Accidental immersion in cold water can be the beginning of a very bad day. Boaters need to understand what can happen with an unplanned fall into cold water.
The Alaska Office of Boating Safety has produced a new video presentation on cold water immersion and boater safety called Cold Water Boating. Intended to supplement boating safety classes presented in Alaska, many other northern states are looking favorably at the quality of this production effort and seeking to adopt it for their own use. This article will highlight some of the main points concerning cold water immersion and how boaters can deal with it.
How cold is Cold?
Cold water doesn't occur only in our northern waters, any water with a temperature of less than 65°F(20°C) can aversely affect a person in the water. A common misconception in Alaska is that once you fall in the water, you only have minutes to live. That couldn't be further from the truth. Preparation is the key to survival.
Cold Water Immersion follows four distinct stages. They are:
- Cold Shock Response
- Cold Incapacitation
- Hypothermia
- Circumrescue Collapse
A boater wearing a life jacket (PFD) will likely survive into the third stage of hypothermia. A unprepared boater is not likely to make it past the first stage of cold water immersion.
- Cold Shock Response - This is the natural response we all have entering cold water, you gasp. A person not prepared for a fall into cold water will gasp and could accidentally inhale water. People with poor cardiac function can have trouble with the inadvertent immersion as well, the shock can be too much for them. Wearing a life jacket prior to a fall will greatly reduce the chances of water aspiration.
- Cold Incapacitation - Basically the longer you stay in cold water, the less physical movement a person will be capable of performing. It becomes harder to swim, to reboard a vessel after falling, shoot a flare, to put on a life jacket, or climb into a life raft. This is an important point for boaters that think they can don a life jacket after they are already in the water. It is not as easy as you might think. Zippers and buckles can be difficult to handle with cold hands.
- Hypothermia - This is actually the third stage of cold water immersion, if you are lucky, you have worn your life jacket and have made it to this point. It has been proven that you can survive for hours in cold water, wearing minimal safety equipment. The importance of this fact is that a person wearing a life jacket greatly increases their chance for detection and rescue. It is a matter of possible hours versus minutes without a life jacket.
- Circumrescue Collapse - This is the last stage occurring in cold water immersion. A person who's been in the water is still at risk after they have been rescues. Part of the hypothermia process impairs the vascular system and its ability to move blood. The body tries to rewarm itself and causes a huge load on the heart. Cold water immersion victims need to be handled very gently through the rescue and recovery process.
What can you do about cold water immersion?
- Wear a PFD - Using a life jacket is the most important thing you can do to improve your chances after falling into cold water. Life jackets are better described in the article titled Personal Floatation Devices. Remember it's hard to put a life jacket on after you are already in the water.
- Wear more gear - Boaters that plan to operate in cold water can take things one step further in their personal protection. Wear a full work suit and carry a survival suit designed for cold water use. Direct contact with water draws 25 times more heat away from your body than the air can. An USCG approved survival can extend survival time in water by an order of magnitude over the use of a life jacket. Mustang Survival Systems is a well known manufacturer of this life saving equipment.
- Figure out how to get back on your boat - As we just said, water draws heat away from your body in a hurry and the longer you are in the water, the less physical skill you will be able to exercise. Install a swim step, mount a boarding ladder, purchase a life sling, and practice getting your partner back on the boat. If a husband and wife are out on the water, can see get him back in the boat? It's not easy, even with professionals that train in water rescue procedures.
I hope the State of Alaska is able to distribute their video Cold Water Boating to other regions. Learning Boater Communications and how to use Visual Distress Signals can bring rescuers to you sooner in an emergency. As more information becomes available on this subject, I will address it here at Boating and Sailing at Suite101.
