The Marinervideo
Running Out of Water in the Middle of the Ocean
17 April 2026 · 24 min · 10K views · Middle of the Atlantic Ocean
Sailor drinks precious water from jerrycan aboard boat
What this video covers
A plastic water tank joint failed undetected during heavy weather after leaving Cherbourg, draining the tank into the bilge and leaving Chris with roughly 50 litres aboard in jugs.▶ 1:43 The discussion covers five practical methods for harvesting rainwater at sea: collecting runoff from the mainsail by cutting small drain holes in the boom bag and channeling water into pans (yielding about four litres in two hours), wrapping a towel around the mast boot and running fabric by capillary action into a pan below, solar stills from life raft kits, improvised condensers using cool metal surfaces, and tapping the water packets stored inside SOLAS Type A or B life rafts when no rescue need is imminent.▶ 10:57 PredictWind's rain forecast graphs are used to anticipate collection windows days ahead.▶ 3:21 Chris recounts a prior extreme case: a solo Open 60 race from Punta del Este to Charleston, roughly 6,000 miles, where a Spectra watermaker membrane blocked near Recife, Brazil.▶ 4:27 He declined to stop racing, extracted 250–300 ml per day by gravity-feeding a bucket to the low-pressure pump, mixed it with salt water, and absorbed water through skin contact while lying in the bilge for two weeks until a thunderstorm off Charleston filled the reefed mainsail.▶ 7:18 The practical lesson: practice harvesting methods before you need them, because dehydration degrades concentration and decision-making within the first day.
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