I read an article several years ago on the subject. Here are a few things I put in my memory bank just in case. (1) It may sound stupid to say but when you first fall in "Don't take a breath of air". Most drowing victims are taken by surprise and the first thing they do in a panic is to take a gulp of air. But they don't get air. They get water instead. And now with water in their lungs they really hit the panic button. You have to train yourself to immediatly hold your breath the moment you go in. This is difficult to do as cold water is such a shock to your body that you want to immediatly inhale or gasp. This is a mental thing. Think about it often whenever you are near water. But you can train and prepare yourself to do this. Lifeguards do it!(2) Don't try and fight a strong current. You just wear yourself down and swallow water. Instead, roll over on your back and point your feet down stream. That way you can use your feet to strike those large rocks instead of your head. And striking ones head on rocks is another reason people drown. You can also use those legs out front to guide you. (3) Remain calm! Breath when you can but keep in mind you may have to hold your breath a lot. And you may only get to take short shallow breaths. But don't panic because you can't breath at a normal rate.(4) At some point, hopefully, you will float into softer and or shallower water. At that point you should
be able to make it to shore. Or, someone will be in a position to get you out. Of course, the best advise has already been given in the other posts. And that is, don't get yourself in that position to begin with. Will I look like a fool if I show up on a drift wearing one of those suspender type floating devises?