This article is the last in a series offering tips on boating skills and seamanship prepared for The Citizen by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, many drownings occur each year after a boat swamps or capsizes. Many of these deaths could have been avoided if the victims had stayed with their vessel. The following boating accident scenarios illustrate this point:

€ A 14-foot motorboat with three persons on board (POB) capsized when the anchor, which was hanging over the side of the boat, snagged on some debris. The water temperature was 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) were on board but were not used. Two of the men drowned when they attempted to swim to shore. The third person, a 9-year old boy, managed to climb on top of the overturned boat and was rescued.

€ Two men were fishing from an anchored 12-foot aluminum outboard. One man became excited when he caught a fish and jumped up in the boat. He lost his balance and fell overboard, causing the boat to capsize. The vessel was equipped with one vest-type PFD and one ski belt but neither was used. The excited fisherman drowned. The other man hung onto the boat and eventually floated ashore.

€ Rough water on Lake Michigan capsized a 14-foot motorboat with three persons on board at about 5 p.m. The boat was equipped with one yoke-type PFD and four cushion-types (three of these were lost when the boat capsized). Two of the men, one with the yoke-type PFD, attempted to swim half a mile to a light structure. Giving up on their attempt to reach the light, the men tried to return to the boat. Only one of them made it. The man with the yoke-type PFD reportedly had removed it because it was not keeping him far enough out of the water. He drowned. The other two men were able to hold onto the boat and were rescued at 9:15 a.m. the next morning.

In these incidents, PFDs were available, although not always in use. The four persons who survived these incidents did so by staying with the boat (16 hours in the third case.)

Staying with one's boat after it capsizes cannot be emphasized enough. The shore is always further than it appears to be. The boat not only provides a flotation platform for several persons, it is also more visible to potential rescuers.

Hypothermia update

In a previous article we discussed hypothermia and ways to deal with it.

As the reader may remember, hypothermia (also known as exposure) is the reduction of the body's vital core temperature. If someone is immersed in cold water, death can result within a relatively short period of time from the loss of this vital core heat.

The Coast Guard has now approved the first “Float Coat,” which provides extended hypothermia protection to the wearer.

It is designed to protect the vital core from dangerous heat loss, and it can be effective against hypothermia for several hours in freezing water.

The estimated time of survival of men immersed in water less than 35 degrees Fahrenheit is less than three quarters of an hour without the “Float Coat.” An added advantage of the “Float Coat” is that it is comfortable enough to wear continuously on board, assuring readiness in an emergency.

For more information, contact Ken Straw at 676-7396 or the Ithaca Flotilla at (607) 273-7175.

John E. Keshishoglou is the vice commander of the Ithaca Flotilla 22