In a message dated 10/11/2001 10:27:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time, skimmer_at_mail3.enter.net writes: > > Who will be running cold water workshops this winter? (and when?) > > Thanks, > Chuck Sutherland > > After my last sarcastic --- and so totally uncharacteristically flipant --- response to the good Dr. Sutherland's question, I remembered that I'd gotten a note from Gerry Dworkin re the same issue; it's attached below. Gerry runs a series of water safety-oriented seminars and hands-on training sessions, and was very helpful to the Chesapeake Paddler Association when I was researching the best approaches we could take to refine our swim support program. In fact, Mike VanDamm and I took a week-long course from Gerry one Sunday during which we learned to carry heavy, water-soaked fire fighters and emergency response team members around in a local river, go for extended swims in turn-out gear and boots, toss throw lines, wrap "victims" in splints and velcro and litters, and generally learn a lot about being "Water Rescue Technicians"; we have carried a lot of that across to swim support work. Most of Gerry's work is job-specific and professional qualification-oriented, but Mike and I are proud of our hard-earned decals, and display them proudly. Don't know anything about his hypothermia course, but I'm sure it would be relevant to our interests as paddlers. Cold water doesn't much care what you do for a living when you're in it. (And associating with a bunch of firefighters --- even overweight, cigarette-smoking "rescue victims" who had to be carried about --- would be an honor, especially now.) I've decided to copy Gerry on this, because I'm remembering that he had indicated a willingness to tailor some of his courses for kayakers --- especially those involved in swim supports, and for others with a strong interest in safety. Dunno how many people would want to head to New Hampshire in December, but maybe somebody in the New York area who was involved in education and safety (Ralph? ... Richard? --- your good self, Chuck? ...) might want to take up the cause. Gerry and his crew do this sort of thing for a living, of course, so the $15 or $20 (including lunch) CPA sessions won't be good comparisons, but, if someone (or a few someones ... Robin? ...) want to take this on, I'd most definitely recommend this course or something like it. (School's still on, and I'm not volunteering for anything!) See what you think --- check out Gerry's Web site, and give it some thought. Dress for the water. Jack Martin (Certified Water Rescue Technician) __________ TRAINING BULLETIN ANNOUNCEMENT Hypothermia: Cold Weather & Cold Water Emergencies Seminar The 3rd Annual Hypothermia: Cold Weather & Cold Water Emergencies Seminar will be conducted on Saturday, December 8, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the University of New Hampshire in Manchester (NH). This seminar is designed specifically for all prehospital EMS, Public Safety and Rescue Personnel and will focus on the Prevention, Recognition and Emergency Field Management of Hypothermia. The seminar features Dr. Murray Hamlet, formerly with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine in Natick, MA. For more information and/or registration, access the Educational Programs Section of the Lifesaving Resources' Web Site at: <A HREF="http://www.lifesaving.com/seminars/hypothermia.htm"> http://www.lifesaving.com/seminars/hypothermia.htm</A>. Gerry Dworkin, Consultant Aquatics Safety & Water Rescue LIFESAVING RESOURCES Aquatics Safety & Water Rescue Specialists <A HREF="http://www.lifesaving.com/">http://www.lifesaving.com/</A> PO Box 905 Harrisville, NH 03450 603/827-4139 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Oct 13 2001 - 18:16:40 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:45 PDT