I was out paddling last night when a fellow paddler got caught by a bad combination of wind and waves that capsized her boat. Thankfully she was wearing a properly fitted PFD and popped up to the surface right away. She’s not a strong swimmer, but with the assistance of the PFD and another paddler she was able to get her boat flipped back over and haul herself out of the water within a few minutes. Crisis diverted, right? Wrong. It didn’t take long for the effects of shock and hypothermia to set in. With intense shivering and difficulty breathing, she was helped out of the boat, re-dressed in dry clothes and wrapped in blankets. A call to the ambulance and a trip to the hospital later, she is now at home recovering from the incident. She was lucky, though her experience should serve as a reminder to us all to always be prepared for the unexpected and to never underestimate the effects of cold water. It’s worth noting the paddler had just purchased her new MV5801 Deluxe Paddling PFD on Thursday of last week; it sure didn’t take long for it to pay off. Paddle safe and have fun OutThere!