Marathon canoeists do things routinely that other canoeists hardly ever do. Marathoners cover long courses that are hard to supervise so they are left on their own. They paddle at night and they paddle in cold weather. They also paddle hard and fast and purposely interact with other canoes when they race. In the process, they get tired and in fact, exhausted.


I have paddled for many years and have been in the water many times in freezing rivers, rapids and windy lakes. Sometimes I planned to go in and others I had no plan when I went in. Sometimes I was lucky enough to have someone else come up with a plan to rescue me from my predicament. If you are like me you likely think a little bit about avoiding dangerous situations and you think about how you can minimize risk in a surprise turn of events to avoid a calamity. But in an ego sport like marathon racing, how often do we make plans with and inexperienced partner or other racers for the inevitable dump? Considering the risks, it might not hurt to talk about it.

This winter I was doing some reading on the subject of hypothermia as it relates to paddling. The articles I read stressed the importance of planning to fall in. Mental preparedness is the first step to surviving a flip in cold water. Apparently some people simply fall apart due to shock. So the situation can deteriorate quickly. Making a plan, talking things over before hand, knowing what to expect may help.

My experience is that marathon paddlers wear layers of clothes like cross country skiers. They usually wear fleece and long johns and wind breakers. To prevent frozen extremities neopreme gloves are warmest. Others wear loose gloves and remove them when they get hot. Or Gore-Tex gauntlets. Wool hats with or without brims, snowmobile boots or running shoes with neopreme socks are various ways to stay warm. A wet or dry suit may be required in very cold conditions. Open top rubber boots are not safe.

The question is really; can you swim in what you have on? Even a strong swimmer might have trouble with rubber boot buckets on their feet. At the same time maybe they can be kicked off before they drag you down. The bottom line is when you paddle in cold water, always wear a PDF. It will also keep you warm where it counts and it will keep you afloat, rubber boots or not. Think also about how far you are from dry cloths if they are not in the canoe with you.

Now that you are ready to get in the canoe with your newly enlightened partner, it's important to know about the "gasp" reflex. This has nothing to do with your response to your partner's weird clothing selection! No, the gasp reflex is what happens to you when you hit that freezing cold water. If your head is under the water when you gasp, you may drown drown in seconds. I saw this reflex in action one January (-6) when the canoe flipped going into a rapid on the Thames River. When we reached the surface my partner was doing the best impersonation of a barking seal I've ever seen...the gasp reflex at work. Luckily my partner was able to climb onto the over turned canoe and was sucking air. I watched her for a few seconds then suggested we swim to shore. Someone else would deal with the canoe full of cold water and get it back to us. She settled down and controlled her breathing.

Note that the hyperventilation caused by gasping in all that air and water can cause fainting due to C02 depletion in the blood. The best thing to do is to talk to the dunked paddler and make sure they are conscious and breathing properly.

Obviously you need to get out of the water as soon as you can. Air does not conduct heat as well as water. Swim to shore if it is close enough or climb on the canoe with your partner and keep warm together. It is important to maintain body contact with your partner's torso to lessen the amount of heat escaping. At this point hopefully your plan included another canoe team to rescue you. If not you will need to work fast and swim to shore.

Water between 5 and 10 degrees Celsius will allow most people to live more than 1/2 hour, but significant loss of reason and limb coordination will be lost before that. So make decisions fast and act on them. If you can make it to shore, strip off wet clothes. Wring out wool layers and use them and any dry cloths you may have to insulate yourself. Apply external heat by huddling together and start a fire if possible or get inside somewhere.

A human can shiver for 6 to 12 hours and with dry warmer cloths on, they can actually raise their own temperature and save themselves by shivering. So shivering is a good thing. If a person is obviously cold, Incoherent or unconscious, and not shivering, it signals that they could be in a very dangerous stage of hypothermia. They will not survive without an external heat source. This should be gently applied to the chest and torso. The need medical attention as soon as possible. Lastly alcohol should not be used as it dilates peripheral blood vessels and releases heat.

In summary; make a plan, dress appropriately and know the effects and how to treat hypothermia.