SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/boat-huddle-position

Several people end up in cold water after a capsize. What does the Coast Guard advise?

Huddle together with arms around each other.

  1. Spread out to search for help
  2. Take turns swimming to shore
  3. Huddle together with arms around each other ✔

Why: Huddling shares body heat, keeps everyone together and lifts morale. A group also makes a bigger target than one head in the water, so rescuers spot you sooner.

Huh, didn't know that: Children cool much faster than adults because of their smaller body size, says the National Center for Cold Water Safety.

The dad joke
Why don't oysters share their pearls? Because they're shellfish.
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Sources

  1. USCG, A Boater's Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats (2023) https://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/AssetManager/Boaters-Guide-to-Federal-Requirements-for-Receational-Boats-20231108.pdf
  2. National Center for Cold Water Safety https://www.coldwatersafety.org/hypothermia

Test yourself in the game

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That's stuff everyone should know.