Unexpected Pleasant Swim

Irish Rover

Irish Rover

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I got a piece of fishing net wrapped around one of my propellers today. I took the boat close to a local beach and took the plunge. Got the net off in around 10 minutes and had a short swim around the boat. 18.5C wasn’t bad. May get in again tomorrow to give the props a bit of a clean with a wire brush when I have someone with me on the boat.
 
You are a tougher man than me. My last swim was end October near Bodrum, lovely sunny day and shallow water, but still cold enough to require immediate brisk activity and little lingering. Our Raymarine sea water temp reading was 21 degrees (plus or minus about ten if past history is anything to go by!)
 
In truth I’d never have dreamed of getting in if I didn’t have that mishap with the net but it really didn’t feel that cold. It helps it’s a really nice calm sunny day here so no wind chill feeling when I got out.
 
I ve been thinking of having a swim today. Water temperature around 30 C. That in my pool through not around the boat temp by boat around around 22 C
 
I was on safety boat duty in the River Blackwater yesterday & a lady got separated from an upturned dinghy at the same time as my son tipped his Phantom. Had to leave son & race to the lady.
When we arrived she was screaming that she could not get her breath & felt she was going to drown. Had a hell of a job getting the RIB alongside in the chop & wind but once I grabbed her arm I had to hold her and calm her down. I established it was not asthma but just panic. Then bobbed her 3 times & got her in the boat. Her male helm was hanging on to the dinghy & totally knackered so we picked him up. I had too much gear on to get in the dinghy so ignored their objections & abandoned the boat & took them ashore.
By that time my son had got his Phantom up & back to shore( He had problems due to the cold in his hands)
I got most of my heavy kit off so I was down to wet suit only & with my son we went to get the dinghy . Son jumped in & easily righted it. I went to get in but he told me to sod off if he could not sail a laser 2000 single handed he would give up. So in 18 kts of wind he took it home on his own.
I had to give the girl some advice.I think that some dinghy sailors probably know this already.
That is that once separated & not near enough to swim to the boat easily, there is little she could do so she should save energy & just float & wait for the safety boat. She should not panic it uses unnecessary energy. She cannot change the status. Just leave it to us. Someone will come eventually. Actually a passing fishing boat did come over but we waved him away after thanking him.
Just do not panic & wait.
Whimps with 20 deg water temp do not know how lucky they are
 
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Daydream believer said:
... she was screaming that she could not get her breath ...
Click to expand...

I wonder if she's even now aware of the contradiction here? Learning a little about cold shock might help her to understand what was happening and assist her to panic less and to help herself more if it happens again.
 
Thistle said:
I wonder if she's even now aware of the contradiction here? Learning a little about cold shock might help her to understand what was happening and assist her to panic less and to help herself more if it happens again.
Click to expand...

I do not think that with the thick wetsuit plus gloves & hat & all the activity she was actually all that cold. They had done one race & was waiting for the start of the next when this happened. She never complained of cold. Just kept gasping for breath & screaming between breaths " Oh my god, I am going to drown".
It was a real panic state.I have never seen it before & have done polar safety duty for the last 10 years & summer safety duty off & on for many years.
 
Daydream believer said:
I do not think that with the thick wetsuit plus gloves & hat & all the activity she was actually all that cold. They had done one race & was waiting for the start of the next when this happened. She never complained of cold. Just kept gasping for breath & screaming between breaths " Oh my god, I am going to drown".
It was a real panic state.I have never seen it before & have done polar safety duty for the last 10 years & summer safety duty off & on for many years.
Click to expand...

Well done that man. Sounds to me like a good job well done.
 
Daydream believer said:
I was on safety boat duty in the River Blackwater yesterday & a lady got separated from an upturned dinghy at the same time as my son tipped his Phantom. Had to leave son & race to the lady.
When we arrived she was screaming that she could not get her breath & felt she was going to drown. Had a hell of a job getting the RIB alongside in the chop & wind but once I grabbed her arm I had to hold her and calm her down. I established it was not asthma but just panic. Then bobbed her 3 times & got her in the boat. Her male helm was hanging on to the dinghy & totally knackered so we picked him up. I had too much gear on to get in the dinghy so ignored their objections & abandoned the boat & took them ashore.
By that time my son had got his Phantom up & back to shore( He had problems due to the cold in his hands)
I got most of my heavy kit off so I was down to wet suit only & with my son we went to get the dinghy . Son jumped in & easily righted it. I went to get in but he told me to sod off if he could not sail a laser 2000 single handed he would give up. So in 18 kts of wind he took it home on his own.
I had to give the girl some advice.I think that some dinghy sailors probably know this already.
That is that once separated & not near enough to swim to the boat easily, there is little she could do so she should save energy & just float & wait for the safety boat. She should not panic it uses unnecessary energy. She cannot change the status. Just leave it to us. Someone will come eventually. Actually a passing fishing boat did come over but we waved him away after thanking him.
Just do not panic & wait.
Whimps with 20 deg water temp do not know how lucky they are
Click to expand...

I might have seen you in the distance as we had a working party ashore at Marconi. I noticed that there were a few boats out at Stone and it looked like one was over and had a RIB in attendance while a motor boat was nearby. Not particularly nice to be out yesterday, smoother in the shelter of the sea wall but it looked choppy further out especially in th narrows between Marconi and Osea.
 
Daydream believer said:
I do not think that with the thick wetsuit plus gloves & hat & all the activity she was actually all that cold. They had done one race & was waiting for the start of the next when this happened. She never complained of cold. Just kept gasping for breath & screaming between breaths " Oh my god, I am going to drown".
It was a real panic state.I have never seen it before & have done polar safety duty for the last 10 years & summer safety duty off & on for many years.
Click to expand...

The specific density of a body with air in the lungs is less than an equivalent volume of water. So you will float. Those who panic open their mouths and take water in. This of course needs to take account of what you are wearing.
 
Tam Lin said:
I might have seen you in the distance as we had a working party ashore at Marconi. I noticed that there were a few boats out at Stone and it looked like one was over and had a RIB in attendance while a motor boat was nearby. Not particularly nice to be out yesterday, smoother in the shelter of the sea wall but it looked choppy further out especially in th narrows between Marconi and Osea.
Click to expand...

That was us. The motor boat was a fishing boat that investigated the deserted upturned boat whilst we took the crew back. 4 Marconi boats came to stone & joined in the racing.
Great sailing day.If i had not been doing safety boat I would have been in my Phantom ( or swimming round it!!!)
 
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Daydream believer said:
That was us. The motor boat was a fishing boat that saw the deserted upturned boat whilst we took the crew back. 4 Marconi boats came to stone & joined in the racing.
Great sailing day.If i had not been doing safety boat I would have been in my Phantom ( or swimming round it!!!)
Click to expand...

They would have been the cats then. I moved four sets of wheels further up the hard for them as the tide was coming in and covering them!
I was looking at your incident with the mk 1 eyeball and could only just make it out!
 
Falling out of a dinghy (even with a wetsuit) is a sobering experience.
Never forgotten (even if you have perfected a dry capsize) , it moulds your attitude to sailing for many a year- even beyond the transition to keel boats!

Cold water survival training does help. :)
 
pagoda said:
Falling out of a dinghy (even with a wetsuit) is a sobering experience.
Never forgotten (even if you have perfected a dry capsize) , it moulds your attitude to sailing for many a year- even beyond the transition to keel boats!

Cold water survival training does help. :)
Click to expand...

My record until recently was as a teenager ( pre wet suit days )when i went in 14 times in one Hornet Burnham week race ( 23 starters 5 finishers we were 5Th)
Beat it last year in my Phantom
 
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