I don’t know many anglers or hunters who have not had at least one close call in cold water. Our activities frequently take us onto the water during the coldest seasons. And though these experiences can be great, so too can the risk of accidental immersion.
Most of us understand the dangers, but few of us understand them enough. That’s why OOD Editor Ray Blades and I took a virtual cold-water immersion course run by the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) last February. The two-evening Beyond Cold Water Boot Camp was led by Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht from the University of Manitoba. Giesbrecht is a renowned expert in cold-water immersion prevention and rescue techniques.
Here’s some of what we learned.
Cold dunk myths
You might have heard someone say there’s no point wearing a life jacket because hypothermia will kill you in minutes anyways. But Giesbrecht said hypothermia only causes a small percentage of cold-water immersion deaths. That’s because during the average cold-water immersion incident, it takes about 30 minutes to become hypothermic, an hour to lose consciousness, and another half hour to face the risk of cardiac arrest or ventricular fibrillation leading to death. While immersion is eventually deadly, most rescues happen within two to three minutes, if the incident is witnessed.
Most fatalities during a cold-water immersion incident are, in fact, due to drowning, which is actually submersion. This frequently happens when a person without a personal floatation device (PFD) suddenly falls unprepared into cold water. Surprise and panic cause them to gasp and take in water, which can quickly lead to drowning. Drowning also happens when a person not wearing a PFD loses physical function, generally due to hypothermia.
Another myth is drowning victims have no chance of being revived. In fact, there is often hope when water temperatures plummet. In one incident, a person who was underwater for 66 minutes was brought back.
Four phases
There are four phases of cold-water immersion.
1: The cold-water response is the initial reaction as the person’s skin gets cold. This lasts for up to two minutes and is characterized by the person treading water to keep afloat while trying to control gasping and hyperventilation.
2: Cold incapacitation occurs when muscles and nerves get cold. It happens two to 20 minutes after immersion. Strength and motor skills deteriorate during this period.
3: Hypothermia starts around 30 minutes after immersion. Core body temperature drops from 37 to 35˚C. Just over a quarter of cold-water immersion fatalities (27%) happen in this phase.
4: Rescue collapse can happen just prior to, during, or after rescue. Accompanied by mental relaxation and decreased adrenalin, it is also caused by a loss of core heat that continues after the rescue and leads to fatality. It is little known to most non-professionals. Yet, it is at this time, when we think the victim is out of the worst danger, when 17% of deaths occur. Luckily, it can be mitigated by post-rescue practices.
The 1-10-1 rule
If you fall in, you need to act to survive. Knowing the 1-10-1 rule will help you make critical decisions.
You have:
- One minute to get your breathing under control during the cold-water response.
- Approximately 10 minutes of meaningful movement.
- Approximately one hour before you become unconscious due to hypothermia.
Once breathing is under control, your priority is to pull as much of your body out of the water as you can, say onto a capsized boat. If you are not wearing a PFD, stay with the boat. Meanwhile if you are, assess whether rescue is probable. If not, decide whether or not to swim to shore and stick with that decision. If you can’t reach shore in 45 minutes, don’t try.
Signal to ensure potential rescuers know your predicament. If your boat is being swamped and you have a phone, call emergency response before you find yourself in the water.
When wearing a PFD, float on your back with elbows tight to your side and arms across your chest. Keep your legs together and, if possible, bend at the hips. This minimizes heat loss from your armpits and groin.
If two or more are overboard, huddle in a circle facing each other to keep together and conserve heat. This also makes you easier to see from a distance. Whatever the plan, stick together, and signal.
If you fall through the ice, use ice picks to get a foothold on the surface where you came from, and then go horizontal and kick to get onto the ice. Once on this ice, stay prone to distribute your body weight and crawl back along your tracks until you are certain you are on good ice. Once ashore find means to warm up as soon as possible. Every ice angler should have a reliable fire-starting kit. If incapacitated, signal for help.
Saving others
If you see someone in the water, immediately call emergency responders. If it is safe to help and you have support from others, do what it takes to get the person out of the water. Throw lines, help a person into a boat or onto the shore or safe ice. Never try to rescue if you are alone or do not have the proper safety gear yourself.
Also if the victim has been in water long, and you can get them out safely, keep them in a horizontal position and wrap them in a “burrito” of warm blankets or plastic sheeting until first responders arrive. Keep the person inactive to mitigate the risk of rescue collapse.
A warm drink to warm up the core is helpful if you have it. Hot chocolate is best.
These are a few things we learned. Basics. Take the course. It could help save a life — maybe even your own. For more information visit: www.csbc.ca
Don’t go onto cold water without
Floatation: Drowning is the thing you can most easily take precautions against by simply wearing a PFD or floatation suit.
Signalling device: When battling the hypothermia clock, the best strategy is to get out of the water and make people on shore see you and understand your dire circumstance. Signalling devices are key. They should be easily available in your boat or attached to your PFD too. Whistles, flares, or mirrors or even a cell phone could mean the difference between life and death.
Re-boarding device: Your boat should have a re-boarding device. A ladder or a rope that is easily reached from outside, with foot loops toed in it to help the climb in.
Picks and rope: On ice, everyone should have easily-accessible ice picks, ropes (preferably in a throw bag) and a knowledge of what to do if you break through.
Originally published in the Jan.-Feb. 2024 issue of Ontario OUT of DOORS
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