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Comment by moioci | Hacker News Reader

"Up and out." Nothing to do with Titanic, but based on reading disaster articles on Wikipedia, my advice is, if a ship you are on takes on a noticeable list, get to the high side immediately. If the list worsens, get outside on the deck. Beyond a certain point, a list has a way of accelerating, and interior corridors become canyons and floors become walls, dooming everyone on the low side.

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Benji Smith, who used to hang out on Joel's software forum, was on the Costa Concordia with his new wife when it ran aground and sank. Being on the high-side of the ship helped them survive, using a rope they found to climb down the hull. Getting to the deck before the corridors became impassible because of the list was critical.

> Then, an empty wine bottle started to move, creeping inch by inch toward the edge of the table as though possessed by a tiny, timid ghost. When it reached the precipice, it hesitated for a moment of contemplation and then tipped over the edge, thumping down on the carpet and rolling under the bed.

https://www.amazon.com/Abandoned-Ship-intimate-Concordia-shi...

Not to diminish the tragedy, but only 27 of the over 3,000 passengers died, so the odds were pretty strongly in their favor.

From looking at the Wikipedia article on the Costa Concordia, 99% of the people on board survived. That sounds like, in this instance, no special skill(s) nor awareness were really needed:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Concordia_disaster

Moving from the relatively comfortable interior and heading to the high side, out in the elements, can be a pretty terrifying feeling. IMO one wants to resist it. The feeling of moving toward exposure on the outside feels kind of wrong. I only experienced it once but it was enough for a lifetime.

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