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 The Effects of Cold-Water Immersion by Colleen Kelly The Two Harbors Kayak Festival is on the first weekend in August every year. Typically that is when Lake Superior hits its warmest water temperatures of the year. This year the temperature was 50 degrees. Having done deep water rescues in temperature ranging from 40 degrees to 70 degrees, I mentally gauged how I would be feeling that day when I would be in the water. A shiver ran through my whole body. I had three men in my Deep Water Rescue class. One gentleman was trying out his brand new Gore-Tex drysuit, one had on a neoprene shorty wet suit (it covered his shoulders, torso and thighs), and one was wearing a Farmer John long wet suit. I was also dressed in my Farmer John wet suit, wet shoes and polypro zip top under my wet suit and paddling jacket. We practiced two rescues; the assisted T-rescue where we were immersed in the water for about two minutes, and the unassisted paddle float rescue, where we were immersed in the water for about three to six minutes. Between the rescues, we were sitting inactive in our boats observing and assisting rescues. From the time of our initial immersion, it was over an hour until most of us could change into dry clothes. As I expected, the gentleman in the drysuit appeared to be more comfortable than those of us in wet suits. All of us handled the first immersion rather well; we didn't enjoy it, but with great efficiency, our partners, who were posed and ready to rescue us, had us out of the water in about two minutes. The second immersion really started to really affect people's energy. Our hands lost dexterity and grew numb because they were in the water reaching for paddle floats and righting our boats, people became a clumsy, and all of us in wetsuits had begun to shiver in earnest once we climbed back in our boats. Needless to say, no one wanted to stay on the water to learn any other rescues. The gentleman in the shorty wet suit said he was doing o.k. with the cold, and he did look to be toughing it out, but he was the first off the water and into dry clothes. The man in the dry suit said he was surprised at how cold he had actually gotten, and would be wearing thicker layers underneath than just polypro in the future. The two of us in Farmer Johns were very cold; the other gentleman wasn't sure if he could even complete his second rescue because he was so chilled. I had a steady, teeth-chattering shiver going until I got back in motion carrying and loading my boat, and it would return the moment I stood still. I spent 30 minutes in my car with the heat on wearing toasty warm dry clothes drinking hot water and eating lunch before I thought, "Oh o.k. I'm going to be able to guide a tour this afternoon." Even then I had the luxury of putting on a complete change of dry clothes including a new wetsuit that wasn't cold, wet and clammy. Every time I do cold water rescues, I am humbled by the experience. Lake Superior is brutally cold. It is difficult even to perform rescues on a calm day, near shore with many helping hands at the ready. It is frightening to think of being in dangerous wind and waves on a hazardous rocky shore without help nearby. While most of us have strong natural survival instincts, the cold water is constantly draining and overcoming that initial adrenaline-charged effort. The most important safety reminder is to always be prepared: dress for immersion with a wetsuit or drysuit, wear a correctly fitted PFD, take a sea kayaking deep water rescue class, check a marine forecast before you paddle, paddle with a partner, know the shoreline conditions ahead and behind you, carry a compass and know how to use it, carry signaling devices such as a whistle marine radio cell phone and dye and or flares, let someone know what your paddling plans are and when you should return, and stay on shore if the paddling conditions are beyond your abilities. Paddling should be a fun experience; by planning ahead and being prepared, paddlers can help to make it a safe experience as well. |
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