In this particular case, Ingnook (who in another scenario comes forth as our protagonist) thought that by choosing east he would be headed for the exotic Orient.

For many nights, delirious from lack of food and water (Oh, yeah, another complication here, the food was washed overboard) Ingnook dreamt of porcelain skin and long silky black hair. He couldn't know about and so couldn't imagine the kimonos the lovely Asian women wore so he couldn't even enjoy imagining himself peeling them off. But his delirium passed as the sea-weary ship bumped into shore and he and the others gratefully lumbered onto the sands, surprised by the tall, tan, bikini-ed blondes of California.