Quote:
Originally Posted by lifer
I have a question for people who have swam in the Bow. Did you find it difficult? I'm an above average swimmer, but I'm not great. When I go rafting with my buddies I'm the guy who gets out of the rafts to swim and to pull the rafts to shore. I've never felt like I was in any danger. There are very few places were I couldn't touch the ground, the current isn't that fast and the water isn't even cold. That makes me giggle at this type of sensationalism from the article.
"You’ve got to be wearing a life jacket — if you hit an obstruction on the Bow, unless you’re an Olympic swimmer, you’re done.” - city spokesman Bill Bruce.
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It is a little bit of a hyperbole, but it can happen. Look at the guy who attempted to rescue a person last week. He was an experienced swimmer and he ended up needing rescue himself. Granted part of that was the panic of the first recuee making the situation worse.
I found a chart here:
chart Basically it says that in 5 degree celcius water (40 F) the time to "Exhaustion or Unconsciousness" is about 30 minutes- and at that temp they give a range of 15-60 minutes. So if you are in top shape and weigh 160 pounds- your time is going to be less than me at 230 pounds. And that is the time to unconsciousness- you can also become weaker as time goes by.
Also if you are in waist deep water, you are likely fine. And odds are where you land the boat normally the water is that shallow, so 5 minutes of pulling the boat has no effect. But end up in the middle of the water, waste a few minutes trying to catch up to your boat, then try to get to shore, you may not make it. And if you swallow a lung full of water it is much easier to force that water out of you aren't relying on your swimming ablility to keep you afloat. That, and as anybody who scuba dives will tell you- your lungs are incredibly huge ballasts keeping you afloat. Fill them half way with water, and you could also be done.
You are right though; it is a bit of an exageration and most times you will be OK. But the reason for safety equipment of any kind isn't to guard against what will happen most of the time; it's to save you against those rare occasions where a couple of things go wrong.