In the first episode of
Gilligan's Island, Gilligan and the Skipper build a raft out of bamboo, and they sail off in hopes of reaching Hawaii. They spend hours just floating around in the ocean, until their raft is attacked by a shark, which takes big bites out of the raft! They thwart the shark, but the raft comes apart. They eventually swim to land. Gilligan is toting a single bamboo pole--he has managed to "save the raft". By following a series of footprints (which they originally believe belong to headhunters), they eventually realize they are back on the same island.
And that's the plot of
Lost 2x02. Now where's my
Veronica Mars?