Re: [Paddlewise] Group Dynamics (longish)

From: Keith Kaste <kkaste_at_slip.net>
>
> Unfortunately, Jackie Fenton saw the opposite effect:&nbsp; friends
> who were too new to kayaking to assess the risk involved with the conditions
> they were facing.&nbsp; Essentially, it seems they left Jackie for "lost
> at sea" while they got their own hides out of danger.&nbsp; It would be
> interesting to treat Jackie's experience like something out of Deep Trouble
> and go back and look at lessons learned.&nbsp; What should her mates have
> done instead of fleeing the scene?

I think that the major lesson I learned here wasn't about what the other
guys should have done but what I should have done.  I was used to running
rivers with the practice being that each paddler watched after the paddler
behind.  We worked as a team.  Because I had never seen a paddler desert
another in panic, it didn't occur to me this would happen.  When it did,
I was quite surprised (to put it mildly :-)  It shook my confidence.  At 
first I told myself I would never paddle with those guys again.  But I soon
realized that wasn't the answer that would keep me safe, because if this
could happen so easily and unexpectedly then, how could I know it wasn't 
going to happen again with another paddler?   When I finally understood that
my safety wasn't dependent on the unpredictableness of another paddler is
when I regained confidence in paddling challenging situations again. I 
learned to assume that in any situation it is possible I will be paddling 
alone and to prepare myself for that, to trust my instincts, to develop 
my skills in risk assessment as well as paddling and self rescue and to 
understand that I am solely responsible for my own safety.  It seems a very
simple concept, but it ran contrary to what I had been taught running
rivers.  There was no one in my area to warn me this could happen.  I was
ignorant and I learned the hard way.  Sure stuck, though :-)

Cheers,

Jackie

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