I suppose it's every seafarers nightmare having to commit to a lifeboat when very deep sea with bad weather and such to deal with.
Warfare, particularly World War Two, makes this common place as opposed to a rarity. I saw an interview recently with American Sci Fi writer Alfred Bester, who wrote a seminal book in the 50's called The Stars my Destination, and explained how the story of the character in his book was based on a seaman during World War Two who survived an incredible amount of time on a raft following his ship being torpedoed, and was passed by several times by other merchant ships because they thought it was a trap set up by a U Boat.
His story is set in space rather than the sea, but it makes for grim reading when you think it's based on an actual event.
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"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Corporal Hicks
(Actually Ripley said it first.)
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