>From: "Robert C. Cline" <rccline_at_swbell.net> >Phillip: >How long can you stay immersed in 50 to 54 degree water with the farmer >john >before "the shakes" begin? I've never timed it in terms of minutes, but the general answer is "long enough": 1. To get to shore whenever I've swum in the surf zone at Long Beach. 2. To perform the fine motor skills needed for paddle float re-entries whenever I've practised them, no matter what the time of year (in BC - this would not apply in Ontario:-). 3. To assist in my own "rescue" whenever I've been the instructor/"victim" showing others assisted rescues such as the stirrup rescue. This may involve a fair amount of time in the water as the students get their acts together and we repeat the drill several times. This said, I'm very mindful of how astonishingly fast cold water can deprieve you of the ability to help yourself. I used to do ice diving (I'm PADI certified for this)and on the one occassion my buddie's regulator froze open and free-flowing, his hands were too numb to hold the reg in his mouth, so I keep it in place as we were reeled in by the safety tenders. I also saw an incident in Washington State few years back where a capasized kayaker in a drysuit (though I don't know what, if anything, he had on underneath it) had to be rescued by a passing Zodiac after only about five minutes in the water - he couldn't help himself or assist his buddy in rescueing him. Philip Torrens N49°16' W123°06' *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jan 11 2000 - 14:00:52 PST
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