The cold shocking truth…. about cold water shock : what happens and what to do

 The average temperature of British and Irish coastal waters is 12- 15ºC, cold enough to cause cold water shock.

Professor Mike Tipton, leading expert in cold water survival at the University of Portsmouth, talks about what you should do if you find yourself unexpectedly in cold water.

From RYA

Cold Water Shock is a real danger in water below 15°C.
If you do find yourself in the water, a lifejacket could literally save your life.

Cold Water Shock is a cause of death that many people fail to appreciate.
Adequate clothing and a lifejacket will potentially help you to survive long enough to be recovered.

When the body is suddenly immersed in cold water it experiences a number of physiological responses that can rapidly incapacitate and even kill.
The sudden lowering of skin temperature is one of the most profound stimuli that the body can encounter.


The biggest danger is inhaling water and drowning, even if the water is flat, calm and you know how to swim.
Cold Water Shock causes an immediate loss of breathing control.
You take one or more huge gasps, followed by hyperventilation – very rapid breathing that is hard or impossible for you to control.

As blood vessels contract, increases in heart rate and blood pressure may result in cardiac arrest even in people who are in good health.
At the same time a “gasp” response may result in water being inhaled into the lungs and your breathing rate may increase by as much as tenfold.

The condition causes involuntary body reactions that can be as swift as they are deadly – and the ability to swim well has no impact on these responses.
It is far deadlier than Hypothermia, yet far less understood by boaters in general.

Hypothermia kills over time as heat is conducted away from the body leading to a gradual decline in body core temperature and loss of swimming ability, unconsciousness and ultimately death.
Conversely, most people who are susceptible to Cold Water Shock die in the first minute of immersion.

In the majority of cases, victims aren’t stupid or intentionally reckless, and many are strong swimmers.
They simply have the misfortune of getting caught in an exceptionally lethal trap.
Cold water preys on the unsuspecting and the careless, but it also waits patiently offshore for those with plenty of experience but who don’t take it seriously.

 This video has been produced for fisherman and looks at how the body automatically reacts to sudden immersion in cold water, how this places you at severe risk of death and how you can best improve your chances of survival.

SSTRAI and the Angling Council of Ireland wish to acknowledge the support of the RNLI and thank them for the use of this video as part our water safety training material.

What happens?

Sudden cold water immersion drastically reduces your ability to hold your breath typically from a minute or so to less than 10 seconds, whilst cold water in your ears can cause vertigo and disorientation.

At a water temperature below 15°C, and if you are not wearing a life jacket, especially an automatic one, cold water shock will:

• cause you to inhale as you go under the water, due to an involuntary gasping reflex, and drown without coming back to the surface
• drastically reduce your ability to hold your breath underwater, typically from a minute or so to less than 10 seconds
• induce vertigo as your ears are exposed to cold water, resulting in failure to differentiate between up and down

Cold Water Shock is a danger in water below 15°C; that’s more or less the summertime average around the coast of the UK.
It is therefore important to think carefully about the clothing you wear and protection from the cold – a dry suit will provide additional protection, particularly in very cold water.

Coupled with the shock of going over the side, the condition may well contribute to a feeling of panic as you struggle to stay afloat; this will be far easier to overcome if you are wearing a correctly fitting lifejacket.

A very real risk

Last year saw a dog owner fall victim to Cold Water Shock after diving into the sea from his boat in an attempt to rescue his pet.
The 59-year-old was spotted in the water by two jet-ski riders near Brightlingsea in Essex.
The man’s son had reportedly tied a rope around his father to prevent him from becoming fully submerged in the water.
Emergency services, including an air ambulance and coastguard helicopter, were scrambled to the scene.
The casualty was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, but despite having been rescued after just ten minutes, he was sadly declared dead several hours later.

Horrifying film that shows what can happen if you fall into cold water after a couple of drinks

What to do

The RNLI’s advice is to float for around 60 to 90 seconds – the time it takes for the effects of the cold shock to pass and for you to regain control of your breathing.
The recommended floating position is to lean back in the water and keep your airway clear while keeping calm to maintain breathing levels.
You should then be in a better position to attempt to swim to safety, or call for help.

The key to surviving cold shock is being alert to the symptoms and acting quickly to protect your airway and conserve your strength.
If you ever recover someone from the water, they may seem okay, but may well be susceptible to secondary drowning where any water entering the lungs can cause a condition called pulmonary oedema.
This can happen within 1 to 24 hours after an incident in the water.

