Educational Center, Greensboro; 

 Steve Warner (runner-up), 

 Washington High School, 

 Washington; and Karen Forehand, 

 J.H. Rose High School, Greenville. 



Fishermen and hun- 

 ters ply coastal waters 

 even during the winter. 

 But rough seas can cause 

 a boat to capsize and 

 winter's cold water can 

 be a killer. 

 When a person is thrown into cold 

 water, nearby tissues begin to cool 

 very fast. These tissues cool the blood 

 flowing through arms and legs which in 

 turn begins to cool the blood in the in- 

 ner body. It takes 10 to 15 minutes in 

 water below 70°F before the tem- 

 perature of the heart and brain begin 

 to drop. When the body temperature 

 falls below 98.6°F, a condition called 

 hypothermia exists. 



First you shiver, then you lose 

 manual dexterity and muscle rigidity. 

 As cooler and cooler blood circulates to 

 the brain, mental confusion occurs. 

 When the core body temperature falls 

 below 90°F, the victim becomes un- 

 conscious. At a core temperature of 

 85 °F, heart failure occurs. 



Your chance of survival in cold 

 water depends on many factors. Con- 

 serve body heat as much as possible. 

 Do not swim. A person will cool 35 per- 

 cent faster by swimming. Keep your 

 head out of the water and adopt the 

 heat escape lessening posture (HELP). 



To assume this posture, ball up in a 

 fetal position. This is possible, 

 however, only if you are wearing a per- 

 sonal flotation device. If there is more 

 than one person in the water huddle 

 together. Most boats will float even 

 when capsized. Try to get in or on the 

 boat to get out of the water. 



If you rescue a hypothermia victim, 

 rewarm him or her carefully. Do not 

 warm the arms and legs. This can 

 cause cold stagnant blood to rush to 

 the core of the body, dropping the 

 body temperature below a level that 

 will sustain life. 



Move the victim to shelter and 

 warmth as soon as possible. Remove 

 all the wet clothing. Apply heat to the 

 head, neck, sides and groin with warm, 

 moist towels, hot water bottles or 

 heated blankets. It is best to lay the 

 victim on a hard flat surface, should 

 cardiopulmonary resuscitation be 

 needed. 



Another way to warm a hypother- 

 mia victim is for rescuers to remove 

 their own clothing, using their body 

 warmth to warm the victim's un- 

 clothed body. A blanket or sleeping 

 bag should cover the victim and 

 rescuer to conserve heat. 



In cases of mild hypothermia, dry 

 clothing and shelter may be all that is 

 needed. But all hypothermia victims 

 should be seen by a doctor. 



Even if a victim appears drowned, 

 administer heart massage and mouth- 

 to-mouth resuscitation. Cold water 

 drowning victims have a good chance 

 of revival. 



As inflation takes 

 more out of your pocket- 

 book and puts less in 

 your grocery bag, 

 economical meals 

 become a necessity. One 

 aid to good menu-plan- 

 ning is Sea Grant's flyer, Fish Flakes: 

 seafood stretchers. 



High in protein, fish flakes can be 

 used as a low-fat extender, flavor 

 enhancer or meat substitute in a 

 variety of dishes. Any fish, including 

 less popular, inexpensive kinds, can be 

 flaked in the six simple steps explained 

 in the flyer. And, the final product is 

 good in casseroles, salads, chowders or 

 sauces. Recipes are given for seafood 

 pizza sauce, stuffed clams, stuffed 

 scallops and crab imperial. 



To obtain a free copy, write Sea 

 Grant, Box 5001, Raleigh, North 

 Carolina 27650. Ask for UNC-SG-79-01. 



Coastwatch is published monthly 

 except July and December by the Uni- 

 versity of North Carolina Sea Grant 

 College Program, 105 1911 Building, 

 North Carolina State University, 

 Raleigh, NC 27650. Vol. 8, No. 1, 

 January, 1981. Dr. B.J. Copeland, 

 director. Written and edited by Neil 

 Caudle, Kathy Hart, and Cassie Grif- 

 fin. Second-class postage paid at 

 Raleigh, NC 27611. 



COASTWATCH 



105 1911 Building 



North Carolina State University 



Raleigh, NC 27650 



Second-class postage paid 

 at Raleigh, NC 27611 

 (ISSN 0161-8369) 



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