Re: [Paddlewise] Leader Requirements

Patrick wrote:
>>>snip
>I think a leader is important on a trip
> with, say, the YMCA or Mountain Travel Sobek. With kayaking clubs, which
> are generally made up of people who have made a commitment to kayaking, a
> leader becomes superfluous and can start start creating hierarchies within
> a club. Yes, an organizer can use judgment such as "The water is 35
> degrees and you want to wear shorts? You're not goin' buster.", but an
> organizer isn't going to run my life while I'm on a trip. When I am on a trip with
> a group, I'm my own leader and take responsibility for my actions while
> looking to the organizer for logistical information, tips, area info or
> whatever.  There is gray area between the two, but I think that defining how
> a trip is organized is important for all those involved to understand.
>>> 

I have just today started reading some of the Leader/Waiver thread and
so what I am about to say may well be redundant.  I hope not too much
so.
I don't have anything to add about the waiver argument.  I believe
waivers are essential whether you are talking about clubs, corporations
or busnesses.  (A good argument can be made that if you decided that a
particular person could not go on a trip then you have also, as a
result, decided that the ones who can go are considered qualified by you
and hence you are vulnerable to being sued.)
What I do have an opinion on is the issue of the value of a leader. 
Ultimalely a paddler is responsible for himself/herself during an
outing.  However, a paddler within a group can very easily become a
nuisance and even a danger to that group if he/she has an attitude of
"... an organizer isn't going to run my life while I'm on a trip."  
One example of this is a trip that I led two or three years ago (it was
with the Seattle Mountaineers  - a club that insists on a basic skill
level for all participants and has a signed waiver on file for all
members):  
About a dozen of us had paddled ten miles or so when, after lunch, we
started out on a four mile crossing to our take-out spot.  About half
way across, a wall of wind hit us from abeam and very shortly we were in
four foot seas with the wind blowing the tops off of the whitecaps.  I
paused for a moment to dig out a skull cap (I was paddling a "wet" boat
- a Romany 18).  By the time I had put on my cap a couple of the more
skilled paddlers decided it was fun and they took off fast.  They were
about one hundred and fifty yards away and, in these conditions, were
out of ear/whistle shot.  The problem was that a couple of macho, but
much less skilled, paddlers took off with them and before I knew it the
whole group was spread out.  I was forced to drop back with the slowest
paddler and I assigned my co-leader to stay fairly near another paddler
that was having a bit of trouble.  It wasn't long before the group was
spread out half mile or more.  By the time I landed the two lead
paddlers had their boats on their cars.  You can believe they got an ear
full from me.  We all arrived safely but I figured it would have taken
me five to seven minutes to have reached some of the others in the group
if they had capsized, and it could have been a real problem if more than
one had gone over (the water in this area runs around 45 degrees).
Obviosly there were good lessons learned by me as a leader that day.  In
addition to how I might have handled the situation differently, I
learned that, as a participant in a group, all members have
responsibilities.  Obviosly, this is a rather simple example of how
things can go wrong but it did drive the point home for me. I had led
many trips before this incident and I have led many trips since.  I
believe strongly that groups need leaders and if they need leaders, they
also need followers (or at least active participants). If a person wants
to paddle as though they are by themselves when with a group then they
should not be in a group.
John Winskill
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
***************************************************************************