Story highlights Collect rainwater to drink by catching it with a tarpaulin or even your boat's sails

Fish often gather below rafts. If you catch one, use its guts as bait to catch more

When a shark wants to eat you, you'll know: It will hunch its back and lower its fins

Wrestling with savage seas? Stranded without fuel or water? Return to shore in one piece with these seven sure-fire survival tips.

Find drinking water at sea

Water, water, everywhere -- and not a drop to drink? Not if you're prepared, resourceful, and willing to put effort into collecting drinkable water. And you should be: It will save your life.

Trap moisture

Outfit your vessel with a plastic tarpaulin to catch rainwater and drain it into containers, allowing the first drops of rain to wash the salt off the tarpaulin. If you don't have a tarpaulin, use fabric to absorb moisture, then wring it out into containers. Never drink saltwater—it will make you ill and speed dehydration and death.

Pull a " MacGyver

When you've been adrift at sea for a period of time, all your clothes end up encrusted with salt crystals. At the first sign of rain, give all your clothes and other fabric a seawater bath. Yes, it's salty, but not as salty as the salt residue, which will make any water it contacts undrinkable.

If you have sails, make a bowl out of them to capture the water. Tarps, shirts, plastic sheets, and even the raft itself can all collect water. Any can, bottle, or other container can store it. The first water you collect will have a high salt content, so store it separately, and use it to clean wounds or to wash food before eating.

Orient yourself by the stars

To find Polaris, the prominent star that's close to the north celestial pole, look for the famous pattern of stars called the Big Dipper or the Plough in the constellation Ursa Major. Mentally draw a line connecting the stars at the end of the Big Dipper's "bowl," then extend that line out five times its length to arrive at Polaris. It's hard to miss, since it's the brightest star in Ursa Minor, or the Little Dipper.

Click here to orienteer by the stars.

Seek the South Pole

Traveling below the equator? Find the Southern Cross's long axis and extend a line down four and a half times the axis length. Then locate the bright stars Rigil Kent and Hadar to the left of the Southern Cross. Figure the midpoint between these two stars, then imagine a perpendicular line from that point to the end of the line drawn from the Southern Cross. That intersection marks the South Pole.

Catch fish in open waters

If you're in a life raft, small fish often gather beneath the raft, either out of curiosity or because they feel sheltered there. Who knows? But catching those fish might satisfy your need for nourishment. Troll a hand-line with a hook and anything flashy to serve as a lure. Jig the lure up and down a few meters below the surface, being careful not to snag the life raft with the hook. After catching a fish, use the guts as bait to catch more.

Avoid shark bites

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Sharks don't usually hunt people as a food source, which is why most shark bites stop there: Once the shark realizes you're not a nice blubbery seal, it leaves you alone. Unfortunately, that little "mistake" isn't all that little for the human on the receiving end of those chompers. Here's how to avoid those nasty bites:

Cede the sea

While there certainly are open-ocean predators, most shark threats are in the shallows and near food sources. Coral reefs are popular hangouts -- and happen to be the most desirable dive sites. If you're diving in these areas, be aware of the shark risk before you enter the water, and dive with at least one partner, as sharks are less likely to mess with a group.

Get away

If you do suddenly find yourself in close quarters with one of these beasts, your best bet is to get out of the water, swimming away with smooth, even strokes that won't attract its attention.

Face your foe

When a shark wants to eat you, you'll know in advance: It will hunch its back, lower its fins, and rush at you in a zigzag. Thrust your spear gun, camera housing, knife, or whatever else you're packing to discourage it. If you can, punch its super-sensitive nose or stab at its eyes or gills.

Submerge

Divers report successful evasion by descending to the seafloor and waiting for the sharks to leave. But that only works if you've got an air tank.

Right a capsized boat

Small sailboats capsize easily, but luckily, they're easy to right. Crawl up onto the overturned hull, grab the centerboard (keel), and lean back, using your weight against the centerboard as a lever to flip the boat over.

When it's upright, crawl aboard and bail out the water. If your capsized boat is a motorboat without a centerboard, righting it will take a bit more doing. Tie one end of a rope to something secure in the middle of the boat, like an oarlock. Toss the free end of the rope up onto the hull.

Crawl onto the hull to grab the free end of the rope, facing the side where the rope is tied. Back up toward the water and lean back, using your weight against the rope to pull the boat over. Once it's upright, scramble on and start bailing.

