Safest way for an amateur to land in water from a HIGH fall ?

[easybullet3]

General Question:

 

if someone jumped or fell into water from a very high height, Would it be safer if the land in the water feet first (straight body), or as a 'Cannonball' (Fetus Pose) ?

 

My son asked me this question, and I asked on Yahoo Answers and got 2 exact conflicting answers.

 

So maybe one of you guys know the answer  :)

 

 

My Son was reading about how water is like concrete when you hit it at great speed, so he wanted to know if a CannonBall would be safer than Feet-First-Straight-Body.

 

I cant actually find any knowledge online about this question.

[CharlieH]

NOT Thai specific.

 

MOVED  to the Pub

[jeab1980]

Can only say having watched the high divers in various parts of the world and watched the world championship on TV they always enter feet first toes pointing straight down

[CharlieH]

"You want to jump feet first, with elbows in tight, one hand covering nose and mouth, and other holding that hand at the wrist. Don't hold the nose, as you can break it. Just cover to protect airways. Hold until resurface and bobbing stops before signalling you are ok to others by putting hand flat on your head." -- background: Sea Survival / Coast Guard

[simon43]

You want to jump feet first, with elbows in tight,...

 

And with that excellent advice, you are now well-prepared for your first bungy jump in Thailand - just make sure that it is over water.

[tukkytuktuk]

Cannonball position.

 

Everytime I travel by plane you are told, are you not, to get into the fetal position. You are then covering your vital organs, protecting them from the shock and trauma of the initial impact with the water.

 

Background: white but in the app I prefer midnight black.

[Crowes]

If you look at how the guys jump from high up into shallow water, they do the belly flop. Something about more surface area spreading out the force equally.

[jeab1980]

1 minute ago, Crowes said:

If you look at how the guys jump from high up into shallow water, they do the belly flop. Something about more surface area spreading out the force equally.

5555 go on try a belly flop from 6 feet see how much it hurts

[giddyup]

10 hours ago, Crowes said:

If you look at how the guys jump from high up into shallow water, they do the belly flop. Something about more surface area spreading out the force equally.

What guys? Never seen those cliff divers land with a belly flop, or anyone that wants to survive the dive either. A belly flop from a great height is either going to give internal injuries or result in death.

[easybullet3]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

What guys? Never seen those cliff divers land with a belly flop, or anyone that wants to survive the dive either. A belly flop from a great height is either going to give internal injuries or result in death.

 

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

What guys? Never seen those cliff divers land with a belly flop, or anyone that wants to survive the dive either. A belly flop from a great height is either going to give internal injuries or result in death.

I think the Belly Flop suggestion was a joke. lol

[easybullet3]

16 hours ago, CharlieH said:

"You want to jump feet first, with elbows in tight, one hand covering nose and mouth, and other holding that hand at the wrist. Don't hold the nose, as you can break it. Just cover to protect airways. Hold until resurface and bobbing stops before signalling you are ok to others by putting hand flat on your head." -- background: Sea Survival / Coast Guard

Wouldn't 'toes first' break your toes ?

Possibly heels first is a stronger point of contact ?

 

Also,

Side Note:

 I just read that people have survived jumping off San Francisco bridge (which is more than 60 metres jump).. 
and the world record High Dive is around 54 metres.
How comes the San Francisco suicide Survivors arent given the world record ?

The evidence is that they are found in the Water with broken bones and CCTV of their jump. So why aren't these guys awarded the real High Dive Record ?

 

Actually:

I just thought,, maybe its because it would encourage other people to go and try it out on higher bridges.

so ok, Thats probaby the reason.

[HooHaa]

water can seriously hurt, the issue is surface tension, the larger the contact area the harder ti it to break.

 

the idea of going in feet first with pointed toes (heels first better) is to concentrate force in a smaller area, breaking surface tension and allow the rest of the body to pass through more easily.

 

cannonball, not a good idea. 

if you want to understand try it from the edge of your nearest pool, even at that height a cannon ball done right can sting.

 

but then i rarely swim when im very high.

[CharlieH]

8 minutes ago, easybullet3 said:

Wouldn't 'toes first' break your toes ?

not heels first ?

Ask the Coastguard who wrote the article.

 

My opinion,Toes first is a smaller surface area, heels first, depending on height, and you could snap your ankles and certainly wrench your tendons/ligaments.(imho)

 

Here is the physics behind it;

 

http://www.askamathematician.com/2012/07/q-why-is-hitting-water-from-a-great-height-like-hitting-concrete/

[sanemax]

16 hours ago, tukkytuktuk said:

Cannonball position.

 

Everytime I travel by plane you are told, are you not, to get into the fetal position. You are then covering your vital organs, protecting them from the shock and trauma of the initial impact with the water.

 

Background: white but in the app I prefer midnight black.

The airlines tell you to get in a foetal position to survive the impact of a plane crash  this is a question about hitting water NOT being in a airplane crash

[Jai Dee]

17 hours ago, CharlieH said:

"You want to jump feet first, with elbows in tight, one hand covering nose and mouth, and other holding that hand at the wrist. Don't hold the nose, as you can break it. Just cover to protect airways. Hold until resurface and bobbing stops before signalling you are ok to others by putting hand flat on your head." -- background: Sea Survival / Coast Guard

I used to work (not so long ago) in the offshore oil & gas industry and this is exactly how we were taught to enter the water during our BOSIET training.

 

Note also the crossed ankles to provide leg strength when entering the water.

 

Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET)

 

[Kinnock]

Think I'd go for a variation on the official position - I'd want one had to protect the crown jewels.  A broken nose is manly, a broken todger less so,

[Jai Dee]

17 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

Think I'd go for a variation on the official position - I'd want one had to protect the crown jewels.  A broken nose is manly, a broken todger less so,

Actually the feet break the water tension first resulting in a "soft" bubble-filled environment for the rest of the body to enter so the crown jewels are not affected at all.

 

The training is done from a 10m fixed diving platform which is a bit disconcerting for those that have never jumped from that height before.

 

It is very much a "trust your training" exercise... and the looks of relief on some of the trainees faces after it has been successfully completed can be priceless!

[FruitPudding]

On Thursday, April 27, 2017 at 8:15 PM, CharlieH said:

"You want to jump feet first, with elbows in tight, one hand covering nose and mouth, and other holding that hand at the wrist. Don't hold the nose, as you can break it. Just cover to protect airways. Hold until resurface and bobbing stops before signalling you are ok to others by putting hand flat on your head." -- background: Sea Survival / Coast Guard

Lol, thanks for this

[Panda13]

The safest way is straight after the other person you pushed first to break the surface tension.