The Myth - A sinking ship creates enough suction to pull a person under if that person is too close (as was rumoured to occur when the RMS Titanic sank). Notes - Though using a small ship, neither Adam nor Jamie were sucked under when it sank, not even when they were riding directly on top of it.

Can you swim away from a sinking ship?

Swim away from the boat, so as to avoid the propeller, and although television shows like Mythbusters busted the whole ship pulling you under myth, it has been reported to take place from actual survivors. Now, if you're in the water, no life jacket, no life preserver, no floatation device.

Does the captain have to stay on a sinking ship?

The tradition says that a captain will be the last person to leave a ship alive before its sinking or utter destruction, and if unable to evacuate the crew and passengers, the captain will not save himself even if he can. ... Abandoning a ship in distress may be considered a crime that can lead to imprisonment.