There are many incidents involving open waters (i.e. lakes, rivers, oceans etc.) that can become a nightmare and destroy your fun times in, on, and near the water forever. The water nightmare that some may think of first is thunderstorms, hurricanes, or waterspouts. However, a more common type of open-water incident that leads to many deaths in open water is unexpected falls into the water.

Thirty-three percent of deadly boating incidents are due to falls overboard, in, and ejection from a vessel, according to U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) recreational-boating-fatality statistics in the past five years (2017-2021). The USCG also reported in that same time period that 83% of those people who died were in vessels less than 26 feet long.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the nation’s leading provider of water-based recreation. Falls are the second leading cause of drowning deaths on our nation’s waters according to USACE statistics. Their public recreation fatality statistics show that deadly falls into the water don’t only happen off of boats; they happen off of docks and the shoreline too. Also, USACE statistics identified that in the past ten years 89% of those who died were not wearing a life jacket and 88% were men.

Cooler air temperatures create colder waters that greatly increase the risk of death from falling into the water. Cold water is generally believed to be water less than 60 °F (15.5 °C), but even water temperatures higher than that can cause people to drown in the first stage of cold-water immersion, called cold shock. Many people drown due to cold shock that happens in the first minute or two after entering the water. Two things happen during cold shock, one is your involuntary gasp reflex may cause you to inhale water into your lungs. The other is heavy breathing from trying to catch your breath in cold water causes hyperventilation which can cause you to blackout and drown. Wearing a life jacket can help you to stay calm, relaxed, and control your breathing in order to survive this first stage of cold-water immersion.

You will have approximately 10-minutes in the second cold-water immersion stage, called cold-water-incapacitation. During this stage you will only be able to move your arms and legs for a short time before you become incapacitated. Not being able to move very long explains why even swimmers have drowned in cold water. It can take an hour or more before hypothermia begins. Hypothermia is the third stage of cold-water immersion, even though it’s often blamed for people’s deaths in cold water even if they drown quickly from the first stage of cold-water immersion. Exact times on the different stages of cold-water immersion depend mostly on the water temperature. Wearing a life jacket will help you to stay calm and give you extra time to be rescued.

A sunny day and calm waters can change quickly. Don’t let the occasional warm air temperatures in autumn lure you into taking off your life jacket because a fall into cold water can be deadly. You never know when someone on the boat, an overloaded boat, or wave action might cause you or others you care about to fall into the water. Waves can be caused by sudden weather changes (i.e. wind), unexpected currents, or other boats on the water.

A simple way to avoid the nightmare of falling into cold water and ensure that all your times in, on, and near open water are great fun is to wear a life jacket. Learn more lifesaving water safety tips in English and Spanish at this link. https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Recreation/Water-Safety/safety_tips/