Re: [Paddlewise] Paddling Group Dynamics

At 06:02 PM 25-02-98 -0800, you wrote:
>...snipped... basically, as I *think* I 
>understand it, the conditions were severe and each member in John's group 
>agreed to paddle the conditions and not accept help from or come to the aid 
>of any of the others in the group.  I know this sounds simplistic but this
is 
>all I could gather from comments on WaveLength.  In a sense, each paddler 
>agreed that from the launch point, each paddler would be paddling alone.  My 
>first question would be why was it important to proceed with the paddle in 
>spite of the adverse conditions.  My second concern would be that even
though 
>I might understand the decision of a skilled paddler to paddle alone in 
>adverse conditions realizing the risks and trusting their own skill level,  
>I'm not sure I could be convinced that another paddler would stick to such
an 
>agreement if I ended up in trouble. ...snipped...

Interesting decision...although I don't think I could ever be comfortable
agreeing to that, for several reasons. Part of it is coming from a
background of things like boating, wildnerness camping and mountaineering,
in which we understood that we would render aid when needed, even to
strangers, and that it was everyone's responsibility to not only take care
of themselves, but to take care of the others, should they get into trouble. 
   Sometimes folks would get into trouble without realizing it was
occuring...like gradually becoming hypothermic on a winter climb, for
instance. Usually it was someone other than the victim who picked up on
what was happening, and the group would take measures to reverse things
early on (often against the "I'm ok" protests of the one becoming
hypothermic). Then of course there was heat exhaustion, injuries, fatique,
or sometimes simply paralyzing fear (I really hate dealing with that one,
because you never really know what they'll do next).
   But from the seakayaking point of view, if you lump it in with boating
in general, it is kind of the rule of the sea that you aid any boat in
trouble, if it is possible to render aid  without sinking your own vessel.
If you can't render aid, then stand by, again if possible. Granted, these
traditions come from offshore sailing history, but I think this universal
comraderie, so to speak, is what one thing that makes boating special. It
also underlies a knowledge that in any battle with the sea, the ocean
wins...kind of maintains a healthy respect for the elements.
   I would hate to have kayaking go the way of so much of our world, with
an "everyone for themselves, you're on your own" attitude. More
importantly, if someone traveling in my group died because the rest of us
couldn't be bothered to try saving them, I would probably never enjoy the
sport again. Not because someone died, but because no one tried to stop it.
   If the conditions are so rough that you would be unable to assist
another kayaker, and you have a choice of launching or not, is it really
worth launching (kind of like would you climb a mountain in a blizzard)? If
you're already out there and things get dicey...well, in the
retrospectoscope, usually the situation could have been averted if we'd
done our homework beforehand, or been paying attention while out there
(which has never helped me in the middle of such a predicament).  
   A lot of folks feel that independence is an extremely important thing,
and that is true...but that changes in a group. I remember one very
independent hiker who liked to let less expert hikers tag along, but would
be concerned only with maintaining his schedule. He never saw when they
were pushed too far, even when they said they needed to rest. By the time
things got really bad, he would leave them behind to "go get help" and have
these really dramatic sagas getting help...but sometimes the people he left
behind died or had body parts amputated.  
   As expert as his skills in backcountry were, I do not consider him a
hero or even a save companion. So what does this have to do with kayaking?
I see the same process rearing its ugly head here...it's harder to render
aid on water than it is on land. Maybe because of that, it's more critical
to do so.
   I would be interested to know how others approach this issue.
Leander

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