Dual Survival: Castaways

First, don’t forget that there will be a new episode of Dual Survival on tonight, 9:00pm EST. The new one is titled “Rocky Mountain High” and the description says:

In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Joe Teti and Cody Lundin are left stranded at 9,000 feet above sea level, and they must battle temperatures that are well below freezing, hypothermia and much more if they want to stay alive.

By the way, “Rocky Mountain High” is the penultimate episode for this season.

And now, here are some thoughts about last week’s show, “Castaways”.

In this episode, Joe and Cody play the role of a scuba diver stranded on a remote Fijian island. It’s clear that the producers look for ways to highlight Joe’s military career (why not? it’s good TV), and it this one the scuba gear has been snagged what looked like about 25 feet down in the ocean.

Joe has pretty good scuba experience, and had combat diver training, so down he went to get it.

We also got to see that scuba experience when he and Cody swam from the small island they were near to a larger one with assuredly more resources. (You don’t think the producers started them near that small island by accident, do you?)

Right off, Joe works out a plan for crossing the channel between the two islands.

The Plan. Illustrated.

They decide that, since Joe has the flippers, he will (mainly) tow Cody, and they build Cody some flotation. Joe starts underwater when the water is shallow, and then comes to the surface in the deeper mid-channel portion.

I’m really not sure what that was about, and neither was Cody. But Cody deferred to Joe’s expertise on the issue.

I can see that going below the water can give better propulsion, and gets one out of surface conditions, wind and waves, that could send one in the wrong direction. But why abandon that in the deepest part? Sure, he wouldn’t go all the way down, but I would think it would still help.

When the made it to the larger island, they tapped into their coconuts for liquid. Cody gave his usual instructions (he’s done the before) on how to find the sweet spot.

Finding the Easy-Opening Cap

You find the mouth, and then you punch it in the mouth. 🙂

Joe, of course, just goes full-bore violent.

Drinking From a Smash-hole

Look, water is a precious resource (as Cody pointed out). You don’t waste it like that. Joe was upset that Cody is too methodical for him, but in survival situations, methodical and reasoned really can make a difference.

Firestarting is always interesting and fun to watch. In this case, a string-drill seemed to be the best option, with the two of them sharing the labor. Here, Cody shows Joe how it goes together.

Useful Bare Foot

Then it is Joe’s turn to hold things down while Cody works the string and drill-bit. And Cody has a recommendation.

Basically, I want you to control the socket for downward pressure, and I’m going to be on the string.

So, what I’d recommend you do is take off the boot, ’cause you can get more control with the bare foot.

No fuss, Joe complies.

Mushy, But Still Useful

As they point out, that foot looks pretty bad. It’s sodden from spending all that time in wet boots. Keep them in there any length of time like that and there are all sorts of foot problems he’ll be seeing. Somehow people end up being proud of weak feet.

They do get the fire started eventually, the next day, after a little sun dries out their materials. Wind and humidity make for difficult fire-starting.

But Joe still likes his boots, even for a recon down the beach for more coconuts.

Rebooted, And Nuts

If ever there is a time for doing something barefoot, and to let his feet dry out and get some air, that was it. But when one is perennially shod, that idea doesn’t even occur to you.

And then comes a drenching downpour that they have to deal with.

Cody says

I’ve never been in a tropical squall like that before. You might as well just had a 5-gallon bucket of water poured over it.

I would yell at my students over this. I blew it. I wasn’t prepared for how quickly the weather can change and move out here. To have that fire almost knocked down . . . that’s a wake-up call, man.

I thought it was good of him to admit that. Sometimes situations come up that you just haven’t thought about.

Before being rescued, Joe heads up to a cliff face to make a distress display: an array of 3 (always 3 for distress!) grass markers hanging down.

And he slips when his string just happens to break. (That was obviously part of the script.)

Joe attributes his boots to keeping him from going over the edge. (Hey, he loves him some boots . . .)

The only thing that saved my carcass from going over the edge of this cliff was the fact that I have boots on, and it gripped the rock right before my feet went over.

You know, they may have helped. But bare feet also do their thing. They have exposed toes that can grab, so maybe he wouldn’t have gotten so close to the edge with bare feet.

Near the Edge

Actually, from the long range shot (hey, pre-positioned camera!), what really stopped him was the friction from the length of his entire body on the ground. (That, and there was probably a hidden safety rope—they don’t want to lose their stars, eh?)

Desert isle survival shows are always fun to watch. It’s not cold that has to be dealt with (I hate cold!) so other things can be shown.

Anyways, don’t forget to watch “Rocky Mountain High” tonight at 9:00pm. And you can catch the rerun of “Castaways” right before that.