Coast Guard issues cold-water warning

BOSTON – The Coast Guard is issuing a safety advisory to all late-season boaters, paddlers and fisherman on the dangers of sudden cold-water immersion.

Water temperatures on inland and coastal Northeastern waters are below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, the Coast Guard said in a press release.

“Even for the most experienced mariner, a fall into cold water is painfully shocking and immediately can induce panic, gasping and hyperventilation,” Al Johnson, recreational boating specialist for the First Coast Guard District in Boston, said in the release.

Since Labor Day, there have been 18 boating and paddling fatalities on Northeast waters. None of the victims was wearing a life jacket, according to the release.

“The important thing to remember is this can happen to anyone and, if it does, simply wearing your life jacket could save your life,” Johnson said.