Re: [Paddlewise] Tragedy in Sweden

Thanks Mike:

I have a friend who swims competitively in the ocean. He has almost no body 
fat. He is older than most of us. He is very fast. He swims year-round to 
train. His resting heart rate is lower than most twenty year olds. While he 
does wear a light, competitive wet suit designed for triathletes, he doesn't 
get cold even after long swims. He attributes this to the conditioning 
regime in cold water. His body has adjusted. I assume fitness and cold-water 
adjustment are factors precluding hypothermia, both warding of the effects 
initially and subsequently.

The guys that seem to really last the longest in cold water (multi day 
survival) seem to be big men, big-boned, overweight but in fairly good 
shape - namely fishermen, though many die shortly after falling overboard in 
stormy seas due to inhalation of water, even with hypothermia suits on.

Doug L



> I read about it years ago and fitness likely is a better predictor of 
> short term survival ability than long term (as Ari suggests).  Once any 
> person is in the water long enough (where long is very few minutes) the 
> outer extremities are shut down and then insulation is important.
>
> However, as Prof. Popsicle (Giesbrecht) and others have pointed out, the 
> ability to control yourself and deal with the situation in the first 
> seconds to minute is critical to long-term survival.  Again, as Ari 
> pointed out, it likely will make a difference for a paddler in the period 
> when they are attempting to re-enter the kayak.
>
> I've been contacted back-channel about my comments on fit vs fat.  I did 
> say fit vs fat, not skinny vs fat.  Fat _and_ fit will outperform skinny 
> and way out of shape.  Fat levels don't strictly dictate fitness (though 
> extreme overweight and obesity pretty much preclude fitness).  If you 
> compare runners to distance swimmers, the swimmers almost always show less 
> muscle definition due to a thicker layer of fat on their bodies (the 
> muscle is under there, just not as obvious as in the 4-8% body fat 
> athletes).  If you spend that much time in the water (even in heated 
> pools) that little bit of fat is beneficial.
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