Taking to the sea

From BearWiki

Claim: Taking to the sea when you have your survival needs met is a bad idea.

This is about as big of a violation of avoiding taking unnecessary risks when your life isn't in immediate danger as you can get. If you leave such an island, you are

• Abandoning a reliable water source for an unreliable one
• Abandoning a reliable food source for an unreliable one
• Exposing yourself to saltwater lesions.
• Risking sharks.
• Risking storms that could easily wreck most rafts made of modern materials, let alone whatever you improvise on an island
• Risking exposure from the sun
• Making yourself harder to see (no signal fires, always low to the ground, etc)
• Risking drifting way away from where rescuers would look for you.

If you don't know the ocean currents, trade winds, and shipping lanes, it's an even dumber idea.

[edit] Analysis

Oppose: Was he meant to stay on a tiny island the whole episode. That would be SO fun to watch.

Support: Was that comment even really necessary? I mean, this section is supposed to be used as a means of providing support of/debunking myths about Man Vs. Wild episodes, not commenting on what and what not would make a fun episode to watch.

Oppose: Bear specifically tells the viewer that he could survive for weeks in his situation, but that if one were to run out of water and food, one might be forced to take to the sea. Just like so many other situations, he is simply trying to demonstrate another technique for survival.

Neutral: This is actually what Bear said: "You could stay on an island like this indefinitely, but throughout history, marooned sailors have often risked it all for a chance to make it home. Tomorrow,I am going to try something I have always wanted to do: attempt build a raft and head out to sea."

Support: Okay, I agree with the first comment. However, it is a really bad idea to do it in a survival situation. It did make it fun to watch though.

Oppose: Even if that's what he said, If you were at the point of having no food or water, taking to the seas would be a good idea. It's a lot better then staying in one place without a proper source of water. Even if that wouldn't be a 'fun' episode, he is just showing the certain scenarios one might or must take.

Support: Judging by the previous comments Bear still thinks he lives in 19-th century. Unless you are Somalian pirate noone knew about and ended on that island and you are sure noone will ever seek you - then yes, you should try to escape to the seas after food/watter start to run low. Until then you stay there and wait for other ships. If Bear wanted to point out different scenarious he should state that expressively. After all he is not a kid, that acts on impulse (or is he? )