by Udo Beier (DKV-Speaker of Sea Kayakers)
1998 a German sea kayaker died after a capsize in the German Bight (see Sea Kayaker, June 2001). As a captain of a German ferry did not stop to rescue him a German court had to decide if the captain was guilty of his death by hypothermia. That\'s why the court ordered a medical certificate by Dr. med. U.v.Laak (German marine institut for shipping medicine) to hear something about the survival times of a sea kayaker after going upside down without rentry. In the following I discuss some important findings and complete them with other experiences.
The tables associated with this bit of writing can be found at the following address:
http://unold.dk/paddling/articles/cold.html
After the active discussion sparked by an observation I made on this forum I thought this may be of some interest.