In the water: cold shock, capsizing and person overboard

Luis is thirty-one. On a bright May morning, he's out fishing with his friend Ana in her small aluminium boat. It's time to move, so Luis stands up in the bow to pull the anchor. The boat rocks, he loses his balance, and he's over the side. His lifejacket is on the seat where he left it.

So here's the question. What happens to Luis in the first minute? And what does Ana do, starting right now?

Start with the water. Transport Canada's Safe Boating Guide says about ninety-four percent of Canadian boaters who drown were in water below twenty degrees. The guide teaches the one ten one principle. First, one minute of cold shock, a sudden gasp and fast, hard breathing. Your job is to keep your airway clear and slow your breathing. A lifejacket keeps your mouth and nose out of the water.

Then about ten minutes of useful movement, before your arms, legs and fingers stop working well. Use that time to get yourself out. Without a lifejacket, the guide says, you're likely to drown, and putting one on in the water will be very hard. Finally, it can take up to an hour to lose consciousness from hypothermia, even in ice water.

If you capsize or fall in, the guide says to climb onto something floating nearby and get as much of your body out of the water as you can. Only swim if you can reach safety or join others, and don't swim to keep warm. To slow heat loss, use the HELP position, arms crossed tight on your chest and knees drawn up. With others, huddle, chests together and arms around each other.

Now Ana's side. The guide's steps for a person overboard. Sound the alarm, and slow down or stop. Throw something that floats, which also marks the spot. One person watches them and does nothing else. Come back slowly, keep the propeller away from them, and bring them aboard on the windward side, the side the wind is coming from. If the climb back in is more than half a metre, a reboarding device is required.

Two turns to know. The Anderson turn is the fastest, for calm water and good visibility. Slow down, turn hard toward the side they went over, and come around about two thirds of a circle, so they end up ahead of you, then shift to neutral. The Williamson turn is for night, waves, or when you noticed late. It brings you back along your own track.

On the water. On our boat, the rule is simple. Anyone who stands up to handle the anchor or a line is already wearing a lifejacket. And before we leave the dock, everyone knows two jobs. Who throws something that floats, and who points at the person in the water and never looks away.

Let's change one fact. Luis is wearing his lifejacket when he goes over. The gasp still comes, but his face stays up. He slows his breathing, and in that first minute Ana has slowed, thrown him a cushion, and started her turn. Now the one ten one clock is working for him, not against him.

The mistake boaters make is planning to grab the lifejacket once they're in the water. The guide says that will be very hard. The other mistake is swimming to stay warm. Unless safety is close, the guide says don't.

Here's the rule, in one breath. Wear it before you stand up, one minute to get your breathing back, ten minutes to act, get your body out of the water, and from the boat, alarm, throw, watch, and come back slowly with the propeller away.

This week, wearing your lifejacket, with someone watching from the dock, float in shallow water and try the HELP position. Next time, fire, running aground, and how to call for help.