Memorial Weekend Boating Safety

May 21, 2008
RadioBite Script

Track: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is reminding people who are going to be on the state’s waterways over the Memorial weekend, that hidden danger awaits the unprepared or unlucky boater who capsizes or falls overboard.

DNR boat and water safety specialist Tim Smalley says even though the weather's getting warmer, people forget just how cold the water is.

RadioBite #119
:24 seconds Tim Smalley - DNR boating and water safety specialist

"Cold water shock is the involuntary gasp that happens when you’re suddenly immersed in cold water, if your boat capsizes or you fall overboard. If your head is underwater when that gasp happens, drowning becomes a real possibility. If you somehow do survive cold water shock, your muscles quickly begin to stiffen up from the intense cold and you lose your ability to swim to survive. Without a life vest, drowning becomes more and more likely."

Track: Smalley added that a boater's best defense against cold water is to wear a life vest and to make sure all the passengers in the boat do too, no matter how warm the air is.

For more information, visit the DNR's Web site at mndnr.gov.