On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 15:39:45 GMT, "Doug Kanter"
wrote:


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Don White wrote:
Rosalie B. wrote:
"Lars Johansson" wrote:


"Doug Kanter" wrote in message
news
OK. Just find out (unless you already know) the relationship between
water
temp and minutes to death. Isn't it something like 20 minutes, with
the
water around 40 degrees? Sometimes, a life vest ends up being just a
nice,
fat handle for lifting your corpse. :-)
Yes, something like 50% chance of survival after 20 minutes. But you
loos
you ability to do anything about your situation much faster than that.
4-5
minutes maybe.
/Lars J

It isn't a straight line function. The occupational physician that I
was working with when I fell off the dock in November (in Maryland - I
was folding the sails) said that there was a 50-50-50 rule. In water
of 50 degrees F, 50% of people will survive for 50 minutes. From that
I infer that some people have more resistance to cold water than
others. And in fact that is what one sees when people's boat sinks
when it is in cold water. Some people die quicker and some people
hang on longer.

grandma Rosalie

That 50/50/50 scenario was quoted to us in one of our Canadian Power &
Sail Squadron courses. The 50 degree temperature is not much lower than
you would expect off the coast here in the summer time.


Well, there goes my chance of talking my wife into a trip to NS this
summer...


Tell her that women who get unbelieveably stiff nipples from cold water at
least 4 times a year are 98% less likely to get breast cancer. I have a link
to the research somewhere, but I can't find it at the moment. Tell her you
heard it from me, and that I'm an amateur discount gynecologist.


LOL!
--
'Til next time,

John H

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