72 En R out e Saf e ty Once lau nc hed a boat er can reduce the c hances of being in v olv ed in an accident Major considerations include Practising pr oper na vigation and saf e ty skills Enough em phasis canno t be placed on the use of pr oper boating saf e ty t echniq ues It is im por tant t o learn these in a f ormal se tting fr om pr of essionals K eeping a constant w atch on the wind and de v eloping w eather as sq ualls ma y build up in a matt er of a f e w minut es especially on int erior lak es Ensure Sur viv al If an accid ent occur s on a small craf t y our chances of sur viv al are increased b y ha ving basic kno wledge of small craf t saf e ty sur viv al and rescue pr ocedures Ev er y one should sta y b y the craf t in the e v ent of an upse t Climb on t op of the craf t or ge t as high up as possible and huddle t oge ther Use an emergency whistle or soundmaking de vice see Hypo thermia in Chapt er 3 Secondar y Dr o wning This is a condition that can occur af t er a near dr o wning e v ent in fat or mo ving w at er whe ther af t er canoeing on a lak e or cr ossing a creek during a tra v er se in the mountains on f oo t An individual has the po t ential t o dr o wn lat er on upon re turn t o cam p f or in stance W or k er s should be a w are of this danger and be trained t o obser v e the w arning signs in or der t o pre v ent such a tragedy