One example is the bird in Steve's chapters.
Within that same part about the bird,Steve talks about his son, Jimmie, being a symbol of hope. William, too, becomes a symbol of hope when having to survive Haida Gwaii.The bird pecking at crumbs- did it feel hope? It sure had spirit... Maybe that bird's spirit would carry us through.
I suppose it's not too surprising survival would be another theme, but I personally enjoyed not just the survival of the character's within the action of abandoning the ship, staying alive in the wilderness, and life-and-death injuries, but also the discussion of financial survival.
Larry and Louise need their business to survive. Travis, Scratch, and the crew talked about why they needed this job for the pay out. Steve talked about how in the maritime industry,
most of us have to keep working to survive.