A BIG danger is if you attempt to swim out for your boat in cold water like 3C or below.

Even if with a buoyancy aid or life jacket, after about less than 3 to five minutes you will be in deep trouble as the cold quickly gets you. At that point your legs pack up and you cannot swim further and only the life jacket if decent keeps your head above water to prevent drowning. And after that you still need a rescue facility to get you back to dry land without having others to jump in putting their own lives at risk.

NEVER attempt to swim out to rescue your boat in these circumstances.

I personally witnessed that only once in cold water. Never again will I want to see a repetition of that.

I now will only run boats or visit venues that have proper rescue facilities available.

Not only should that include a stable rescue boat, it should include rules of wearing life jackets and a contingency plan should the rescue boat get into trouble.

I suggest that this is less of an issue in warm waters. However if you are running boats in very cold conditions, it is the cold water that potentially can be fatal.

Cheers

Craig