Cold Water Awareness for paddlers (ZZ from FCRCC)

Cathy Marr, our Outrigger Rep, attended a webinar on cold water exposure at a Sea Kayak Association of BC meeting with Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht (aka Dr. Popsicle)  from the University of Manitoba. For a summary of the key points, see the info and videos at https://csbc.ca/en/cold-water-awareness If you only  watch one video, the 1-10-1 video covers the key points but none of the  videos are long so paddlers are encouraged to watch them all.

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Key takeaways are that it is not likely to be hypothermia that kills you in the event of a huli. First will be the Cold Shock Response Phase with a gasp response which you don't want to happen while submersed (or you may drown) so keep your head above water and then you can focus on taking a  couple of deep breaths to get your breathing under control and stop the  hyperventilation. This may take up to a minute or so. Next will be the Cold Incapacitation Phase where you will start to lose control of muscles and nerves so you will want to get back in the boat as quickly as possible. This phase is about 10 minutes.

Absolutely key is  wearing a lifejacket. This will keep your head above water when you gasp during the Cold Shock Phase and keep you afloat when the Cold Incapacitation Phase sets in.

You will apparently have an hour or so in our waters before the Hypothermia Phase lowers your core temperature enough to  cause you to die of cardiac arrest.

Lastly, be careful to watch for the  Rescue Collapse Phase  which can happen once the person is rescued. Although this is not likely to happen for shorter immersion periods, it apparently can happen and  will be evident where the person has trouble moving once out of the water. If this happens, be very gentle with them, keep them horizontal  and wrap them up.

If you want to know more about this topic, let Cathy Marr know. Perhaps we can arrange our own webinar or one hosted by CORA.

What to wear for  winter paddling:

At FCRCC most of us  continue paddling through the winter. We each have our favourite cold weather clothing. We hope to use the weekly email to share some of your personal favourites.

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Cathy Marr is  starting us off with her personal favourites - merino wool long underwear  and merino sweaters that can be tossed in the washing machine after use and hung to dry ready for the next practice. A favourite merino undershirt was a Costco find for $16 so merino is not necessarily an expensive option. Cathy notes some of her female paddling friends also swear by their merino wool sports bras. Also in Cathy's essential cold water paddling wardrobe are neoprene socks and neoprene booties. Cathy's neoprene booties are so cozy and comfortable with a snug fit around the ankle to keep water out that she refers to them as her "Marie Kondo"  boots because they bring a wave of joy every time she puts them on.

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If you have a favourite cold weather clothing item, send a note about why you love it and a photo to cathymarr09@gmail.com   and we will feature it in the weekly email.