Put out a boat fire

Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Grand old duke – Former cruise liner, the Duke of Lancaster, was docked on the banks of the Dee Estuary in north Wales three decades ago. It has now become a canvas for graffiti artists from across Europe. Hide Caption 1 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Pirate painters – The first paintings to appear were of orange and blue pirates on the ship's bow, created by Latvian artist KIWIE . Each pirate is nine meters tall and includes the dates the ship was built (1956) and docked in Llanerch-y-Mor (1979). Hide Caption 2 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Monkey business – The 10-meter tall "Council of Monkeys" was created by French artist GOIN . Many of the artworks have an anti-authority theme, inspired by the ship owners' struggles with the local council to keep it open. Hide Caption 3 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Graffiti geisha – Irish artist Fin Dac , created this piece, called "Mauricamai," which stretches the height of the ship's stern. "I create my art to keep myself happy. If others like it then that's a great by-product," he said. Hide Caption 4 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Big dreams – At 18-meters tall and 14-meters wide, "Eduk the Diver", created by The Cream Soda Crew from Britain, is the largest piece on the ship. The four-person crew used a hydraulic-powered elevated work platform to scale the towering walls. Hide Caption 5 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Black duke –



"At first some people weren't so keen on the artwork and saw it very doggedly as 'illegal graffiti' in the negative sense of the word. However, many now realize that the Duke has been given a new purpose and a new lease of life," DuDug organiser Maurice Blunt, said. The project was launched by arts collective DuDug -- a word play on the Welsh for "black duke." Hungarian artist Mr Zero, created this piece, called "The Prophet of Profit.""At first some people weren't so keen on the artwork and saw it very doggedly as 'illegal graffiti' in the negative sense of the word. However, many now realize that the Duke has been given a new purpose and a new lease of life," DuDug organiser Maurice Blunt, said. Hide Caption 6 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Dark arts – "One of the things that's impressed me is just how taken the artists are with the ship. This is their interpretation of its history," project co-ordinator, Paul Williams, said. Hide Caption 7 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Paint a picture – This balaclava-clad businessman was created by British artist Bungle , and is titled "The Face of Authority." All the artists work on a volunteer basis. Hide Caption 8 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Heyday – Before she was an open-air gallery, the Duke of Lancaster was a luxury passenger ferry. During the summer months she traveled the high seas as a cruise liner around western Europe, the Mediterranean and Scandinavia. Hide Caption 9 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Luxury liner – The Duke boasted a silver service restaurant and spacious cabins. "She was an opulent ship -- her fixtures and fittings were second to none," Williams said. Hide Caption 10 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Docked days – The vessel was converted into a car ferry in 1970. Eight years later she was destined for the scrap yard when four entrepreneurs -- John Rowley, Pat Scott, Trevor Scott and Ian Tobin -- bought her in the hope of creating a leisure center which, as a ship, would by-pass the UK's Sunday trading laws. Hide Caption 11 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Fun times – In 1980, the Funship opened, featuring a mall, cinema, game arcade, restaurant, nightclub and hotel rooms. The leisure center closed in 1985, after safety concerns from the local council. Hide Caption 12 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Ghost ship – Inside, the ship remains virtually untouched. "It's strange, but since the artworks started appearing on the outside of the ship last August, we've had no acts of vandalism inside," Williams said. Hide Caption 13 of 14 Photos: Graffiti transforms abandoned ship Future duke? – DuDug is now campaigning to have the site reopened to the public as the centerpiece of an arts festival. Will this be the next chapter in the varied history of the Duke? Hide Caption 14 of 14

Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Strike a pose – It's not a ghostly apparition, but one of the photographs by Viennese artist Andreas Franke, which was displayed aboard sunken ship USNS General Hoyt S.Vandenberg and only accessible to competent divers. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Water works – After four months sitting at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the photos became discolored with salt stains and algae. "The sea life had created new images. It's very cool, they almost look like Polaroids," said Franke. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Packing a punch – The pictures have now been displayed in a gallery on land; the Studios of Key West. "They're stunning photographs technically. But it also starts to veer into performance art," gallery director, Jed Dodd, said. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Time travel – The 12 images all feature the Vandenberg, which was a U.S. military transport ship during World War Two. In the 1960s it was used by the Navy as a missile range vessel, and in 1998 it starred in the sci-fi film Virus. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Brave new world – Sunk in 2009, the Vandenberg is now the second-largest artificial reef in the world, boasting a diverse range of marine animals and plant life. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Divers' paradise – "If you're a diver and you see a gallery down there, it's absolutely unique, something you'd never expect. The cool thing is, the shots are done on the same boat they're hanging from," Franke said. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Diving new depths – More than 10,000 divers visited the underwater gallery. "It's unique. Nobody has ever done a photography exhibition underwater before," said Dodd. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery A new perspective – "One of the cool things with an underwater gallery is you're floating, so you can see the artworks from so many different angles," Franke said. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Inspiring images – The Vandenberg's rich history gave Franke inspiration for his World War Two era scenes. A huge team of models, make-up artists and costume designers helped create the evocative photos in studio. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Testing times – Despite being protected between two sheets of plexiglass and sealed with silicon in a steel frame, the images were not left completely untouched by the ocean. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Interesting effect – "At the beginning we did one test on a smaller print and after two months it had no marks. But the bigger images were a little more flexible and more susceptible to water -- they're only 95% perfect but I'm still so happy with them," Franke said. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Sea here – "What works so beautifully is how the water has seeped in -- it's almost as if the ocean has become a collaborative partner in the process," Dodd said. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery The fish fantastic – "It's a huge empty ship with fish swimming around -- at 27 meters below the surface, the sunlight is this beautiful blue green color. I shot the models in the studio with the same lens, so the images matched," Franke said. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Work of art – Franke went diving on the Vandenberg six times, taking more than 1,000 photographs which he then whittled down to the final 12. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Lights, camera, action – "I used an underwater camera to shoot open locations where I thought I could add people in," Franke said. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Ocean is key – "For a place like Key West, where you're never more than a few blocks from the beach, people have a very special relationship with the water," Dodd said. Hide Caption 16 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Baroque Barbados – Franke's latest project features 12 images on the sunken SS Stavronikita, off the coast of Barbados. Hide Caption 17 of 18 Photos: Ghostly underwater photo gallery Eerie imagery – The artist was inspired by the Caribbean country's history as an English settlement and the abundance of coral. "The European style fits better with the yellow tones and growth," he said. Hide Caption 18 of 18

Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Was Columbus first? – Setting sail from Spain with a crew of 90 men, Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean in 1492. But it's unlikely he was the first European to set foot in the New World... Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Nautical Nordics – Historians largely agree the vikings reached America before Columbus, around 900AD, with early settlements discovered in Newfoundland. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Following the Phoenicians – However British adventurer Philip Beale believes the Phoenicians -- the ancient Mediterranean civilization from that thrived between 1500BC to 300BC -- could have reached America before the vikings. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Ambitious quest – Former Royal Navy officer Beale hopes to sail a replica Phoenician sailboat across the Atlantic to prove the ancient civilization had the capability to make the voyage 2,000 years before Columbus. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Ancient Africa – The boat, based on an excavated shipwreck, already circumnavigated Africa two years ago. The journey took two years and covered 32,000 kilometers. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? All hands on deck – Shipbuilders stayed true to the design down to the precise thickness of the planks. "We didn't have any mechanical winches and the anchor had to be pulled up and down by hand -- it was back-breaking work," Beale said. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Life on the water – The replica boat is seen here arriving in Cape Town, South Africa. The crew battled everything from six-meter waves to pirates during the incredible journey. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? London bound – Tower Bridge opens its arms to the sailboat, which made a second journey last year from Sardinia to Britain. The voyage retraced the ancient Phoenician trading route with the Cornish. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Did the Phoenicians discover America? Ancient Asia – It wasn't the first time Beale recreated history. In 2003 he sailed a replica 8th century Indonesian vessel, known as a Barobudur ship, 19,000 kilometers from Jakarta to Ghana. Hide Caption 9 of 9

A fire on a boat is a life-threatening catastrophe, so it's wise to have a plan in place before you leave shore.

Step one: Store fresh fire extinguishers in locations near the galley and the engine compartment, the two most likely locations for fire.

Step two: If fire breaks out, move everyone out of the cabin and get them into life vests. Call VHF channel 16 to report the emergency. Prepare to abandon ship.

Step three: Fight the fire with extinguishers, keeping a clear escape route behind you at all times. Always extinguish fires from the bottom up.

Plug a leak

Water is supposed to stay on the outside of a boat, but inevitably some gets inside due to rain or waves coming over the bow. That's not a big problem. However, when water invades because of a leak, the problem becomes quite real.

Find the trouble spot

Your top priority is to locate the leak. If you can't find it, head for dry land fast. Check to see that the boat's drain plug is closed -- if it's open, that's your culprit.

Heal your hull

If the leak is caused by a failed through-hull fitting, stop it with a conical soft-wood plug that should be tethered to the hull.

Protect with plastic

If the hull is fractured due to impact, place a large plastic sheet across the leak on the outside of the hull. Secure the plastic with ropes. Water pressure will help hold it in place as you carefully head for land.

Use old faithful

If all else fails, you can repair small cracks with duct tape.