DROWNPROOFING

Emmanuel JS Harder

A simple water survival technique that is easy for anyone to learn. With Drown-
proofing, it is possible to survive almost indefinitely with minimal effort.
You don't even need to know how to swim.

Drown-proofing is a water survival technique that was invented by Fred Lanoue, a

swimming coach at Georgia Institute of Technology from 1936 to 1964. Coach
Lanoue believed that everyone should be able to survive in water and developed a
simple technique that was easy to learn and did not depend on physical strength or
intensive training.

The Theory.
Most people have a small amount of positive buoyancy that will enable them to float, but not
enough to keep all of the head out of water. By floating in an upright attitude, with the face
submerged and only lifting the mouth and nose above the surface when it is necessary to
take a breath, it is possible to survive indefinitely, with minimal expenditure of energy.

Basic Technique
If you can already swim a bit, you can probably do this right away. If you are not a swimmer,
don’t try this without competent supervision.

Fill your lungs with a good breath of air and float vertically with the back of your head just
breaking the surface of the water. Try and adopt the attitude of a kitten being carried by a cat
– just hang in there and let the water support you. Let your arms float slowly towards the
surface, with the elbows bent, until your hands are in front of your shoulders. With a steady
movement, press downwards and back with your hands until your mouth clears the water.
As you come up, breath out and inhale as soon as your mouth is above the the surface.
Repeat every 10 to 12 seconds.

You could use a scissors kick with the legs if you prefer, or arms and legs together if you
find it helps to maintain a balanced position. Choose the method that you find most
comfortable. The trick is to get the head just far enough out of the water to get a breath. If
the stroke is too energetic, you will come farther out of the water than is necessary and go
down too far as you drop ack. Try to achieve a gentle, easy action. The less effort you make
the better.

Getting the breathing right is very important. When your head emerges, it should be tilted
slightly forward so that the water falls away from your face. Open your mouth wide when you
inhale, so as to take as much air as possible. Remember your lungs are built-in buoyancy
tanks! When full, they hold around 4 liters of air. That means 4 kilos (nearly 9 pounds) of
additional buoyancy. On land, you breath in and out regularly without even noticing. For
Drown-proofing and for swimming it is important to consciously change the way you breath.
Keep your lungs full of air as much of the time as possible. When you take a breath, exhale
and inhale as quickly as possible through your mouth.
Practice on land to get the feel of it – exhale, inhale, hold . . . . exhale, inhale, hold. . . exhale,
inhale, hold . . . .
(You may need to breathe more frequently while you are learning, or if you have been
swimming and want to take a rest. That's alright, the important thing is to feel comfortable.)

There are several simple steps to learn to get to practice Drownproofing. The
following are the consecutive steps one has to master:

1) Air Exchange
2) Travel Stroke
3) Hanging Float / Dead Man’s Float
4) Vertical Float
5) H.E.L.P. (Heat Escape Lessening Position) / Turtle Float

AIREXCHANGE:

This air Exchange is the breathing cycle that needs to be practiced for Drownproofing. The key is
the timing when to exhale, breaking the water’s surface, and inhaling. This can be practiced
even on land. Exhale, Inhale, Hold your breath . . . etc.
TRAVEL STROKE:

For swimmers or floaters, this technique is easier to master as they just lie flat on the water. In
fact this is the glide after the first stroke of the breast stroke. If one needs to be getting from
Point A to Point B, then this Travel Stroke is the Stroke of Choice so that you actually Glide and
float more rather than swim towards an objective. The key is to conserve once’s strength y
floatig/gliding more rather than tiring oneself by swimming strokes.

DEAD MAN’S FLOAT/ HANGING FLOAT

In the Dead-man’s Float or Hanging Float, one does not need to get to a point away from where
he /she is currently in right now. It just requires him/her to be in a static place. This is usually
true for victims of a boat sinking or the ferry. Search & Rescue Ships will always start from the
Last Known Point (LKP) and this is probably true if the ship/boat had been able to send out a
Distress or Mayday signal. They would have been to broadcast their position, so it makes sense
to stay in the Last Known Point(LKP).

VERTICAL FLOAT

This Vertical Float is normally used as a Training Tool by the Navy Seals or those training for
Combat Scuba Diving or Combat Swimming. This allows the floater/swimmer to stay afloat in a
vertical position in the water. Arms can be outstretched for ease, but for elite units, to make the
level of difficulty for the trainees higher, they usually tie both wrists and ankles with restraints.
So this particular float can be used on its own merits or used as a training tool.
HEAT ESCAPE LESSENING POSITION (H.E.L.P.)/Turtle Float

The H.E.L.P. or Heat Escape Lessening Position or sometimes called the Turtle Float is used to
combat Hypothermia or Cold Environmental Emergency. Immersion in the water for long
periods of time leads to Hypothermia or possibly death by cold. The body’s survival systems
normally shunts the blood from the “Shell” or extremities to the “Core” or the body where the
bigger organs are located. Having said that to preserve your body heat you now need to place
your hands or extremities underneath your armpits, where body heat is preserved. You also
need to tuck your feet underneath you and hug it so as to preserve the whole body heat of the
core and keep the extremities both the hands and the legs and feet warm as well. When done
properly, the body resembles a “TURTLE” thus the term “Turtle Float”.

WATER SURVIVAL

In long-term Water Survival, it pays to have a Personal Flotation Device on your body always.
Well you do! You have your clothes on your body and if properly done, these clothing can spell
the difference between death and surviving for 3-5 days on your own in the water. Let us see
how this is done!
Water Wings (Shirt / Trousers)

Having mastered Drown-proofing, it will be easier for you to make “Water-wings”. This, you do
by entering the water with your trousers on. Once the trousers(especially denims) get wet, they
tend to become airtight. You then need to be able to take your trousers off by unbuttoning the
top button, pulling down the zipper, once dipping into the water, you take each pant leg off one
at a time. Then you need to tie an overhand knot on each pant leg to seal off the trouser leg.
You then need to hold the hem of the pants(The part where you put the belt) behind your back
at the level of the neck and swing the whole trousers over your head so you can catch air and
trap the air inside your trousers. Once the hem is in the water, you will have effectively trapped
air to make your trousers an effective flotation device or “Water-wings”. If the flotation device
lacks some air, you can actually get down underwater underneath the hem of the trousers and
blow additional air to further inflate the flotation device or “Water-wings”. This flotation device
will not last forever, but needs to be re-inflated from underwater from time to time once the air
trapped in the trousers would have seeped out already. This technique however will allow you
to rest longer in the open water and conserve your strength for the time when and where you
actually need to swim or float for your life.

Notes: Description of Drown-proofing on the first page is taken from Internet sources.