Współczesny Robinson

After a month adrift on the ocean, two men have been found on a deserted island in the Pacific. How could anyone survive being at sea for so long?

Two sailors from Kiribati are recovering after spending more than a month drifting in a small boat in the South Pacific Ocean. The pair was eventually found on an isolated atoll on the southern fringes of the Marshall Islands, 500km (300 miles) from home.

For 33 days the men from Kiribati, a former British colony that straddles the Equator, defied a combination of mountainous waves, howling winds and strong ocean currents to emerge weak and hungry but alive at the end of an astonishing journey.

Little is known about how they survived but theirs is a story of true resilience.

For Bob Cooper, a veteran survival expert from Western Australia, escaping such dire circumstances depends on staying positive and calm - not easy when salvation seems so far away.

Experts agree that while sound planning and a clear mind are key ingredients, luck plays a decisive part too. One over-inquisitive nudge by a passing shark or a freak wave could sink all hope, while a slice of good fortune could make all the difference, and even if you survive on a boat, the chances of being seen on a vast ocean are slim.

These guys convinced themselves they could survive and weren't going out without a fight, says Mr. Vroomans, who is the director of Queensland-based Staying Alive Survival Services.

From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/