What would you do if you were trapped on a desert island?

[Lucidness]

What would you do if you were trapped on a desert island given the circumstances. You only have wood, an ice skate, shelter, fruit around the island and a raft. What would your thoughts be? What would you do with these items. What would you try to do? ( Some of the items are from the film castaway (lol) ) I would be so scared, just thinking of how i would get back. I would have to find shelter first and go through my thoughts. Id probobly go insane it would be that bad. I would try and make a fire first. Just any SOS sign possible.

[Philosopher8659]

Odd question. Do we stop asking what to do while in familiar surroundingss? Does comfort really come from numbers? One's body is an island. If one should try to make a fire, there is always someone to piss on you to put it out.

[Armistice]

You didn't even answer the OP's question. Why did you even post? Anyway, I would have shelter and fire going first. Always the first thing you do. I would probably expect a lengthy stay and would try to build something a little long lasting as well as take measure to make a windwall for protection in a storm (can't have it fall over!) I would also try to explore the island so I would be familiar with my surroundings. Any dangers? High points to use as a lookout? Low points to avoid if flooded. Types of foods available? I would actually try my best to maybe map the island using larger pieces of wood and carve a map. Could mark landmarks, where food can be found, where dangers are, where camp is. Could even take time to cut paths One thing I'd have to ask is are there known shipping lanes within the area, say within 100mis of the island. However, you'd have to hopefully know your relationship in the ocean as well as a knowledge of where shipping lanes are, so might not be knowlege that most people have (unless they had a map) Anyway, a signal fire would be top priority to set up. However, it's set to go, but it's never lit until you can see a ship or plane (plane would be hard due to it's speed, but the blade of the skate can be used as a mirror [I already knew this trick before watching the movie. I actually said, "Use the skate!" just before he did it, haha]). Speaking of planes, am I in an area where planes fly near? Those are some things I would do

[Xei]

You're trapped on a desert island... with a raft?

[ninja9578]

Yeah, if you have a raft, then by definition, you are not trapped. Set up a fire near the water so that you can quickly light it and then dowse it to make thick smoke, then just hang out until someone comes by.

[eperbokor]

If there is be enough food, water, that means I'm free from the dependency of society thus I could do what I want. Otherwise I would do what ninja9578 suggested.

[Lucidness]

Just a wooden raft. Its just made out of wood and remeber i want the first things you would do. Would you go out into the ocean with the raft? keep in mind storms and bad weather.

[Tavasion]

i would rig the ice skate to a pulley system made out of woven leaves or grass or thin wood strips from the fruit trees. then i would hoist up the skate, weighted with rocks, and drop it from about 30 to 40 feet, blade first, into my skull. i hate desert islands.

[Lucidness]

Thats one route out of it, lol.

[RooJ]

You only have wood, an ice skate, shelter, fruit around the island and a raft. If I had wood I'd deal with that first, then I'd eat fruit under the shelter till someone came along, possibly using the blade of the ice skate to signal to them.. If nobody came I'd build a friend out of fruit and make out with it till I got bored.. Eventually I'd likely venture out on the raft (after improving it).. But I'd leave it a long time till I had no other choice or had given up on being rescued. The raft to me would be a last resort.

[Creation X]

Before I did ANYTHING at all, I would say to myself. "Thank you, Bear Grylls, and the two guys from dual survival...you helped me now." And like everyone else said, I would make shelter and fire, then look for food

[Dannon Oneironaut]

I would find fresh water. I would make bowls by burning out the center of blocks of wood. I would try to find some clay and make some big jugs to carry fresh water in. Meanwhile I would be eating fruit and crabs and lobsters and stuff. I would swim a lot. When I finally manage to create some jugs to hold water I would bring them on the raft and sail away. If I ran out of water at sea I would survive by poking a hole in a fish and let it fill up with its lymphatic juices and plasma and drink that. Also I would hopefully have a stash of coconuts and green papayas on the raft with me. If I die then I die. I will do a ritual for all my friends and family and rememberence of my whole life from start to finish first. I would take a few weeks to fully remember every meaningless detail of my life. EVERY SINGLE MEMORY! This is like dream recall. I don't want to die before I accomplish this. I would cry out any last regrets and grief and self-pity and be done with it so I could embrace death without looking back. Then, eventually I would wash up on the reef of another desert island or atoll and do it all over again. There will be a few islands on an atoll. Natives will come over from the biggest island after a month of me being there. Apparently they thought I was a ghost because they knew that the island was uninhabited and they were watching the smoke from my campfire for a month. The natives sail outrigger canoes or catamarans and there will be one person who speaks french also. Since I don't speak French it will still be challenging, but they will take me to the next island where there is a motorboat and a store where you can buy kerosene and cigarettes and stuff like that. Eventually I will hitch a ride to Vanuatu where I will get in touch with the American Consulate. He will wire me money for the plane ticket, or he will just buy the ticket for me. Meanwhile my story will become very exciting and I will be doing interviews on the local Vanuatu radio and tv station. On my plane ride home the plane will crash into the Pacific ocean. There will be no survivors.

[Alric]

The first thing I would do is look for water. Since you said I had shelter, and if I didn't I would use the raft as the base of a shelter to make it quickly any way, water is my priority. So I would explore and look around the area, priority on finding water. While I am out looking for the water, I will also keep an eye out for food, and any useful objects I could find. The ice skate, I would try to take off the blade to use as a knife. I would use the laces for string. The shoe part I might use as a cup, or I might tear out any padding to see if I can use it as tinder. If its mostly just plastic and rubber I would save it for my signal fire. Throw it onto the fire to crate a really thick black smoke. You don't want to breath that stuff in though, its probably toxic, so be careful. Alternately, instead of making a knife. It might be possible to tie the blade to a stick, using the laces to form kind of a spear. Though if you make a knife you could also carve the end of a stick into a point to make a spear. Wood I have is either going to go to making a fire, or saved for the raft. If the raft we have is just like a bunch of wood tied together, the kind that you picture when you think of going down the river on a small raft, then I would modify it. That type of raft isn't very reliable out at sea. I forget what its called but what you do is you have the main raft, then like two smaller rafts attached on both sides of the main raft. I would crate one of them. What I do from there, would really depend on the situation. If there isn't enough food on the island to support you, you have to go back out at sea. If there is no water, then the situation is even worse. You might be practically forced to go back out. However, I would avoid going out to sea, unless I had some way to bring water with me. Also, you need to create some form of shade out at sea or you are just going to bake. If the island is suitable for long term survival, with food and fresh water, I would probably stay. Staying is a lot safer. There really isn't many islands in the world today, that someone doesn't visit. So chances are if you wait, sooner or later you will find someone. The island needs to have enough food and water though.

[Saturos]

Masturbate.

[Keresztanya]

wait for the ocean to freeze and skate over it