Symptoms to look out for are coughing, chest pain, troubled breathing, tiredness and irritability.
A close eye may need to be kept on the person after an incident in case of these delayed symptoms.

The RYA advises all boaters to think about the temperature of the water, make sure you are wearing a lifejacket, unless you have assessed it is definitely safe not to do so, and clip on your ISO approved safety line when the situation and weather dictate it.

Know your limits

Most people unfamiliar with cold water find 21C to be quite cold.
On the other hand, a competitive open-water swimmer who is used to swimming in 13C water, will probably think that 21C doesn’t feel very cold at all.
What’s important to your safety is how you personally respond to cold water.

For more guidance on the risks of Cold Water Shock, contact the RYA Cruising Team on 023 8060 4233 for your free copy of the latest Safety Advisory Notice.
More information on looking after yourself can also be found at www.rya.org.uk/go/safety

Why not try a one-day RYA Sea Survival course? It will show you how to make the best use of liferafts and the equipment they contain.
You'll also pick up survival techniques, top tips on the medical aspects of sea survival, as well as an in-depth knowledge of search and rescue techniques.
Visit www.rya.org.uk/go/seasurvival

Links :

• Lifeboats : You fall unexpectedly into cold water
• DiscoverMag : Man’s Chronic Pain Disappears After Vigorous, Cold-Water Swim
• The Economist : Finding yourself in the rivers, lakes and ponds of England

Home ground

'Home Ground' is a short anthropological film exploring how two very different, but geographically close, cultures relate to one another within a striking and vast natural landscape.

Featuring Siggi the Icelandic sailor and Dines the Greenlandic hunter.

An independent film by James Aiken

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354 nautical raster charts updated & 6 new charts added

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How dangerous can ocean waves get? Wave comparison

Rogue Waves - In this episode we will cover the most elusive of all waves and explain where they come from and how dangerous they can be. 

Links :

• GeoGarage blog : Terrifying 20m-tall 'rogue waves' are actually real / Study finds massive rogue waves aren't as rare as ... / How rogue waves are created in the ocean ... / Rogue wave theory to save ships / Science investigates freak waves / Rogue waves captured / The Bermuda Triangle: A breeding ground for rogue ... / The Power of the SEA: tsunamis, storm surges, rogue waves, and our ... / Oxford scientists successfully recreated a famous rogue wave in the lab / 19-meter wave sets new record - highest significant ... / Rogue wave prediction tool developed / Studying and surfing the ocean's monster waves / NZ tech could reveal planet's largest waves

Thirty years after Exxon Valdez, the response to oil spills is still all wrong

In 1989, a tanker ran aground off the coast of Alaska, causing one of the worst oil spills in United States history.

The Exxon Valdez oil tanker leaked 11m gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, Alaska. 

30 years later, the lessons of the Exxon Valdez continue to resonate.video : NYTimes

From The Guardian by Riki Ott and Jack Siddoway

Chemicals used to clean up spills have harmed marine wildlife, response workers and coastal residents.
The EPA must act.

By day, a secluded bay in Prince William Sound is the site of spawning salmon destined for supermarkets.

But when the tide goes out and the beach is exposed, evidence of oil can be found, 26 years after the Exxon Valdez spill.

Final segment of a three-part investigation.

Thirty years ago, on 24 March 1989, communities in Prince William Sound, Alaska, awoke to horrific news: the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker, had run aground and leaked 11m gallons of oil into the sound.
Chaos ensued.
Fishermen desperately began collecting oil in five-gallon buckets.
Exxon, meanwhile, responded by burning floating oil and dumping toxic oil-based chemicals called “dispersants”.
Dispersants break oil apart into smaller droplets, and this was assumed to enhance natural dispersion and degradation of oil, thereby “cleaning up” a spill.
Instead, the dispersants formed chemically enhanced oil particles that proved to be more toxic to humans and the environment than the oil alone.

 NOAA map excerpt showing Bligh Reef and automated beacon with the GeoGarage platform

Bligh Reef, sometimes known as Bligh Island Reef, is a reef off the coast of Bligh Island in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This was the location of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

 After the incident, US Code 33 § 2733 mandated the operation of an automated navigation light to prevent future collisions with the reef.

Despite these efforts the tug Pathfinder ran aground on Bligh Reef on Dec 24, 2009, rupturing its tanks and spilling diesel fuel.

