One minute into the season and my first rescue...

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by PeterR

anyone exposed to the cold and potentialy with hypothermia you can also potentially kill them using a space blanket.(I asume you mean a foil blanket)They are not able to generate there own heat so will get colder and colder resulting in death.Cling film or clear polythene to keep the wind off them is better

How does cling film (which is not stocked on my boat - not too many leftovers), or polythene (again, no - I usually don't paint while diving) differ from metallized mylar? All 3 are 100% wind resistant, but the mylar reflects heat back instead of leaking it through the material.

jky

[SeaSkills]

Just congratulate yourself on a job well done, Stoo.

As far as gratitude goes, I'm afraid that's just the way it is with people. 2010 is my 30th year with the RNLI and in that time I've dealt with quite a few folk who have been brought ashore. Although in my experience most people are pleased to be rescued (even the ones who didn't realise how much danger they were in), the level of thanks ranges from nil to embarassing.

Of course it's nice to get a "Thank You", but it's a pretty good feeling to know that some people are still here who may not have been if we hadn't been there to help, isn't it?

Ian

[Ian M]

Originally Posted by SeaSkills

Of course it's nice to get a "Thank You", but it's a pretty good feeling to know that some people are still here who may not have been if we hadn't been there to help, isn't it?

Ian

YES.

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by boomer

Not quite, space blankets do not generate heat they simply retain heat (and cold!) however any heat generated is redirected towards the body thanks to the foil. A better (but not practical all the time) approach is remove wet clothes, put on dry clothes and then blanket followed by foil blanket.

The blanket was just to shield them from the breeze for the few minutes it took to putter in. I doubt I would have had much luck convincing them to get naked, and had I managed too, I would have been simultaneously beaten to a pulp by the Mother, and arrested!

By way of an update, it turns out the "Mom" I spoke to was a visitor. The house was owned by a local family that owns a hotel. The parents were in town so it was the visitor in charge. I suppose that I will cut her some slack as she wasn't familiar with the area. Ignorance is bliss and all that...

Getting back to the blanket, I don't know I can follow your logic... anything that blocks the wind is going to reduce heat loss. They weren't in any danger at that point, and it was just a case of keeping the as comfortable as possible for a very few minutes... I've been toting that thing around for about 15 years and it's the time it's been out of it's pouch.

[Knot Yet]

Well done Stoo - it never surprises me how removed people are from reality and a complete lack of awareness when it comes to risks and personal safety - glad you were there

[boomer]

Originally Posted by Stoo

The blanket was just to shield them from the breeze for the few minutes it took to putter in. I doubt I would have had much luck convincing them to get naked, and had I managed too, I would have been simultaneously beaten to a pulp by the Mother, and arrested!

By way of an update, it turns out the "Mom" I spoke to was a visitor. The house was owned by a local family that owns a hotel. The parents were in town so it was the visitor in charge. I suppose that I will cut her some slack as she wasn't familiar with the area. Ignorance is bliss and all that...

Getting back to the blanket, I don't know I can follow your logic... anything that blocks the wind is going to reduce heat loss. They weren't in any danger at that point, and it was just a case of keeping the as comfortable as possible for a very few minutes... I've been toting that thing around for about 15 years and it's the time it's been out of it's pouch.

Stoo I completely agree hence why I said not practical all the time. While wearing cold wet items your body will continue to loose heat through conduction of the heat from warm body to cold wet clothing and nothing the foil blanket will do can change that. It will however reduce heat loss from convection (ie wind) blowing past.

Do not think I am saying you did the wrong thing or should have done anything different, that is not what I am saying. I as an Ambulance Technician in the situation you found yourself in would not have done any different. If the trip to shore had been any longer it probably would have been a local Coast Guard for assistance thing or there was more concerns about the condition of the injured parties etc.

However that said you know the area a lot better than I do (I dont even know where in the UK it is!) but I still wouldnt have done anything different in thh scenario outlined above.

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by boomer

I dont even know where in the UK it is!

It isn't

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by boomer

(I dont even know where in the UK it is!)

Tobermory, Canada... In the "Colonial" part of the UK...

