Is floating on your back a viable option to save energy when stranded in the ocean by yourself?
I mean, we always hear about people treading water, and the chances of success are dependent on how long you can keep it going before your energy runs out and you drown.
But you never hear about floating. It seems pretty easy to maintain (I can do it in my pool for a long time), and low on energy use. If we make this hypothetical ocean water calm, and eliminate outside forces like predatory animals, lack of food, and exposure, is floating a good idea, and is it common? Assume here the only goal is to stay with head above water in deep ocean.
Sure it is, and if you’ve gone into the water clothed you can remove your trousers, knot the legs, and get them to hold enough air to form a rudimentary flotation device. Your trousers will leak air and require re-inflation periodically, but any buoyancy they provide is all to the good. You’ll float better in the ocean than in pool water. In calm water hypothermia will likely kill you first. You can get hypothermia in surprisingly warm water.
Thanks. I’m assuming you float better in the ocean because of the higher salt content? “Better” meaning you can expend less energy to do so? I remember going to the Dead Sea in Israel. Floating on that was a breeze, but God forbid you have any open cuts on your body.
The problem with floating, especially with thin people in fresh water, is that you only stick out of the water a small amount, which isn’t enough to feel comfortable if you’re stressed. But if you can relax and the water is calm enough so you can keep your mouth above water you can pretty much float indefinitely.
I would burn like crispy bacon in less than half an hour if I had that much skin exposed… I’d rather keep most of me under the water as long as possible.
I don’t float, I sink. I fully recognize that there are people who can float, but there are also people who sink. I can stand on the bottom of a pool with my mouth and nose under water. Yes, sea water is more buoyant, but I still can’t float and keep my mouth and nose above water with the waves and movement.
This is also a concern. Several hours of floating would result in a horrible sunburn.
It’s not really either-or, you can alternate between treading water and floating. I remember being taught the “dead-man float”, where you float face-down in the water, completely limp. Lift your head out of the water periodically to take a breath.
Note to self: be sure to take a snorkel and mask the next time I plan on being stranded in the middle of the ocean - can float indefinitely without burning much energy.
On the other hand, a quick death by drowning might be preferable to a slow death from exposure and dehydration…
Floating is more efficient than treading water. It takes a little experience to get it right, it’s a sort of balancing act for some people, other people seem to be made of cork. I’m made of dense stuff and I’ll sink easily but I can still maintain a float on my back, but it’s not easy to keep my head from dipping. Kicking a little bit to get some movement makes it a little easier. Using your clothes for floats as described above helps a little, something sturdy like jeans holds the air in pretty well, lighter material deflates pretty quickly.
It’s too bad nobody ever invented something to keep people afloat if they find themselves in the water far from shore. Maybe a sort of article of clothing that would give the person the appearance of a buxom woman.
But a last second rescue when badly dehydrated and burned would be better than a quick death, yes? Be a glass 1% full guy - you aren’t doomed until you are actually dead.
Fat. I’m made of fat. Particularly in the form of two flotation devices on my chest and another set in my thighs and ass. NOT floating is actually hard work these days. But I’d try, because of the aforementioned sun danger.
Hey! I’m also in the Sink Like A Rock Club! I’ve had countless people work with me throughout my entire life and I simply just don’t float at all. I’m pretty sure I understand the physics and biology involved, I’m not afraid of the water, and I’m making a genuine effort, but still I drop like a brick.
Oh well. Guess I’m just going to miss out on that.
Wouldn’t it be the opposite? If you tread water, or swim, or flail about, you’d feel warmer, but all that energy going to your extremities to facilitate movement, would cause you to lose warmth more rapidly from your core (where you want to stay warm for as long as possible). At least, that is what my intuition tells me, but that has been horribly wrong in the past On land I assume it is better to keep moving than to sit down if you are aproaching hypothermia, but in water you will lose heat from your extremities at a much faster rate than in air.
I used to be able to float. It was so easy that I needed a ridiculous amount of weights to go diving. Now – even in the ocean – I sink like a rock. I’m not terribly thin, but more importantly, I’m not grotesquely fat any more.
In a fresh water pool, I can manage to keep my head above water without treading as long as I keep my lungs relatively full.
I don’t recall whether is was part of Marine Corps Boot Camp or Infantry Training, but there was a “Drownproofing” course. As taught it was a combination of floating and treading water. You filled your lungs, which increased your buoyancy, floated face down in the water with you legs hanging below you. When you needed to exhale (reducing your buoyancy) and take a breath, you moved your arms and legs (scissors-type movement) in unison to keep your head above water. And then start all over again. We did this fully clothed, including boots for just an hour, but it was not at all strenuous.
Fat distribution may have something to do with this. I couldn’t float easily when I was a skinny little kid, or later in life when I was carrying the most weight. But my legs have never been fat and when I try to float by filling my lungs they drag me off balance so I end up basically vertical, and then I’ll sink. With my arms spread, the top of my head under water with just my mouth and nose up, I can float a little on my back, but I can also end up swallowing a lot of water that way. Basically, I’ll drown if I can’t keep moving.
I learned this in high school late seventies; they called it survival floating. Much less energy intensive than treading water, much easier than floating at least for a non floater like me. We did it in a pool so there were no waves to contend with. I did try it in the ocean later on. It was fairly boring, but it worked pretty well. If I were ever in that kind of situation, it would definitely be my first choice, Assuming it was too far to swim to safety and I had a reasonable chance of being rescued.
On land I assume it is better to keep moving than to sit down if you are aproaching hypothermia, but in water you will lose heat from your extremities at a much faster rate than in air.