Bligh Reef is also where Alaska Steamship Company's Olympia ran aground in 1910.

Twenty-one years later, on 20 April 2010, the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded off the Louisiana coast, releasing 210m gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The subsequent response was all too familiar – burning oil and dumping dispersants once again.
Two million gallons of dispersants were applied to “clean up” the spill.
Instead, these chemicals led to unprecedented oil deposition on the ocean floor, resulting in severe impacts to marine wildlife from the sea floor to the upper ocean – including large dolphin die-offs, fish kills, and deformities – and devastating pulmonary, cardiac and central nervous system illnesses for response workers and coastal residents.

 Dispersants are being used in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response.

Dispersants are not safe to humans or the environment.

They contain various industrial solvents and workers must be protected from exposure.

Dispersants are usually applied directly to the spilled oil by spraying from an airplane, helicopter, or vessel.

During the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup in Alaska, some dispersants were manually sprayed by workers on oiled beaches.

Although dispersants are manufactured by many companies and their ingredients may differ, most contain a detergent and a solvent.

The solvent allows the detergent to be applied.

The detergent helps to break up the oil on the water surface into very small drops.

These tiny oil drops are then able to easily mix with the water and be diluted.

Most dispersants contain petroleum distillates, a colorless liquid with a gasoline- or kerosene-like odor.

They are composed of a mixture of paraffins (C5 to C13) that may contain a small amount of aromatic hydrocarbons.

Exposure to can cause irritation to the eyes, skin, or respiratory tract.

NIOSH also recommends preventing skin contact with oil mist.

To prevent harmful respiratory and dermal health effects NIOSH recommends reducing worker exposures to petroleum distillates and similar cleaning agents in dispersants.

For more details, go to the NIOSH website at :

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/dispersants.html

This was clipped from video produced by the Governors Office of the State of Alaska in 1989 and 1990.

This is why our coalition of environmental justice organizations, conservation groups and individuals from Alaska to Louisiana directly affected by dispersants gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notice this week of our plan to sue the agency to compel it to update its rules regulating the use of chemical agents known to be harmful to the environment and everything in it.
We are concerned that the EPA is putting at risk the 133 million or so Americans who live near the coasts, making up 39% of the US population, and the millions more who live near lakes, rivers, or along oil pipeline corridors and who are in harm’s way of the next “big one”.

The use of these dispersants is a response method outlined in a set of federal regulations called the National Contingency Plan, which governs our nation’s oil and chemical pollution emergency responses.
The Clean Water Act directs the EPA to periodically review the plan and update it to account for new information and new technology.
By requiring periodic updates of the plan, Congress sought to ensure it would reflect current understanding of response methods and facilitate actions that minimize damage from oil spills.

The EPA last updated the National Contingency Plan in 1994.
That it does not reflect the advances in understanding of dispersant toxicity that came after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster is, at best, a gross understatement.
In fact, the 1994 update did not even incorporate lessons learned from the long-term ecosystem studies following the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.
In 2011, EPA’s Office of the Inspector General concluded that the plan urgently needed revision.

It took a public petition filed by Dr Ott and members of the grassroots organization now known as Alert (A Locally Empowered Response Team) to prompt the EPA to modernize the plan; in 2013 the EPA finally initiated a rulemaking proceeding.
In 2015, the agency invited and received over 81,000 public comments, a majority of which called for reducing use of oil-based chemical dispersants and better efficacy and toxicity standards.

Techniques used after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill—such as washing sand and returning it to beaches—are helping to clean Gulf of Mexico coasts affected by the oil spill.

But since the comment period closed in April 2015, the EPA has been silent on the issue.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration, under the new National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas leasing program, plans to open 90% of US coastal areas to oil and gas drilling, putting communities back in harm’s way.
Given the history of offshore oil drilling, it is simply a matter of when – not if – another devastating spill will occur.
Delaying updates to the National Contingency Plan is a dangerous dereliction of EPA’s duties under the Clean Water Act.

We can no longer stand on the sidelines and hope the agency will act.
On behalf of those who have already lost their homes, their livelihoods, their health – and even their lives – we are going to court to demand action.

Links :

• The Guardian : Deepwater Horizon disaster altered building blocks of ocean life
• National fisherman : Revisiting the Valdez
• CNN video : Exxon Valdez oil spill harmed wildlife
• History : Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
• NOAA : An Oil Spill’s Silver Lining, 30 Years Since Exxon Valdez