By Chuck Frederickson, Lower James RIVERKEEPER
There was a sad story in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about two young men who died on Monday in unrelated hunting accidents. Both went into the water accidentally while waterfowling and it appears that both died from the effects of hypothermia.
On many occasions I have encouraged you to get out on the river during the fall and winter to enjoy this beautiful time of year but this story reinforces the necessity to be careful and be prepared when on the water. The water temperatures now are in the mid 30’s. At 32.5 to 40 degrees F, a person in the water will slip into exhaustion/unconsciousness within 15-30 minutes. Expected maximum survival time is 30-90 minutes. In many cases though, when moderate hypothermia sets in it becomes extremely hard to perform tasks such as reentering a boat or swimming to shore.
Please prepare carefully when going out this time of year. Always wear a personal floatation device, float coat, or even better, floatation coveralls. While these will not totally prevent hypothermia, they will offer more protection from the cold and aid in rescue efforts should you go into the water. Lastly, be careful out there. It’s never a good idea to take chances on the water but it’s even a worse idea this time of year.
Learn more about hypothermia:
http://www.natureskills.com/hypothermia_symptoms.html
http://www.princeton.edu/~oa/safety/hypocold.shtml
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