What defines Cold Water?
What defines cold water in our sport? When do I wear my dry suit versus my wetsuit or just a dry top? What is the harm of not wearing protective clothing if I am only going out for a few hours? I’m just going to go paddle boarding on the calm lake. What could go wrong?
These are all common questions during the colder months of paddling in our state and all over. We get those beautiful 70+ºF sunny days in the middle of winter and we all want to go paddling. What most of us know (but sadly some do not) is that those waters are still very cold even if it does reach a 70+ degree day in December. Not knowing can be the silent killer.
Ask yourself how many times you have seen a recreational paddler out on a lake or river during the winter months without the proper protection. Then, ask yourself when was the last time you saw a whitewater, touring, or sea kayak paddler out on the water during the winter months without protection. I am sure most of you will say numerous times with the recreational paddler and rarely, if ever, on the specialty paddling. That is because all of the specialty paddlers usually have training through a support network such as our wonderful club to help keep them informed and help out when it is needed. Sadly those beginning paddlers who most likely bought their watercraft at a major chain store just simply don’t know. Simply put; most of us know that you MUST “Know Before You Go” and they do not. 
Had you attended the class this Saturday taught by the awesome Scott Brown you would have been sworn in as ambassadors of safety; meaning it is now your job to spread that word and help inform the public when you see someone out there being unsafe. Now if you are reading this I am challenging you to also become an ambassador to safety and help keep the public informed so they too can “Know Before they Go”.
Before I talk about the course this weekend, I would like to take a few minutes to talk about the beginning of the project that eventually led to us hosting the Cold Water Safety Class this weekend.
Most, if not all of you heard about the Dan River tubing tragedy that took place last year. At its cause was a lack of knowledge of the river and safety practices. It sadly ended in lives lost.
As the new CCC Safety Chair at that time it really caught my attention. I sat in multiple meetings about what had happened and things we could do to prevent this type of incident but everything was about that river and the low head dams which are a great threat in our sport but once again, most of our group of paddlers understand that. I wanted to find a way to take what we know and start pushing that out to those who didn’t. The first step was to create a working relationship with the Carolina Kayak Club (CKC). For those who are not familiar, the CKC is a club very similar to ours but its normal venues are everything outside of whitewater. Many members of the CKC are also members of the CCC, including half of the board members of the CKC. After meeting with the board of the CKC we agreed that we should pull our resources together and jointly serve the entire paddling community. After months of planning, that goal finally became a reality. This weekend we jointly hosted Cold Water Safety Course. I believe this is a first of its kind for both clubs. We conducted a class similar to what the CKC has done in the past followed by some practical exercises on the lake, but this time we had all types of paddlers from both clubs with multiple days and venues. My hopes are that this will not be the last time you see us co-hosting an event with the CKC as I plan on doing whatever I can to strengthen this partnership so we can use our wide range of influence to help educate the public.
Just in case you missed it, another example of this partnership and influence was our dual CCC/CKC member, Larry Ausley talking to WRAL about this topic during a short segment on Cold Water Safety. It took a little bit of work and using some WRAL connections within our clubs but we were able to get a segment aired prior to the class. If you missed story the link can be found at the bottom of this article.
Now that I have boasted about how proud I am that we were able to make this project come true, let’s talk about the Cold Water Safety Classes we co-hosted this past weekend. We had the before-mentioned Scott Brown drive over 3 hours from Charleston, SC to teach the classroom portion and share his knowledge.
For those who don’t know Scott he is a retired Army officer who spent a lot of time in the military attending cold water training all over and has worked with the Coast Guard and taught many Cold Water Safety Classes in the past. To say he is experienced in cold water scenarios and training is an understatement. We were lucky enough to draft him into our club in an active role this past year, adding a very experienced kayak instructor and Cold Water Safety instructor to our roster. I know Wayne Jones and I are very excited about having him on the team. Scott presented us with a very in-depth and informative class on what cold water was, the dangers of cold water, and how to protect ourselves while in cold water. We even had Larry Ausley in attendance who added many great points.
After the classroom portion we moved out to the lake and did some practical exercises to include testing the dry suits and paddling exercises.
It was a sunny and very windy day but I am pretty sure everyone still took some new information home with them. We ended up with 17 CKC members, 8 CCC members, and 4 dual members in attendance for the classroom and about half who participated in the on-water portion.
For those who did not attend I can tell you a couple huge takeaways when it comes to cold water safety. The 2 major threats to our side of the sport are going to be the first two things that happen upon immersion in cold water, both of which the PFD will greatly enhance your chance of survival with so it should come to no surprise but: ALWAYS wear your PFD, without it, especially in cold water your chances of survival are greatly reduced.
The first threat is cold water shock. That is when you initially drop or fall into cold water and the cold water hits your unprotected body causing you to involuntarily gasp for air. For most in both of our clubs that would mean when you fully submerge because you are all awesome educated paddlers who are wearing your protective gear so your head/face is the only major body part that is not fully protected. The good thing is you are all also wearing your PFD because we always do so you will pop back up out of the water. Hopefully at that time you will be able to spit out that water you just took it but even if you do choke on a little bit of water you will be buoyant enough to start taking in air. Those who “Don’t Know” and don’t have a PFD gasp in that water and then many times don’t resurface and are never seen alive again because they never got that air!
The second threat is muscle failure. The cold water cools the body 25 times faster than air so the longer you are in the cold water the more it is taking away your body heat and it is also taking away your muscle strength. This could happen anywhere between 3 and 30 minutes after immersion depends on your health and fitness. Once again, because we are all awesome, educated paddlers we have 2 protections to help us with this, our PFD which we always wear and our cold water protection( Dry suit, wet suit, insulating layers, etc). These will help us survive longer in cold water incidents. For those that “Don’t Know” they might have neither or only one of the two and they will generally have less than 30 minutes to get out of the water before they are in trouble.
