Gogarty wrote:
Weird.

I would bet that those people who died did not drown but suffered cardiac
arrest upon being plunged suddenly into cold water. Less than 70 F. is
cold.


You may well be correct for many of the victims. The human body's
response to sudden immersion in cold water is (like much else in nature)
a bell curve. ~ 5% will be fine, ~30% will feel the shock but able to
recover, ~30 have a more severe shock, ~30% more severe yet, and ~5% may
simply die almost instantly.

Age and fitness probably matter, but I've personally seen (and helped
rescue) a very fit young man (a college soccer star, in fact) lapse
instantly into unconsciousness & heart failure upon immersion in 40
degree water. He fell off a jet ski near shore, would have been an
embarassing way to die.

There are stories of people surviving almost indefinitely while immersed
in cold water, but I've always assumed that these people just
represented that far tip of the bell curve.

One of the reasons I favor Type 3 PFDs over inflatables is that they
offer some insulation for the chest (plus no worries about inflation or
lack thereof).

Fresh Breezes- Doug King