John O
Relative to your post 14
Yeppers, silk wouldn't make a very good shelter in a squall, but would be a good sun shade,
And to catch water, put 4 wood sticks into the ground at the corners of a square and drape a piece of silk parachute over the ends of the sticks and allow the silk to droop. Put a clean rock in the center of the droop and put a container under this hasty collector. Maybe a sextant box, a cleaned pee bottle, a paper funnel and liquor bottle, whatever ya have or can improvise. Then when the squall comes, the water fills the silk funnel, flows thru the silk at the rock and into the collector. Voila, fresh water!