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Staying With Capsized Boat Aided Survival

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By RAY REYES

rreyes@tampatrib.com

Published: March 3, 2009

Nick Schuyler's nightmare began Saturday afternoon when the boat he was on capsized in the Gulf. For two days, he endured 14-foot seas, 30 mph wind gusts, water temperatures in the 60s and air temperatures that dropped into the lows 40s.

How did he survive?

Many factors, including body fat and clothing, determine someone's chance of survival in cold water, medical doctors and rescuers say. One factor, though, is the most vital.

"If you stay with the boat you have a better chance," said Scotty Hendricks, operations specialist for the U.S. Coast Guard in Jacksonville. "If you don't, chances go down by the hour."

Photographs of Monday's rescue show Schuyler sitting atop the capsized 21-foot boat. He upped the odds of living by getting mostly out of the water, Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Mark Bogush said.

"Once you take that 98.6-degree body and put it in 60-degree water, it starts sucking the warmth out of you," Bogush said.
Coast Guard officials say the water was 68 degrees when Schuyler was rescued.

At that temperature, a typical person submerged in water can expect to float two to seven hours before exhaustion or unconsciousness sets in, said Randy Boone, a former senior chief aviations survivalman with the Coast Guard.

Anything that insulates you from the cold - clothing, debris from the boat, body warmth from other boaters - also helps, Bogush said.

Shivers start when body temperatures dip about 3 degrees below normal, said Vernard Adams, chief medical examiner for the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office. Reflexes no longer work under 81 degrees and respiration becomes labored. The heart can stop if body temperature falls below 80.

A person's percentage of body fat also plays a role. Having less body fat actually works against you in cold water, Bogush said.

Bogush said he is curious to hear Schuyler's account of survival.

"Hopefully, we can hear three more stories," he said.

Reporter Stephen Thompson and researcher Stephanie Pincus contributed to this report. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920.

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