'A pretty desperate situation': How to stay safe on dangerously cold water

When you end up with a capsized boat in cold water, like in the lakes in northern Manitoba, the consequences can be deadly.

The cold water near the causeway that connects to the Burntwood River, just northwest of Thompson, Man., about 650 kilometres north of Winnipeg, led to the tragic deaths of two fathers and their two sons on Monday.

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It was the first canoe trip of the year for Conor Sykes, his six-year-old son, Liam, and Shane Cripps and his 14-year-old son, Dylan. The four, who all had life-jackets on, were found close to their capsized canoe, according to RCMP.

"Somehow they ended up in the water and the temperature of the water is probably 2 or 3 degrees Celsius," said Thompson Mayor Dennis Fenske.

"When you are in those circumstances unless you can get yourself out quite quickly survival is not very long."

The deaths come just over a week after the retired police chief of Kenora, Ont., drowned while kayaking in Whiteshell Provincial Park.

3 phases of cold water immersion

University of Manitoba professor and cold water expert Gordon Giesbrecht said with warming outside temperatures, people may be heading onto lakes wearing shorts and sunglasses, but they are still at risk for hypothermia.

"Early and late seasons, like the spring right now, is certainly a high danger time because it's sunny and its warm and you can be wearing shirt sleeves, not really thinking about the fact that the water might be fiveor 10 degrees," he said.

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Tipping a boat in those conditions sets off the three phases of cold water immersion, he said. First the body will have a cold shock response, meaning there will be gasping and hyperventilation. ButGiesbrechtsaid if a person has a life-jacket on they are likely to survive.

If they still can't get out of the water, the second phase, called cold incapacitation, sets in and nerves and muscles don't work as well, meaning people will lose coordination and strength.

After about a half an hour in the really cold water hypothermia will start to kick in, Giesbrecht said, and it will continue to get worse.

"It will take half-an-hour or an hour for an adult to become mildly hypothermic and as you become more hypothermic you will become less and less able to do anything, and eventually you will lose consciousness and that might take two to three hours," Giesbrecht said.

It will take much less time for a child.

"It's a pretty desperate situation if you are not near shore and you have a capsize like that, and you've got two adults and a small child like that," he said.

Most boating safety courses dealing with cold water encourage people to stay with their capsized vessel because any attempts to swim will actually cool a person's core faster, Giesbrecht said. However, if it's an empty lake or waterway and the person is wearing a life-jacket, he added, it might be worth the risk.

"If you know that nobody is coming to find you today, then you know if you stay with the boat you are going to die," he said.

Preparation, prevention, performance

Giesbrecht teaches cold water safety courses where he breaks down the three things people need to consider before heading out on a boat, particularly if the water is cold preparation, prevention and performance.

He said a person should make sure they have the skills for the trip they are planning, look into the weather before setting sail and make sure to wear a life-jacket or other personal floatation device.

To prevent tragedy, make sure to pick routes you know and that are unlikely to cause a boat to capsize, and if it's windy, stick to the shore.

With performance, he said its important to plan aroute somewhere you can be rescued and consider wearing thermal protection gear if water temperatures are cold.

"You have to know the weather conditions, know what your boat's capabilities are and if there is a chance a storm is coming, don't cross a large lake," he said.

'Don't be afraid to call it a day'

Not wearing life-jackets and alcohol are common contributing factors to drowning deaths in Canada, said Kevin Tordiffe, operations manager of the Lifesaving Society's Manitoba branch, but cold weather often plays a factor.

"Manitoba waterways are hypothermic level year-round. We think about beautiful days in July even but the water temperature that is there is still such that if you are in it for a prolonged period of time you can develop hypothermia," he said.

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While it might just seem like a fun summer sport, Tordiffe said before anyone considers paddling out on the water they need to have training.

"People need to understand that just like any other sport you should get training to make sure that you are doing it in a safe and effective manner," he said.

He suggested pleasure craft operator certification, training through the Lifesaving Society and other programs through Manitoba Paddling Association.

But even the most skilled people need to remember to call it quits, he added.

"Have a plan to escape and don't be afraid to call it a day if things don't go the way you are planning," he said.