How long can one survive alone in the sea or ocean?

Question

Depending on where you are and what you're wearing or not wearing, I was curious how long one could survive in a large body of water such as an ocean or sea? I once heard one would survive in the either the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean for about four minutes. Would the body of water matter greatly? Meaning, would one survive in less time in one ocean than in the other?

Answer 1

4 minutes depending on temp

Answer 2

Do you mean in the water swimming or treading around? If so, not very long. The nearest shark or orca will find you in no time. But if you mean alone in a life raft, then probably 7 days. The limiting factor here is water to drink. If you drink the seawater your body will spend more of your own water to flush out the salt through the kidneys. A losing proposition. In other words, the ocean is alien to humans (being alone). Your survival is based on what you have on and in your body at the time of jumping in. Nuff said!