David realizes that he is alone on the open ocean and has no real sense of where he is. He estimates that he is over 300 miles southwest of the marina. He begins to feel panic setting in, but he works to remain calm and focuses on his survival. He tells himself that he must take care of things “one step at a time” (52). First and foremost, he must take care of the Frog and get the boat back in working order. He starts by removing all the water that accumulated during the storm, for he knows that the Frog cannot handle the excess weight. David locates the hand pump and hoses and slowly and steadily pumps the water away. He estimates that there are at least 100 gallons of water in the cabin, and he knows that it will take quite a while to remove it.

David finishes draining the water; the task takes over four hours with the hand pump. He then begins to reattach the sails, which he hastily stowed when the storm first approached. Now, there is no wind at all, so the sails hang listlessly from the mast. He then inspects the cabin, which is still a complete mess of supplies and garbage.