out the salt makes your body lose more water than you drank, and dehydration speeds up (USCG sea survival rules).
• Rain is the cleanest water. Showers end quickly, so be ready ahead of time to spread a cover or plastic like a funnel into empty containers.
• Drink spring water from rocks or standing water only after boiling it. Diarrhea greatly speeds up dehydration.
• People get into danger much faster without water than without food. If water is short, eat less too.

4. Food: don't eat spring shellfish

Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and National Institute of Fisheries Science warn that in spring (roughly March–June), wild shellfish on the shore such as mussels and Manila clams can carry paralytic shellfish poison, and advise against harvesting and eating them. The toxin is not destroyed by boiling or freezing, and after eating it can cause numbness of the lips and tongue and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing. A plate of toxic shellfish is far more dangerous than going hungry for a few days. If you eat other food such as crabs, cook it all the way through.

5. Rescue signals: big, in the open, in advance

• In an open area easily seen from the air, like a stretch of sand, make big letters such as SOS or V (need assistance) with rocks or wood that contrast with the ground.
• Three fires (in a triangle or a line) are a widely used distress signal. Stack dry wood in advance and light it the moment you hear something.
• By day, put green leaves on the fire for white smoke; at night, use flames and lights. With a flashlight: three short, three long, three short (SOS).
• A signal mirror flash can be seen from very far away. If a plane rocks its wings side to side, it means it has seen you.
• Don't swim out into the night sea toward lights.

6. Communication: EPIRB and VHF Channel 16

• Turning on an EPIRB (Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) sends a distress signal and your position to rescue agencies via satellite (COSPAS-SARSAT). Units with GPS give a far more accurate position. Stand the antenna up under open sky and don't switch it off until you're rescued (USCG, NOAA).
• Channel 16 on a VHF radio is the distress and emergency calling channel. Say "MAYDAY" three times, then the vessel name, position, nature of the emergency and number of people, short and clear.
• If the battery is low, keep it off and turn it on at set times or when a ship or plane is in sight.
• Tell rescuers the exact headcount, including where any members of your group elsewhere are.

7. Staying put: don't split up

Rescuers search based on your last known position and signals. If you abandon the spot where you first landed — with its shade, water and signals — for unknown ground, or the group splits up, there are more places to search, and the group that leaves has neither water nor signals. Brush inland and rocky points make it easy to get lost or fall, and you're hard to see from the air. Watch the tides too: a rock you crossed to at low tide gets cut off when the tide comes in.

8. When the helicopter comes

• In the open, wave both arms wide over your head to signal. Smoke and mirrors work too.
• Don't jump into the sea toward the helicopter or run underneath it. The rotor wash sends sand, debris and spray flying.
• Grab a rescue basket or line only after it has touched the ground or water (built-up static electricity). Wait for the rescuer's instructions.

This is general guidance compiled from public sources. In a real situation, follow the instructions of the Coast Guard and rescue authorities. To practice with the game, see the Desert Island: 72 Hours game guide.

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