The link to Scott’s presentation can be found below but if you take anything away, remember to always wear your PFD and ensure you have the proper cold water protection for the temperatures and the environment including wind, sun, overcast, open water, shady river, etc. Additionally, do your best to not paddle alone, especially during colder months as a helping hand could very well make the difference between you surviving a normally harmless capsize or the search and rescue teams finding your body a couple of days later.
The second day of the jointly hosted class was on the Cape Fear River in Erwin(NC). It was a modified L3 River Safety and Rescue class taught by Chris Mattox and myself. Chris would be an Olympic Whitewater Swimming Champion if there was such a thing. He is a beast of a swimmer and the kind of guy you want coming to save you. He is also an excellent instructor and I was happy to have him teaching with me. We taught a shorter version of the L3 Rescue course with focus on the whitewater specific aspects of cold water safety and rescue. 
The major focus was on wading, swimming a rapid, catching a throw rope, and then throwing a rope after a full swim. This allowed the participants to really feel the power of the cold water and how it would affect their abilities during a rescue scenario. There is a different effect on the body compared to the day prior in the lake as this time, the participants were fully submerged for a swim and then had to negotiate current, all while going through that initial cold water shock, recover their mindset, catch a rope and hold on to it. Afterwards they had to try and throw a rope and help bring in a fellow swimmer. We ended up with 1 CCC/CKC member, 6 CCC members, and 1 CKC(Future CCC member) attend the course.
If you have never swam or been submerged in a cold water event, then you should know your hands are going to be the first thing that you lose function of if they are not protected.
In a lake or flat water environment you can generally do a lot to help protect your hands and maybe even put some gloves on while you are floating, but as we all know, you don’t have that luxury when you wet exit and are swimming down a rapid, especially in cold water when you are already going through that initial cold shock. If you end up swimming in cold water through a rapid you are going to lose grip with your hands very quickly unless they are protected. You cannot simply float with your hands in the air or stop to put gloves on. Without grip strength it is going to be difficult to hold on to a rope, especially if it is one of the smaller diameter ropes.
Let’s look at that hand, hand protection, and grip strength topic as that is what many asked in the class and what many are probably wondering now. Most whitewater paddlers use pogies, lightweight neoprene gloves or mitts with the palms exposed for grip because we need to be able to maintain positive control of our paddles when negotiating rapids. If you use just pogies and you swim, at least 1 hand if not both are now exposed to the elements with no protection. One method that I learned is to put on a pair of latex/Playtex gloves to add just a little bit of protection in the event of a swim but still have contact with the paddle shaft. Then, keep a pair of dry gloves in your drybag for use on shore. That is a great method, but it will only last so long. Rapid rescue and getting out of the water is very important. Lightweight neoprene gloves provide a little more protection once you swim but that protection will only last so long, so again you will need to get out of the water quickly. The open palm mittens are a great tool to add even longer protection and will help out a lot during a swim but you do not have the use of your fingers so when it comes to using a rope to rescue others so they will most likely have to come off during any rescue you are trying to perform. You could even use both pogies and the open palm mitts which would be great protection on the water and in the water but once again limited use to perform a rescue.
Now if you look at all those facts it would seem that there is not perfect answer to protecting your hands in a whitewater swimming scenario and you would be mostly correct. Luckily there is a great solution that will greatly aid in your chances of survival regardless of what your preferred hand protection is; a quick and proper rescue that gets you out of the water and warmed back up. How do we do that you might ask! Well, first thing is get out of your kayak for a day or 2 and attend a River Safety and Rescue or Swiftwater Rescue class which, coincidentally, we offer through the club. Then you can “Know Before You Go” and perform a safe and expedient rescue.
Second, always paddle with a Little Group of Paddlers (LGOP) that you know and trust and who hopefully have also attended a River Safety and Rescue or Swiftwater Rescue Class so you all are able to effectively and safely perform a rescue on the river should anyone need it.
Lastly, when paddling in the colder water months, ensure you add extra gear to your “kit bag” for emergencies based upon the venue you are paddling. For example if you are paddling the Nolichucky, you are further away from civilization than you would be paddling the Haw River so more cold weather survival gear should be taken. This can range from fire starters, dry thermal protection, shelter material, Bothy bag shelters, and even a large trash bag to use as a makeshift paddling cagoule (cag). I am sure one quick Google search would produce many different cold weather survival tips and gear to use or pack.
So what do I think we learned over the course of 2 days? I am sure many can tell you we learned a lot of great information but also that we should do the exact things we always talk about during all months of paddling;
● Know Before You Go: Know the venue, the weather, environmental conditions, the group’s abilities, and your abilities.
● Wear your PFD: No matter how cold or hot it will save your life when you need it the most
● Dress for the swim: More specifically dress for the rescue in the whitewater paddling environments. That exposure to cold air and water while you are performing a rescue will usually be harsher than just a swim itself.
● Paddle with a LGOP: Safety is in numbers, plain and simple.
If you follow these basic steps each and every time you go out on the water your odds of safely making it home are greatly enhanced and this applies to all months of the year.
In closing, I would like to thank Camille Warren, and Larry Ausley who are members of both clubs, Ingid Haddon and Jim Neill from the CKC and our very own Wayne Jones, Scott Brown, and Chris Mattox from the CCC for helping me to make this awesome and informative class a reality for both clubs.
Stay Safe and I will see you all on the river (with poker cards…)
William Holman
Safety Chair
Scott Brown’s Presentation [Large!]
Other great resources on Cold Water Safety
National Center for Cold Water Safety (Moulten Avery)
Coast Guard Aux – Cold Water Safety
Great stuff William!