By Bob Currie, Recreational Boating Safety Specialist
U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Station Galveston Flotilla
Duck soup is slang for an easily accomplished task or assignment. The term is over 100 years old, but it is still applicable today. For this column it has a double meaning, as this column is aimed towards duck hunters in particular. The assigned task is to come back home safe and sound, and that is not an easy task among duck hunters, as they have the worst reputation for not wearing a life jacket or clothing that will protect them if they end up in the soup. In the soup is slang for in trouble, and that is what you are if your boat capsizes, fills with water, or otherwise causes you to end up in the cold water.

Duck hunter with very low freeboard.

Operation Duck Soup
Since I have been writing a safe boating column, I try to make my messages pertinent to my fellow boaters and pertinent for the time of year. I write about hyperthermia in the hot months, and I write about hypothermia in the cold months. We are coming up on the cold months, so it is time to revisit hypothermia, a leading cause of death for duck hunters. Since I am not on the enforcement side of the Coast Guard, I will concentrate on the outreach side. Although I have never given my cold weather outreaches a name, I have settled on Operation Duck Soup since the target audience is duck hunters. I know many duck hunters, including one of my sons and grandsons. This message is for you if you boat in cold weather, but it is especially for you if you are a duck hunter.

High Fatality
Fifty plus years ago, I was looking at stereo equipment at a friend’s audio store. An isle over from where I was a couple of guys were also looking at the equipment. One asked the other what Hi-Fi meant. The other guy said it means high fatality. The shop owner kicked in and said it only means that if you mess around inside the electrical cabinet. Hi-Fi means high fidelity, which is the reproduction of sound with little distortion. Like many terms, its meaning has morphed into meaning high quality in just about any type of equipment. Duck hunters are known for their high quality equipment. They spend thousand of dollars on their boats, their blinds, their shotguns, their decoys, and their waders, but the one thing that the hunters that drown or die from hypothermia don’t have in their boats is a $32 life jacket.

The Boating Accident Fatality Rate is higher from November through March (the cold water season) than it is from March through November (the warm water season). Heavily loaded small boats, severe frontal weather, fog, cold water and other factors combine to increase the risk of late fall and winter boating.

Safe Cold Water Boating Practices
A famous bank robber was asked once why he robbed banks. He said because that is where the money is. It’s the same with duck hunting. You hunt where the ducks are, and that is in the marshes. Operating a boat in the marsh during duck hunting season is quite different from operating a boat on the open water during the warm season. Here are a few best safe boating practices especially geared toward duck hunters.

• Maintain safe speed in blind bends and waterway intersections
• File a detailed float plan with images of your boat
• Have reliable communications
• Have a basic ditch kit or survival kit
• Understand the cold water shock response
• Dress for immersion
• Wear a life jacket at all times
• If you exit your boat and wade, use a wading staff

Maintain Safe Speed
In most wildlife preserves the maximum horsepower allowed is 25 hp, and for a good reason. Marshes are the New York City of the boating world; lots of side streets and always crowded. Imagine trying to drive through downtown Houston and all the cars were camouflaged (painted the color of asphalt or concrete). Navigating the marsh often involves crossing over sparse grass flats, yet the goal of most duck hunters is to make their boats look like a sparse grass flat. Like the hunter below. If you are on plane you will have a difficult time avoiding this boat.

File a Detailed Float Plan
Someone needs to know your itinerary on the water as well as the registration number of your boat, contact information (cell phone number), and it is helpful to have a picture of your boat, even if it looks like a sparse grass flat. The most important part of that float plan I call the action trigger: when are you due back to the ramp. In cold weather, timing is more important than anything else. Hypothermia is cold and time related. The longer you are in the water the less chance you have of surviving cold water. Cold is also a relative term- you can become hypothermic in 80-degree water if you are in it long enough. The danger of hypothermia really begins to increase when the water temperature drops into the 60s and lower. If you become overdue, the person who has your float plan should first attempt to contact you. If that fails, they need to contact the Coast Guard and report you as an overdue boater. If you change your itinerary, you need to let your float plan holder know if you change locations or change the time you will reach the ramp.

