Island Survival Stories
These island survival stories are more on the extreme side, as the average time before rescue comes after getting stranded on an island is usually within 3 days.
Juana Maria – The Lone woman of San Nicolas Island
Maria was a native American who belonged to the Nicoleño people, a small tribe that lived on San Nicolas island off the coast of California. One day a group of hunters came to the island and killed all they could find, supposedly in retaliation for one of their own hunters being killed by the tribe.
Maria and 3 others managed to hide until they left only to come out and find everyone they ever knew dead. For the next 18 years, she survived as the only woman on the island and lived with the 3 other men who also escaped the massacre.
Juana Maria – The Full Survival Story
Alexander Selkirk – The Real Robinson Crusoe
This man’s story was the inspiration for the book “Robinson Crusoe” and is one of the most famous survival stories of all time. Selkirk was born in Scotland in 1676 and as soon as he was old enough to work became a crew member on board any ship that would have him.
In 1704 he found himself abandoned on the Juan Fernández islands with a small amount of gear after requesting to be left there. His ship was too badly damaged and he thought it would never make the journey to the nearest port over 400 miles away, so he asked the captain to be left behind as he considered it better than drowning.
The captain agreed and he and his crew successfully made it to the nearest port for repairs and left Selkirk where he was. Over the next 5 years, he survived alone on the island, living in a log hut and hunting goats with his musket.
Alexander Selkirk -The Full Survival Story
Robert Jeffrey – 9 Days on an island
Jeffrey was working as a blacksmith on board a Royal Navy ship that was making a voyage to the West Indies. In 1807 the rules on ships were very different from what they are now, and the crew had much more downtime which they often filled by getting drunk. Alcohol was an important part of sailing and small beer was even part of the daily ration.
On a particularly boring day, Jeffrey stole several pints of beer from the captain’s personal cask and was seen by another crew member who reported him. Later on in the voyage when the captain was quite drunk, he spotted a small island and in a drunken rant shouted something about not having thieves on his ship and ordered Jeffrey to be left there.
The island he was stuck on is now known as Sombrero Island and at the time didn’t have a single well or stream. Food didn’t seem to be a problem but water immediately became an emergency. Fortunately the story of him being abandoned pissed off the right people in the British empire who ordered him to be rescued.
Robert Jeffrey -The Full Survival Story
Jack Renton – 8 years living as a tribesmen
During the 19th century, kidnapping people to work as slaves on ships was quite common, and Jack Renton was one of the unlucky people who found himself in this situation. After being taken to work on a ship as a slave, he escaped during the night with 4 others in a small row boat in the open ocean.
3 of the people he escaped with died from dehydration, but Renton and the other survivor found themselves washed up on the shore of the Solomon Islands. Instead of slavers and the open ocean, their problem had now become a group of angry tribesmen who killed the other survivor and took Jack to their chief.
After showing them some of his gardening skills and how to make better nets, the tribe eventually accepted him as one of their own and he even took part in raids against other tribes, earning him the name “The White Headhunter”.
Jack Renton -The Full Survival Story
Marguerite de La Rocque – Marooned on an island in 1541
After what seemed like a politically motivated action, Marguerite was abandoned on the isle of demons on the northern coast of Canada, along with her lover and maid. Over the years she had a child who died young, and also lost her lover and maid to sickness.
She survived on the island for several years, most of which she spent alone, and had to learn how to do everything for herself until she was eventually found by a passing fishing vessel.
Marguerite de La Rocque –The Full Survival Story
Tom Neale – 16 years on an island
Some people just feel they belong in certain places, and the second Tom Neale even heard about Suwarrow Island, he knew he had to go there. The island is shaped in a small ring and is as close to a tropical paradise as you can possibly get.
Over the next 16 years, he lived on the island in 3 separate sessions, doing everything for himself and remaining in complete isolation. One of the most interesting things about his story is the connection he had with the island, something he was willing to give up everything for, including seeing his wife and 2 children.
Tom Neale – The Full Survival Story