Island from Hell
21 day challenge located in Maldives (Indian Ocean) – 120°F temperatures, high humidity, hurricane force winds, and monsoon rains. Reef sharks, eels and stingrays in the ocean.
| Jonathan Klay – Recon Marine, Sniper 36 years old – California Personal Item: Hatchet Starting PSR: 6.9 Ending PSR: 7.2 Lost 18 lbs | Alison Teal – Survivalist, Explorer, Surfer 27 years old – Hawaii Personal Item: Firestarter Starting PSR: 8.0 Ending PSR: 8.4 Lost 14 lbs |
The recommendations will be written in bold italics and the analysis is on the bottom.
Day 1: Swim to Large Island
They start on a small island with no resource. Their provided map shows a water source on the larger island and extract is closer from the larger island. The two islands are 1 mile apart (1.6km). They swim to the larger island. Sunburns in this heat swimming in water or outside can happen in 5 minutes. Jonathan gets severely sunburned. There is nothing that could be done in this situation, so the best thing was to swim to the larger island, and immediately get to shade. They build a shelter and start a fire.
Day 2: No sleep
Jonathan is in pain from his sunburn and is resting as he cannot sleep.
Day 3: Still in pain
Jonathan is still in pain from his sunburn. He is still laying around trying to recover. Alison gathers naupaka berries to ease Jonathan’s sunburn pains. Naupaka berries, edible though it tastes very bitter and slimy, can be used for medicinal use, including amelioration of skin ailments. It can be used for acne, skin rash, bruises, skin wounds, redness and inflammation, and sunburn. Crushed and applied to the skin helps relieve the pain and begin to heal the skin. Alison gathers coconuts for hydration and food.
Day 6: No Water
Alison gets menstrual cramps and is slowing her down. Jonathan is feeling a bit better, so he begins to dig for water (digging below water table) with no success.
Day 7: Water
Jonathan continues digging and finally hits water. He pulls the water using a water bottle found among the debris, and drinks it without boiling. This is not good as not boiling water before drinking it may cause you to have stomach issues from bacteria, virus, etc.
Day 9: Stomach Issues
Jonathan has stomach issues from drinking water without boiling it.
Day 12: Food
They begin arguing. Part of this is they have not had any real protein in their system. They decide to go find food. Alison kills an eel. They finally eat some protein.
Day 17: Clam
Jonathan finds and brings back a large clam to eat.
Day 18-20: Storm
Lightning starts and the storm rolls in with heavy rains and winds at 70mph. Starts at 66°F with windchill, then 55°F down to 41°F with windchill. Stays around for 3 days. They decide to stay warm inside the shelter using body heat. Body heat is a good way to stay warm and reduce the chance of hypothermia. Drinking hot or warm water every so often is another good option to keep warm.
Day 21: Extraction
Alison makes a float and they both swim out to the extraction point in the ocean. Rescue boat picks them up for a successful extraction.
My analysis:
They did equally well, especially Alison. Jonathan was somewhat debilitated due to his sunburn from Day 1, he felt emotionally crushed as he could not do much due to the pain. Alison has the knowledge to survive, and her knowledge of plants to make Jonathan feel better was key to their success. They finally decided to talk about the situation and started to eat, which made their spirits rise. These challenges are much more difficult in real life than it is watching the show and commenting on a couch. I have done many expeditions and adventure outings, but I had clothes and at least a tarp and blanket to stay warm. Even with the gear I carried, it can be challenging. For these two survivalists to do this for 21 days with a successful extraction, this shows, as a team, that they can survive Naked and Afraid.
