Printer Friendly Version - Water Safety Presentation Coming to Henry Carter Hull Library

Author Ben Rayner trained cub scouts from Cub Scout Troop 475 Guilford last month at the Valley Shore YMCA. Students learned the dangers of cold water and how to prevent drownings. Photo by Linda Van Steenbergen

In the U.S., drowning is still a leading cause of death for children 14 years and under, and young adult males—and most of these tragic deaths can be prevented. On Thursday, Feb. 8, Henry Carter Hull Library hosts a free presentation on water survival by Water Emergency Training, Inc. (WET) Executive Director Ben Rayner.

The author of Water Safety: From Your Backyard Pool to the Open Ocean—How to Avoid and Survive Water Emergencies, Rayner will share his decades of water experience as a survival instructor and safety industry writer and researcher, followed by an open question and answer session.

Rayner holds technical and medical certifications in water and boating safety, safety diving, sea survival, land survival, and underwater egress. He has trained thousands of students from the military and law enforcement community how to survive in water and established WET in 2017 to bring this essential knowledge to the general public, with the goal to helping to reduce the numbers of preventable drownings of children. He welcomes the opportunity to speak at local libraries, schools, and community events.

“We’re dedicated to saving lives,” Rayner said, noting that while his book includes interviews with the survivors of dramatic maritime disasters, he’ll also share lessons that can apply to people in their everyday life.

A nonprofit organization, WET delivers safety courses for children, teens, and adults at locations including schools, and private and public pools. Programs range from basic water skills instruction for families to boating and water safety to open ocean navigation.

“You don’t need to be in a lifeboat to have a life-threatening situation,” he said.

Rayner himself once spent 24 hours in a lifeboat, as a test exercise for the boat manufacturer.

“You can’t get too up or too down. You can’t let it crush you psychologically,” he said of such high-stress situations, though he noted, “The situation is much different knowing someone is coming for you at 8 a.m. to take you for breakfast.”

Rayner, a former Shore Publishing reporter, is also an award-winning journalist, including the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists award for Investigative Journalism. His articles have been featured in Sailing Magazine, Air Beat, Atlantic Coast Fisheries News, The Day, The Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association News Magazine, and The Block Island Times.

Henry Carter Hull Library, 10 Killingworth Turnpike, Clinton, presents Water Safety: From Your Backyard Pool to the Open Ocean—How to Avoid and Survive Water Emergencies, with Ben Rayner on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 6 p.m. The event is free. For information, call 860-669-2342.

WET founder Ben Rayner, center, is shown administering sea survival training. He’ll discuss how to survive short- and long-term water emergencies in an upcoming talk at the Henry Carter Hull Library in Clinton. Photo courtesy of Ben Rayner