45 15.790N 81 40.405W was about where I found them...

And I agree completely about the wet clothing.

[Apherel]

Well done Stoo! Good karma to you

Sometimes people just make mistakes. I can remember when I was about 8, my father took me for a row on a lake, never occurred to him it was all down wind! So there we were, 3km from home, cold, wet, no chance of rowing back, rescued by a passing fishing boat .... friggin dick heads they would have said, and they were right, but we survived, didn't make the same mistake again and had another 80 years of sensible boating between us!

Gratitude? at the time we were cold, wet, shivering, hungry and glad to be on land, maybe we chattered thanks, maybe we just said that chr* that's over, but we've not forgotten

[Andy B]

Originally Posted by Stoo

Tobermory, Canada... In the "Colonial" part of the UK...

45 15.790N 81 40.405W was about where I found them...

Beautiful looking place, (gota love google earth)

[Stoo]

Thank you all for the kind comments. I was on no way bothered by the "lack of gratitude"... only by Mom's seeming to have no understanding of the situation...

The kids themselves were most appreciative...

It is a nice feeling knowing I was in the right place at the right time~

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by Stoo

It is a nice feeling knowing I was in the right place at the right time~

Especially for the kids.

jky

[prairie tuber]

Just came across this thread - well done Stoo!

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by PeterR

Hi Stoo,Great stuff and well done,a point that must be mentioned is that anyone exposed to the cold and potentialy with hypothermia you can also potentially kill them using a space blanket.(I asume you mean a foil blanket)They are not able to generate there own heat so will get colder and colder resulting in death.Cling film or clear polythene to keep the wind off them is better

First off, cling film or polyethylene will do no better than a space blanket at repelling the wind - they are all non-permeable films that would block the wind equally well. What the space blanket will do that the other 2 materials won't, is to help reflect radiant heat waves back toward the source of that radiant heat (the body). If a person is losing body heat, one of the primary modes of the heat loss will be through radiation, and any means that can reduce that radiant heat loss will be benecial.

Given that the girls were wet, conductive & convective heat loss would have still be the main modes of heat loss, and, yes, a space blanket does not do anything to reduce conductive heat loss (has no insulation value). Nonetheless, using a space blanket would not worsen this mode of heat loss in this situation.

[chewy]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

First off, cling film or polyethylene will do no better than a space blanket at repelling the wind - they are all non-permeable films that would block the wind equally well. What the space blanket will do that the other 2 materials won't, is to help reflect radiant heat waves back toward the source of that radiant heat (the body). If a person is losing body heat, one of the primary modes of the heat loss will be through radiation, and any means that can reduce that radiant heat loss will be benecial.

Given that the girls were wet, conductive & convective heat loss would have still be the main modes of heat loss, and, yes, a space blanket does not do anything to reduce conductive heat loss (has no insulation value). Nonetheless, using a space blanket would not worsen this mode of heat loss in this situation.

I think what Petes getting at is if the person is already cold all a space blanket does is keep them cold.
A survival bag is better suited.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by chewy

I think what Petes getting at is if the person is already cold all a space blanket does is keep them cold.
A survival bag is better suited.

Or a space blanket inside a survival bag.

Cold doesn't reflect

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Stoo

I was on no way bothered by the "lack of gratitude"... only by Mom's seeming to have no understanding of the situation...

Neither was I,.. it should be said .. Just surprised by the lack of it, since that implies a degree of nonchalance on the part of the guardian, but that experience would never stop me doing the same again if needs be, I just found it a surprising observation.

[SPR]

I carry thermal protection aid's, these are mca approved for this situation coast around £10 , I used this on a hypothermic swimmer, and when the ambulance arrived they made comment that we had the warmist hypothermic person they had seen. That was after they cut the suit to get access!

We now have a few of these in club house now for emergency's. The one I used was from my boat.

Great thing these they have legs, hoods and Velcro entry.

Regards

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by SPR

I carry thermal protection aid's,

A flask of tea and a hot pasty does the job nicely.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Mollers

A flask of tea and a hot pasty does the job nicely.

How hard was it to make the hot pasty cabinet fit the console?