With the ice gone from lakes and rivers at what seems an earlier pace, many boaters and anglers are already launching their boats. There were 400 or more fishing boats reported on the Mississippi River in mid-March on the 12-mile stretch between Lock and Dam Number 3 north of Red Wing to the head of Lake Pepin.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds boaters to take special precautions when enjoying early season boating and fishing. Even though air temperatures have reached the 70s recently, water temperatures are still bone-chilling cold.
“We see it time and time again in Minnesota boating accidents,” said Tim Smalley, DNR boating safety specialist. “A lone boat on a lake capsizes; the victim isn’t wearing a life jacket, has no warning or time to put one on, and drowns due to the effects of cold water.”
Smalley said the key is the life jacket. “A person who suffers swimming failure or loss of consciousness will stay afloat wearing a life jacket, but drown without one. It’s smart for boaters to wear a life vest from the time they enter the boat until they return to shore. There is no time to put one on before a boating accident. It’s been compared to trying to buckle your seat belt before a car crash.”
A 2007 report by the U.S. Coast Guard stated that a boating accident was five times more likely to be fatal if the water was colder than 60 degrees.
“Cold water can kill in ways that you might not expect,” said Smalley. “Nearly everyone knows that immersion in cold water can cause hypothermia – the abnormal lowering of the body’s core temperature. What most don’t know is that victims who experience an unexpected fall overboard suffer initial cold water shock in the first minute, which involuntarily causes them to take a series of big breaths, called hyperventilation. If their head is underwater, they can inhale more than a quart of water and drown immediately if they aren’t wearing a life jacket to keep them afloat.”
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