DrJennySmith

We would always recommend a non-contact rescue. 3 steps - Shout (tell them to float on their back - see Float to Live on the RNLI website), Reach (use a reaching aid / pole), Throw (a rope). Avoid getting into the water - see our previous answer.

It's important to note that about 60% of those who die in cold water in the UK were regarded as good swimmers. Many are otherwise fit and healthy individuals. Cold habituation can increase rather than decrease the risk by making people feel comfortable and thereby overstaying their welcome in cold water. For more information see:

Tipton, M. J. & Bradford, C. (2014) Moving in extreme environments: open water swimming in cold and warm water Extreme Physiology & Medicine. 3:12. http://www.extremephysiolmed.com/content/3/1/12.

Add to this rips, tides, currents and unforeseen hazards and ....

ANYONE CAN DROWN: NO ONE SHOULD

1) close supervision (within arms reach) and know exactly who is in charge of the supervision 2) properly fitted and worn life jacket with crotch straps / retention system 3) clip on at all times 4) refer to RYA guidelines

Condolences. It is a sad fact that 1 person every 3 weeks loses their life in situations where they should have been wearing a life jacket but weren't. Also, to function properly a life jacket should fit properly, include crotch straps, a light, a splash guard and be regularly maintained.

Lunt, H., White, D., Long, G. & Tipton, M. (2014) Wearing a crotch strap on a correctly fitted lifejacket improves lifejacket performance. Ergonomics. 2014 May

Pointer, K., Milligan, G. S., Garratt, K. L., Clark, S. P. & Tipton, M. J. (2018) A 10-year retrospective analysis to determine whether wearing a lifejacket would have prevented death by drowning in the United Kingdom: An analysis of Maritime and Coastguard data. Safety Science. 109: 195-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.06.003.

Thanks for your post. We are pleased that you are finding this useful. Our ambition would be to get a simple, classroom-based lesson on water safety covering cold shock, rips and tides and what to do about them taught to a national standard in all schools and audited regularly. We are just about to publish data to support this approach.