Capsize and cold water

What you need

• A PFD you are wearing, not one lying on the deck
• A wetsuit or drysuit when the water is cold
• A bailer or a pump
• A whistle and a throw rope
• Dry clothes in a dry bag

How

1. Dress for the water temperature, not the air. Around this island the water is cold enough to hurt you most of the year.
2. If you go in, get the breathing under control first. The gasp and the racing breath ease off in about a minute.
3. Stay with the boat. It floats, it holds you up, and it is what somebody will see.
4. Get back in fast. Empty it, come onto the back deck belly down, hook a leg in and roll into the seat.
5. Practice that in shallow water on a warm day, before you need it cold.
6. If you cannot get back in, get as much of you out of the water as you can, out of the wind, and blow the whistle.

Watch for

Notes

Paddle with somebody. A second boat is worth more than anything strapped to your deck.