In the water: 1–10–1

Cold-water immersion kills in stages, and the rescue community teaches the timeline as 1–10–1. ONE minute of cold shockcold shockThe first minute in cold water: involuntary gasping. Float and breathe — do nothing else.full glossary →: involuntary gasping and hyperventilation — the killer here is breathing in water, so the entire first minute’s job is FLOAT, get your breathing under control, nothing else. About TEN minutes of meaningful movement before cold saps swimming ability — spend them getting attached to something that floats, signalling, or reaching the boat, because after them you may hold a position but not improve it. Then roughly ONE hour before hypothermiahypothermiaDangerous cooling of the body’s core. Handle casualties gently, horizontally, rewarm slowly.full glossary → threatens consciousness — longer than most people fear, which is exactly why giving up early is the avoidable tragedy. (Cold-water timings follow widely taught sea-survival guidance; reviewed June 2026.)

Behaviour buys time. Stay STILL rather than swim (swimming flushes warmed water from clothing and burns heat several times faster); take the HELP positionHELP positionHeat Escape Lessening Posture: knees up, arms hugged in, protecting groin and armpits in cold water.full glossary → — knees drawn up, arms hugging the chest, protecting groin and armpits; huddle a group into a ring, smallest people in the middle. Clothing helps even soaked — it traps water your body warms — so the instinct to strip off is wrong.

On deck, the MOB drill from the safety course is the other half of this lesson: shout, throw, point, MOB button, and an approach with the propeller managed. Add the recovery problem to your drills — getting a cold, heavy, possibly unconscious person UP topsides is the hard part; know where the halyardhalyardA rope that hoists a sail up the mast.full glossary →, the sling and the swim ladder are before the day you need them.