I think it is human nature.
I read a book recently, “Halsey’s Typhoon” about Typhoon Cobra in 1944 that killed nearly 800 sailors and sunk three ships.
One sailor recounted how his ship had sunk in the black night, leaving him to survive in the open ocean in a typhoon without even a life vest.
He found that he could avoid being swamped, crushed and drowned by the gargantuan 80 foot waves by...body surfing down them! Strange but true.
So here he is...in the dark, in the raging ocean, probably ticking off each minute as one more minute survived, then working on the next minute, surfing down the face of these waves in the night.
He came to the realization that others had figured it out as well, and to his amazement, a guy he knew surfed by him and shouted “Woooo hoooo! Ain’t this great?”
Unbelievable. Of course, the guy may have lost his mind, but that wasn’t how it came across.
And I agree about the wit of these people on FR. A VERY talented group.
I read a long article about that Typhoon a few weeks ago written by a bridge officer on one of the ships.
Very interesting event.
ships catching fire, Rammings, men overboard etc.
Makes me seasick just thinking of it.
I wonder if history channel has anything on the subject.