With two recent boat capsizing instances on Leech Lake and with fall hunting, Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch reminds duck hunters and fall fisherman of some basic tips taken from the National Weather For Cold Water Safety website.
• Always wear a personal floatation device. As it greatly reduces the chance of sudden drowning due to cold shock and swimming failure. With few exceptions, cold shock causes people to immediately lose control of their breathing. As a result, many of them suddenly drown-even though they can swim. Cold water drowning can occur instantly if cold shock causes a person to gasp while their mouth is submerged. That particular phenomenon used to be called "Sudden Disappearance Syndrome" and it's worth emphasizing that a person does not suddenly disappear and sink to the bottom if they are wearing a properly secured PFD. Drowning also can occur during the first several minutes of cold shock due to swimming failure or inhaling water as a result of wave splash. If a person is not wearing a PFD, they will drown as soon as they can no longer swim or tread water.
• Always dress for the water temperature because cold water can kill. Not wearing thermal protection when a person paddles on cold water is gambling with their life. The air temperature is irrelevant. The only thing that really matters when a person falls into cold water is whether they are dressed for immersion. Dressing for the water temperature means a lot more than simply donning a wetsuit or drysuit before a person heads out. It means knowing with certainty the garments a person is wearing provide enough thermal protection to keep a person warm and allow them to function physically and mentally, if a person winds up in the water.
"Cold water immersion is always a race against the clock, and depending on how well prepared you are, it can be a desperate race or one you can walk rather than run," the release stated.
• Dressing for the water temperature means:
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1. Wearing thermal protection like a wetsuit or drysuit, so the person doesn't experience cold shock.
2. Wearing enough thermal protection so the person remains warm, calm and able to function physically and mentally while in the water, whatever the water temperature happens to be.
3. Wearing a wetsuit that's thick enough to protect a person from the cold and snug enough to
work properly.
4. Wearing a drysuit that doesn't leak, is not excessively burped and has enough warm clothing underneath it to protect from the cold.
5. Wearing enough protection to keep a person functioning if they have to swim or get towed to shore, and if they can't get to shore, enough protection to keep them alive long enough to be rescued.
• Field test the gear. Cold water gear is a person's lifeline, if they capsize. People should ask themselves: "Will your gear really keep you warm? How do you know?" Wetsuit style, fit and thickness are critical to a person's safety, as is the clothing worn under a drysuit. A person should ask themselves: "Does your gear work like it's supposed to? How can you find out? Should you wear a hood? What kind of gloves work best for you? Say, for example, you paddle on 50-degree water. How much time will your gear buy before you become too chilled to function? Does it interfere with a rescue or roll?" Field-testing will answer all of these questions and more.
While wearing all of your cold water gear, can you?
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• Deploy, inflate, use and stow a paddle float.
• Find the grab loop on your spray-skirt.
• Deploy, use and stow a tow rope.
• Find and use the release tab on your tow rope when you're upside down.
• Attach your spray-skirt.
• Pump out your cockpit with the skirt attached.
• Properly set up and roll.
• Effectively use a GPS, cell phone or VHF radio.
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• Activate a strobe light or Personal Locator Beacon.
• Operate a clip or zipper.
• Open a box of cookies.
• Find and blow your whistle.
• Turn on a headlamp.
• Assemble a spare paddle.
• Open a container of flares and fire one.
• Do a boat-to-boat rescue, as rescuer and as victim.
