By Doyice Cotten

I was recently introduced to the website coldwatersafety.org. I am the fartherest thing from an expert on cold water safety, however this website provides a lot of information that anyone who participates in or leads groups in cold water activities should know about.

Moulton Avery, Founder and Director of the National Center for Cold Water Safety kindly let me know about the site and gave me permission to tell you about the site. I will just give you a little information on the site and refer you to it.

What Is “Cold Water”?

The site states that:

It’s water that’s cold enough to threaten your safety or your life if you aren’t wearing thermal protection. In general, you should treat any water temperature below 70F with caution.

Did you know that falling into 50-60F water is immediately life-threatening and can potentially kill you within seconds? Thousands of people have drowned after falling into cold water and a lot of them died before they even had a chance to reach the surface.

People considered good swimmers have drowned within 6 feet of shore, and many kayakers have drowned immediately after capsizing – before they could even exit their boats.

Most people have no idea that cold water is so deadly because they mentally compare it with their experience in cold air and conclude that the two are roughly the same. They’re not, and the difference is huge.

I was surprised to learn that “when cold water makes contact with your skin, cold shock causes an immediate loss of breathing control, severe physical and mental stress, and swimming failure.”  The site discusses at what temperature one should begin wearing a wetsuit or drysuit.

Golden Rules of Cold Water Safety

The site gives what it calls the 5 Golden Rules of Cold Water Safety. It emphasizes that while each is important, the combination of all five is necessary for cold water safety.  The rules are:

• Always were your PFD.
• Always Dress For The Water Temperature
• Field-Test Your Gear
• Swim-Test Your Gear Every Time You Go Out
• Imagine The Worst That Could Happen and Plan For It

Much more information is contained on the site . Read it carefully and be safer when involved in cold water activities – avoid being part of a sad statistic.

Photo Credit: Thanks to Gabriel Amadeus at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gabrielamadeus/8375872186/sizes/m/in/photolist-dL9wZq-5PAXsV-5PAXxz-5PAXmg-e2GBzD-e2NgaG-8eaEVn-7W24si-3PqTB6-4qXK8P-2nmbps-9ek8Ls-55qRWX-8UN7KW-cyxz6f-55uUXC-cyycT7-55uVpN-cyxmF1-cyykqj-6Nh4gF-6SmcBc-dGgK2r-dy23ME-8EafNi-8vGnwi-cyyaz1-e1ptav-bY1z2u-bdsugr-bdstXM-8yoPi9-dL9wLj-dL9wvW-dL43dR-5PFdUW-afQtWG-84RpHi-55qQEr-9yALmW-6eCfx6-yjAqV-55v2Mb-a5svQ-4ZjSbQ-9ySJZL-cBn8tL-avwqe4-9hXXxL-cyxtrd-788gxZ/

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