Have Reliable Communications
Often a cell phone is the only communication you need, but keep in mind that there are dead spots that don’t have cell phone coverage, and if you do not have a waterproof cover for your cell phone you will lose communication if it gets wet. The best alternative is to have a handheld VHF/FM marine radio. Most handheld radios are waterproof and float. You can get one for around $100 (less than you will spend on shells in most cases). If you depend on your cell phone, in most cases you will not be able to pinpoint your location even if you are able to get a message out in an emergency. However, with the Coast Guard Rescue 21 System, your location will be instantly transmitted as soon as you make an emergency call on VH/FM Channel 16.

Have a Basic Ditch Kit or Survival Kit
How would you like to spend a couple of days waiting to be rescued if your boat became disabled? You can imagine what you would need in a basic ditch kit/survival kit:

1. Food! Protein bars are excellent and take up very little space.
2. Water! Yes, you can become dehydrated even in the dead of winter.
3. Mosquito spray! Cold weather only slows mosquitoes down.
4. Flashlight! You need that to sweep the water’s surface for gator eyes.

You get the picture. Many people keep their handheld marine radio in their ditch bag. I prefer to keep mine on my person. Plan for a couple of days without being rescued.

Understand the Cold Water Shock Response
In cold water immersions, cold shock response is perhaps the most common cause of death. The immediate shock of the cold water causes involuntary inhalation, which, if it occurs underwater can result in drowning. The involuntary inhalation is called the Gasp Reflex. Involuntary means you can’t help it. The immediate shock of the cold water causes vasoconstriction (narrowing of the blood vessels), which can lead to a heart attack. People who live most of their lives in warm climates are the most susceptible to cold water shock syndrome. People who live in colder climates can become acclimated to cold water and thus are less susceptible to the cold water shock response. If you somehow survive the immediate effects of cold water immersion, your survivability is dependent upon your ability to avoid becoming hypothermic.

Dress for Immersion
Don’t go boating in water in which you are not prepared to be immersed in should you sink or capsize. Be prepared for such an occurrence by dressing accordingly and carry emergency equipment in your dry locker such as blankets and towels. You can reduce exposure by climbing onto your hull if you capsize. Get out of the water if you can. Loss of body heat occurs much more rapidly in water than in the air, even if the air temperature is colder than the water temperature. Cotton is the worst material you can wear on the water. It does not conserve heat like synthetic fabrics.

Wear a Life Jacket
A life jacket is one of the most useful pieces of life saving equipment when it comes to slowing down the effects of the cold water, but there are some even better products out there. Those heat saving devices include the float coat and the anti-immersion suit. A float coat is an affordable life jacket option that can greatly extend your survival time over that of a standard life jacket. We use float coats routinely in the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary when water temperatures are such that hypothermia is likely due to immersion. They provide upper body heat conservation as well as providing excellent flotation. An anti-immersion suit is a full-length life jacket; it covers your body like a pair of overalls. It keeps you warm and it keeps you afloat. For those of you who have ever worn a snowmobile suit, it looks and feels like one, but is full of flotation material. Yes, they are available in camouflage.

Consider Using a Wading Staff
River fishermen have long used wading staffs to aid them in remaining upright and avoiding deep holes. Google “wading staff” and you will find many choices. Some are fold up types that can be carried on your utility belt. Any type of stick will do. If you have any experience at all wade fishing, chances are you have stepped off into a deep hole. Remember the gasp reflex. When you are immersed in cold water the gasp reflex can make you inhale water. The goal is to not be immersed. A wading staff could help. Do you really want to use your $1200 shotgun to catch yourself if you step in a hole like the guy in the picture below?

Summary
If you desire to come back home safely from duck hunting, follow the guidelines above, which include always wearing a life jacket, being prepared for immersion, having proper communication, filing a float plan, having a ditch kit, and using a wading staff if you exit your boat. If you follow these guidelines your safety will be like duck soup, even if you end up in the soup.

[BC: Ost-22-2024]