The rain has stopped, the sun is out, and I stopped by the pond, which is full. The crew team is out practicing. In this picture-perfect scene lurks the making of a tragedy. The water is 45 degrees and not one person is wearing a life jacket. A car pulls up and unloads a rowboat. Two teens are allowed to row around. Again, no life jackets. The outboard skiff used by the club pulls up to the dock, six to eight kids jump in and take off. Again, no life jackets.
No swim test can protect a person from immersion in cold water. In only a couple of minutes, a person in the water will be unable to swim. A few minutes more and they may not even be able to hold on to a floating boat. Please, please, please do not go out on the water if it is below 60 degrees without wearing a personal flotation device. Every spring we hear of a cold-water drowning. Given the lengths we go to to protect our children, allowing them on the water without a life jacket is simply unconscionable.
Chris Ashley
Woodside Road
