"Dead man's float" (and not in OED)

[W Brewer]

My recollection of such things was how to react to being bound hand & foot
& being tossed into the water. Body stays sort of at a 45 degree angle,
quick kick exhaling, bob up, grab a breath, submerge. Repeat as necessary.
Try not to think about sharks. Thoughts drift to Virginia Woolf.  Basic
training '68.

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