Chapter 13Sea, lakes, and rivers
Chapter 13 · Situations and settings · 11 min read

Sea, lakes, and rivers

Water kills quickly and silently. Most people who drown did not plan to go into the water: they were swept away by a current, fell off a boat, went in to save someone, or their car ended up in a river. In the water there is no time to think; what you know beforehand is what you will do. This chapter covers rip currents, falling into cold water, life jackets, sinking vessels, life rafts, sharks, cars that go into the water, thin ice, and the case of the coast. To purify water, see chapter 3; for hypothermia and CPR, chapters 7 and 14; for rescue signals, chapter 8.

The essentials · if you only have a minute
  • Rip current: do not swim against it. Float, swim parallel to the shore until you are out of it, and then return diagonally. If you cannot, float and signal for help with your arms.
  • Never go into the water to rescue someone. Throw something that floats, call 911, and alert the lifeguard.
  • Cold water: the 1-10-1 rule. 1 minute to control your breathing, 10 minutes of useful movement, about 1 hour before you lose consciousness from hypothermia.
  • Put on your life jacket before you need it. There is no time to put it on when the boat capsizes.
  • Car in the water: seat belt, window, children, out. You have about a minute. Do not call 911 first.
  • Stay with the vessel or the raft. An overturned boat is far more visible than a head in the water.
  • Never drink seawater.

In this chapter

13.1Rip currents2 min read13.2Falling into cold water: the 1-10-1 rule1 min read13.3HELP posture and huddling1 min read13.4Life jacket1 min read0/713.5Sinking vessel1 min read13.6Life raft2 min read13.7Sharks: the real risk1 min read13.8Car falling into water1 min read13.9Thin ice1 min read13.10Common mistakes1 min read
Chapter sources (1)
  1. 1.FM 21-76 / ATP 3-50.21, Survival (cap. 16, Sea Survival) — Ejército de EE. UU. 2.Rip Currents: Surviving — National Hurricane Center / NOAA — https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/rip-currents/survive.html 3.What is a rip current? — NOAA National Ocean Service — https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ripcurrent.html 4.Cold Water — U.S. Coast Guard — https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/Attachments/942/2E-Cold%20Water.pdf 5.Cold water survival tips from USACE and USCG — U.S. Army — https://www.army.mil/article/51309/ cold_water_survival_tips_from_usace_and_uscg 6.1-10-1 Principle — Canadian Safe Boating Council — https://csbc.ca/1-10-1-principle/ 7.Texas Parks and Wildlife Code § 31.066 (chalecos salvavidas) — https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._parks_&_wild._code_section_31.066 8.ISAF 2025 Worldwide Shark Attack Summary; Quick Tips — Florida Museum of Natural History — https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/ shark-attacks/yearly-worldwide-summary/ ; https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/reduce-risk/quick-tips/ 9.Car submerged: how to escape (G. Giesbrecht, Kids and Cars) — NPR — https://www.npr.org/2024/03/26/1241003930/car-submerged- underwater-escape 10.Ice thickness guidelines; What if you fall in? — Minnesota DNR — https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/thickness.html ; https:// www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/survival.html 11.Safety — Padre Island National Seashore, NPS — https://www.nps.gov/pais/planyourvisit/safety.htm 12.Flooding safety — NWS Nashville — https://www.weather.gov/ohx/flooding