What is the approved form for staying afloat? I know, it sounds like a silly question (and maybe it is ) but I was<br>just wondering. Suppose you are offshore but the water<br>is tropical? What form is recommended for preserving<br>strength and presenting a minimal "dinner is served" signature to denizens of the deep? I have read that lying<br>on your back and slowly moving your arms to maintain<br>balance is identical to the motions of a wounded fish.<br>Yet, I can envision the same for treading water motions.<br>Suppose the waves are fairly high? Does it make a difference<br>if you have/ don't have a good vest as to technique? Suppose you're wearing shorts and a t-shirt and lean over the back rail too far and kersplash! You surface only to to see the cruise ship/sailboat/ yacht going thataway and nobody noticed or maybe the orchestra is playing and it's<br>1 a.m.<br><br>

There is some handy acronym that I can't remember like HEAT or STOP or ???<br><br>Anyway turn on to your back, face towards the sky. Draw your legs up and cross them at the ankles. Hug yourself with your arms. Like you are performing a "cannonball" type dive. This serves to converse your body heat. <br><br>If this is salt water, the salt will help you to float. You will float very differently in salt water than you will in fresh water. In fresh water, you legs will tend to sink and you will float in a more upright position. In salt water your legs will tend to rise and you will float in more of a reclined position. <br><br>Make sure to put your head back into the water. This will tend to push your butt up so you will be looking up at the sky. The more you try to keep your head out of the water, the lower your butt will go and the more you will feel like you are sinking.<br><br>Last weekend I spent the better part of an afternoon bobbing along the Atlantic coast. I closed my eyes, laid back and floated. My legs bent a little at the knees, my butt sank a little, and my arms sprayed out from my sides bent slightly at the elbow. I felt as if I was reclining in a LazyBoy. Sun was warming my face and waves were gently crashing on the beach. Ahhhh..... It required no effort on my part to stay afloat. It was certainly comforting but I was loosing body heat to the water because all my limbs were spread apart.<br><br>For a rescue/stranded position, you want to conserve body heat by being all balled up. As you breath you will rise and fall in the water as your lungs fill with air. I find that if I breath with my belly instead of my chest, my stomach will fill with air and form an air bladder that helps me to float. I can then take full breaths to exchange air and not worry so much about my face dipping into the water.<br><br>Treading water puts you in an upright position with your entire head out of the water. It takes a continous effort. Don't bother. Learn to float. They used to teach that you would ball up into a cannonball with your arms hugging your knees and float face down in the water holding your breath. Periodically you would lift your face to breath. A lot of work.<br><br>Instead turn over on to your back and ball up. Your face is out of the water and you can stay in that position without having to occasionally expend energy.<br><br>If there are several stranded subjects, get next to each other face to face and hug each other. Instead of loosing your body heat to the water, you will exchange body heat with the other subjects.<br><br>Remember that water that is even as warm as 80 degrees is still 16-7 degrees cooler than your body and the water will suck the heat from your body on a continous basis. Your body will strive to produce more heat and the water will continue to suck it away. You will tire quickly, not so much from the extertion of swimming, treading, or otherwise moving but more from trying to keep warm. You can be hypothermic in the middle of the summer on a hot day if you are in the water.<br><br>Hopefully you wil be wearing a PFD while on any watercraft. Even the worst ones will keep you afloat. They also provide a layer of insulation around your torso helping to slow down hypothermia. The vest style are generally more comfortable for most activities. <br><br><br>

When an orchestra is playing,gentlemen wear proper evening attire,which is also more efficient survival gear . Now,the proper survival strategy for floatation is NOT to tread water. Does a cork tread water? NO,a cork bobs.You want to practice the 'Deadman's float'.This looks just like it sounds,body relaxed,head down and holding your breath.Periodically you paddle your arms downward to rise above the water to breathe. Does it work? I was the worst swimmer in Coast Guard basic training ( excluding the 5 that couldn't swim at all). I also held the record for survival floating; 7 hours and 20 minutes in the deep end. As for "Things that go bump in the night." Most shark attacks occur immediately following a crash or wreck. the DISTURBANCE is what attracts these animals. Water survival is much like Judo. Flow with the forces working against your survival. They are ALL bigger than you are.<br><br>

Addendum to previous post: Unless it's the Beach Boys or Jimmy Buffet ( hawaiian shirts,baggies, straw hat and flipflops de riquer), The proper attire is long sleeve shirts and slacks. The sun is mercilous on the water and with training a temporary PFD can be made by inflating pants with the ankles tied. This is shown in the Us Army water safety manual 37-37, and taught at the better red cross swimming courses.<br><br>

>>>...with training a temporary PFD can be made by inflating pants with the ankles tied<<<<br><br>I just returned from a week at Scout camp. One of the things we do is insist that all our first year campers earn the Swimming Merit Badge, which they all did successfully. Clothes inflation is always one of the toughest requirements for them to pass on this badge, but is one that they'll always remember.<br><br>A couple of tips.<br><br>1. first use your shirt as a temporary floatation device while you work one your pants. Tie the shirt tail around your waist, button the collar button and tuck the collar back in around your neck. Then unbutton the third button or so to blow air into the shirt. This will help keep you afloat with less effort and make the pants part much easier.<br><br>2. Wear light, tight weave cotton clothing. I've seen more boys struggle with this requirement because they brought their denim jeans. The thick material will work, but it's very difficult to work with.<br><br><br>Willie Vannerson<br>McHenry, IL