Hypothermia - Read this!

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

Thanks for posting. Around 1935-1940 the Nazis did some research on cold water survival and if IIRC the biggest factor was body fat. Skinny people do not last long even if they are marathoners.

Huh. Go figure! seals, whales, walrus, all mamals layered in blubber. Polar club participants usually carry personal insulation. Always amazing when money is spent to discover the obvious.

[Nicholson58]

Good information here and may influence you on-board equipment and ditch stuff.

Ohio CG years ago at the YC noted that abut 9 of 10 drounings on L Erie involved ethanol, men, no lifejacket, open fly.

We have hard rule on the boat. We always wear floatation.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by deluxe68

Thanks for posting. Around 1935-1940 the Nazis did some research on cold water survival and if IIRC the biggest factor was body fat. Skinny people do not last long even if they are marathoners.

They did some more research 1939-45, as I recall. Nobody made it.

[hellosailor]

"involved ,... open fly."
And if you'll stop to consider, not one victim was found wearing a kilt.

Kilts are the secret to safety at sea.

As to blubber or hypothermia...sea birds, waterfowl, have uninsulated feet and routinely have no problem sitting in ice water. Many mammals have good ability to regulate (increase) their metabolism to deal with the cold. Hell, even yogis and performers have proven that modern man can still do this. The problem is, we've forgotten how.

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"involved ,... open fly."
And if you'll stop to consider, not one victim was found wearing a kilt.

Kilts are the secret to safety at sea.

They are certainly the secret to starting provocative conversations at the bar with pretty, younger women, I've found. Handsome knees and rugged calves help.

I've only sailed kilted once. Tacks can be hazardous.

[DRS]

I have always had the 1 - 10 - 1 rule here. Realize that in the 1st minute you hit the water your body is going to react to the cold water. Know this and keep calm. You then have 10 minutes to get back on board before your arms and legs stop working. If you stay in the water you have about 1 hour till you pass out due to hypothermia.
Sounds pretty close to what the OP's expert is saying.
A few years back I rescued 2 guys that had been in the water for a while. One guy could not even get himself up the swim ladder to the swim grid. Took everything I had to haul his 200 pounds out of the water.
Best to stay out of the cold water and wear that PFD

[hellosailor]

It isn't necessarily that the arms and legs will stop working, but once the water goes below about 50F you may have a coronary simply from the cold shock, if you're in middle age. As the water goes into the low 30's, the diaphragm muscles will be paralyzed, so your arms and legs will still work but you will not be able to breath, and you will actually suffocate.

Cold water has many ways to get you.

[DeepFrz]

I have always had the 1 - 10 - 1 rule here. Realize that in the 1st minute you hit the water your body is going to react to the cold water. Know this and keep calm. You then have 10 minutes to get back on board before your arms and legs stop working. If you stay in the water you have about 1 hour till you pass out due to hypothermia.

+1 ^^ I read this many years ago and used the part about staying calm many times while swimming in cold water. I do believe that swimming in the Lake of the Woods, Clearwater Bay when I was young got me used to immersing myself in cold water. I don't (or didn't the last time I swam in cold water) seem to have a gasp reflex and I know enough to get out of the water after a few minutes. However I and a friend tipped our canoe one time in moderately cold water with an offshore breeze. Luckily someone noticed us and gave us a tow to shore before we lost all of our strength. It didn't take long for us to weaken to the point where we could no longer pull ourselves into the canoe after partially emptying it of water.

[Paul Elliott]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

A little off topic here but some observations about being in ice water.

It's interesting that after immersion in a 190 F sauna and then plunging through a hole in the ice, the shock reflex is effectively suppressed. You can sit in the ice water for a couple minutes before you even start to feel uncomfortable.

I've done the sauna / jump through the hole in the ice thing quite a few times, and also sauna / cold ocean plunge, and my experience is that within 15 seconds of immersion I am feeling the pain of the freezing water. The initial plunge is great, but very quickly my private parts are aching painfully and the cold is starting to creep into my toes and fingers.

I guess that's why we do it: it feels so good when you stop!