Last week, Robert Woodward was kind enough to dig up a couple of references to a cold water boating accident that occurred on Great South Bay located on the south side of Long Island (NY). The references are as follows: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_040605_missingboater.html http://www.newday.com/news/local/longisland/ ny-limiss0406,0,7285038.story?coll=ny-main-tabheads Two men fishing from a canoe capsized into 40 o F water. A man on shore heard their srceams, grabbed his kayak and got to them in time to save one of the victims. The other was no longer at the surface and could not be found. The victim was wearing light clothing. Neither of the fishermen wore PFDs. Read both accounts. This is a classic case of cold shock and drowning. Authorities told the press that under the conditions of dress and water temp., the victim, who left two kids and a pregnant wife, ...."could be expected to survive just over an hour". The victim was described as a strong swimmer. A friend was quoted to say there was no way the victim wouldn't be able to swim to shore. Not a chance, I think! Message: The general boating public has no clue about the effects of cold water immersion. The authorities almost always get it wrong. Cold shock accounts: I would appreciate any first person or first person witnessed cold shock accounts that Paddlewise folks would care to post to the list or send to me back channel. Cold water workshops: Chuck Hotlst noted an upcoming gear testing opportunity a few days ago <http://www.isk.canoe-kayk.org> to be held April 16. In my general area, Bill Lozono (Atlantic Kayak Tours) ran a workshop on the Hudson back in November, and the The Small Boat Shop ran a session in Norwalk, CT (Long Island Sound) in January 2005. Both sessions had about 25 attendees. I think a similar workshop was run at DTBH in Manhatten this year. Workshops have been run on alternate years at Annapolis, Md in January by the Chesapeake Paddlers Association. We had about 90 people attend one of those workshops. Question: Who else is running or has, in the past, run cold water workshops for kayakers or the general public? Thanks, Chuck Sutherland Skimmer_at_enter.net *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
I made a typo in the URL for the cold water clinic in Minneapolis next Saturday. The correct URL is: <http://www.isk.canoe-kayak.org> I haven't been to one of these for a while, but they typically start with a lecture on the effects of cold water, after which people go on (and in) the water and practice rolls and rescues in their chosen gear. The first time we did this we were on the south shore of Lake Calhoun with a strong northerly cold wind that actually made the water feel warmer than the air! Nonetheless, those who came had a great time playing in the water. Those who had never actually tested their drysuits before were extremely pleased if not amazed at how effective they were. If I go (I have a couple of projects I need to finish before Monday) I might try to test my fuzzy rubber in various combinations, but I think I would need a warm sunny day for warming up between trials! Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
Chuck, I have experienced it several times first-hand. All but once, it was deliberate in order to do some early-season waterskiing (Hadn?t learned the hot shower trick yet). Once the wetsuit warmed up, I was fine. I was also in my 20?s and thought it was funny. The one unexpected time occurred in mid-march on a canoe trip on the Wood River in Rhode Island. My friend Alison and I were paddling my canoe tandem. The air temperature was about 85 degrees, and the water was about 40 degrees. I was wearing a shorty wetsuit, and a PFD, and Alison was wearing a bathing suit, cotton t-shirt, and PFD. The wood river is a slow, narrow, winding river that goes through a marshy area where we were paddling. It?s prone to having blowdowns and strainers in the spring, and there is one small rapid just after a portage around a dam. We had just run the rapid when the capsize occurred. At the bottom of the rapid, there is a sharp bend in the river, and there was a downed tree just under the surface. We thought we had enough water to go over it, but we found that we didn?t quite have enough. Instead of figuring out a portage around it (Hey, we just ran the rapid flawlessly after all?.), I grabbed a tree next to the canoe, and began dragging it over the downed tree while we were still in the canoe. Alison reached forward & grabbed a branch to keep pulling. Just as we were almost off the tree, I heard the branch break. Then the canoe listed upstream, and began to swamp. I tried to heel it back upright, and was too late --- the canoe slid under the surface, and we went in. When I hit the water, I couldn?t breathe. My heart felt like it had stopped. My limbs locked in spasm. I lost all awareness of anything other than the fact that I couldn?t breathe. This lasted for a good 30 seconds, or so it seemed. Then I slowly began to regain control of my body as the wetsuit warmed. I looked back, and Alison was still in the water in the fetal position, unable to respond. I swam back to her, and helped another paddler on the trip get her to shore & into the sun. We both were fine once we warmed back up & finished the trip without further incident. Had we not been wearing PFD?s, it might have been a whole different scenario. When you go into spasm like that, there?s no way you can keep your head above water. If that happens, and you experience a gasp reflex, it?s all over for you. I now wear a drysuit until the water is warm enough that I can go in without cold shock, especially because in recent years, I have developed an abnormal heart rhythm. Best not to take chances! Back when I was safety & education chair for the Rhode Island Canoe & Kayak Assoc, I ran a cold water paddling workshop. Not sure if they still run one. ConnYak does an annual media blitz in both newsletter and website about the dangers of cold water. Not sure about other clubs. Wayne Wayne Smith wsmith16_at_charter.net Check out my website! http://webpages.charter.net/wsmith16/home.html *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
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