Cold-Water Safety for Boaters (with Alaska Notes)

Cold-Water Safety for Boaters

Alaskan boaters deal with cold water every month of the year. But the National Weather Service (NWS) warns that cold water is a risk almost everywhere. Warm air doesn't mean warm water, and water that doesn't sound very cold can still kill. NWS notes that Pacific Northwest ocean temperatures may stay in the 60s °F year-round, and around Annapolis, Maryland, the water may be above 60°F for only about 5.5 months a year. Weather on any large body of water can also drop the water temperature sharply, even in midsummer.

This guide explains what happens to your body in cold water, how to prepare, what to do if you go in, how to care for someone pulled out, and the Alaska resources that teach cold-water skills.

What cold water does

NWS describes the stages:

1. Cold shock (first 2–3 minutes or more)

2. Physical incapacitation

You lose muscle control in your arms, legs, hands and feet. It can start within seconds, and the colder the water and the longer you're in it, the worse it gets. Symptoms include weakness, exhaustion, and being unable to control your fingers or limbs. NWS warns that this loss of control makes self-rescue, or even staying afloat without help, virtually impossible. Without a life jacket, drowning becomes inevitable.

3. Hypothermia

Hypothermia begins when core body temperature drops to 95°F (35°C). After the first minutes of cold shock, body temperature keeps falling and thinking and movement get worse. Core temperature can keep dropping after you're out of the water, so get into a warm, dry, sheltered place as fast as possible.

How people end up in cold water

NWS lists common ways people end up in cold water:

Be ready before you go

NWS's preparedness list:

If you go in

NWS shares these US Coast Guard survival steps:

  1. Stay calm. Get your breathing under control through the first minutes of cold shock.
  2. Minimize your time in the water. Get out as soon as you safely can. Climb onto anything that floats, including a capsized boat, to get as much of your body out of the water as possible.
  3. Evaluate your options. If you can swim to safety, stay calm and do it. If you can't, save energy and heat and wait for rescue.
  4. Use the H.E.L.P. position (Heat Escape Lessening Posture). Pull your knees to your chin with your legs together, press your arms against your sides, and keep your head out of the water.
  5. Huddle. With others in the water, huddle together to save body heat.

Caring for someone pulled from cold water

NWS shares these American Red Cross steps:

  1. Call 911 or the local emergency number.
  2. Move the person gently to a warm place.
  3. Monitor breathing and circulation. Give rescue breathing and CPR if needed.
  4. Remove wet clothing and dry the person.
  5. Warm them slowly with blankets or dry clothing. Hot water bottles or chemical heat packs can help, but wrap them in a towel first.
  6. Warm the core first (trunk and abdomen), not the hands and feet.
  7. Don't rewarm too fast, and don't put the person in warm water. Rapid warming can cause dangerous heart rhythms.

Alaska resources

Alaska reported no mandatory boater-education requirement in the USCG state tables. Taking a course is still voluntary and recommended. Registration and other Alaska rules are in the State Rules tool, and our boater education guide compares states.

Sources