Welcome
If you're looking for information on cold water safety, you've come to the right place. You can dive right in, or watch this short video that explains how our information is organized. See the sections below for more information.
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Main Sections
Cold Water
Go here to learn all about cold water and why it's dangerous. Discover the difference between cold shock, swimming failure, sudden drowning, incapacitation, gradual drowning, hypothermia and circumrescue collapse.
Golden Rules
The Five Golden Rules of Cold Water Safety are practical, easy to understand guidelines that anyone can use to recreate safely on cold water. Each rule is important, but it's the combination of all five that allows you to build a strong cold water safety net.
All About Gear
Keeping warm in cold weather and keeping cool when temperatures rise is vital to safety and comfort. In this section, you'll learn about different types of gear and also simple but effective techniques for dealing with hot and cold weather. Learn More:
Cold Water Myths
Go here to learn about eight different cold water myths and why you shouldn't rely on them for your own safety.
Resources
Here's where you'll find master indexes with links to all our Case Histories, Videos, and Articles, and also to find additional cold water resources.
About Us
We celebrated our 12th anniversary in 2024. Go here to learn about our mission, our sources of funding, where we get the information that's on our website, and how you can help us save lives and promote cold water safety. Learn More: