NEWS RELEASE

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

January 9, 1998

CONTACT: Capt. Paul Ouellette (850-488-6257)

BOATING SAFETY MEASURES CAN PREVENT HYPOTHERMIA

Winter is here. Boaters, anglers and hunters need to take extra precautions when using Florida’s rivers and lakes during the cold weather season. The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) cautions outdoor recreationists to protect themselves against the threat of hypothermia, the loss of body heat which occurs rapidly when a person is in cool or cold water.

Water doesn’t have to be cold to cause hypothermia. It just has to be cooler than the victim’s body temperature. Hypothermia may cause victims to lose consciousness and lead to drowning. The most effective precaution against drowning is to wear a personal flotation device (PFD).

Otis Stubblefield, 86, was fishing under some trees on the Suwannee River, Nov. 19 when he fell out of his boat. He landed in 12-foot-deep, 64-degree water.

"I was wearing a sweat shirt, windbreaker and life jacket. I was soaked, and my clothes were heavy. I could not pull myself up into the boat. I was in the water 20 minutes before I pulled myself up onto a tree branch," the Gainesville resident said. "It was about another 20 minutes before I was rescued and taken to an ambulance. I was cold and could not stop shaking." Within 40 minutes Stubblefield’s body temperature dropped to 91 degrees. The paramedics treated him for hypothermia.

Capt. Paul Ouellette, FWC boating safety coordinator said, "People can die in less than an hour as a result of hypothermia. Eighty percent of Florida’s boating fatalities in 1996 were caused by drowning, six of those fatalities were directly related to hypothermia."

Boaters, anglers and hunters should make every effort to become familiar with techniques of surviving in cold water he said. The two main methods are treading water and keeping your PFD on to provide more insulation. In cold water, wearing a float coat is best. A float coat is a winter-jacket floating device that can minimize body heat loss.

"In 50-degree water, the expected survival time of someone treading water is about two hours; with a float coat, expected survival time is seven hours," Ouellette said. "Don’t ever remove clothing when in the water, a layer of water trapped inside your clothing will be warmed by your body heat and will help insulate you." Ouellette’s other recommendations include: * Only swim to get back into the boat or to something that will enable you to get out of the water. Any long distance swimming in cold water will result in loss of the warm layer of water in the clothing and will pump warm blood to extremities where it will cool quickly, reducing survival time by as much as 50 percent. * Keep rapid-heat-loss areas covered, especially the head, neck, chest and groin. These areas should be insulated from cold water. * Anglers and hunters who use waders should remove them while in a boat. Waders fill with water rapidly and can drag a person to the bottom. * Leave a float plan with a friend, detailing where you will be and when you expect to return. This should include a description of your boat. * Be aware of changing weather conditions, and have a plan for finding shelter if weather conditions become threatening. Take extra clothes, food and water along. "Boaters are responsible for their own safety as well as the safety of their passengers." Ouellette said. "Make everyone wear a PFD and follow all safety rules. Life jackets float, people don’t."

The FWC offers free information packets on boating safety. Packets are available from the Boating Safety Coordinator, Division of Law Enforcement, FWC, 620 S. Meridian St., Tallahassee, FL, 32399-1600. The FWC offers free boating safety courses in each county annually. Call the FWC regional office for course information.