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Hello!

Some time ago "The Raft" by Robert Trumbull was suggested as the first-hand story of the survival and real conditions on a life raft.

I managed to get the (electronic) copy of the book and just finished reading it.

As with all the stories that touch me - I place myself in character's shoes and take things personally. I compare what I think I'd done with what Dixon did. It is easy to do from a cozy sofa... Now I'm not so sure I could survive in those conditions.

This book was mentioned as a comment to someone's idea (may be even mine) that doing CN on  raft - as Harold Gatty teaches - would help to keep morale and stay sane psychology-wise. The comment was that Dixon, Pastula and Aldrich could stay sane without any CN.

I think - and it is mentioned in the book, - Dixon did CN  and even gave some lessons of it to the boys. Yes, it looks like they relied more on reliigion than on CN, - but in the book we see comments like some details may not be told in full because of the war-time secrecy. I'd like to learn the story without such cenzorship. Where exactly did they wander? Was Gatty's "The Raft Book" available to them? And so on.

What was the "celluloid calculator" that Dixon mentions he used?

Are there more stories on this topic?

Regards,
Tony

60°N 30°E