[Paddlewise] Group Dynamics thread revisited

In following up on the latest in the group dynamics thread, I found myself
wondering about the other side of the coin.....

The thread seemed to start with discussion on pre-event risk
assessment/analysis and the trip decision-making process. Other discussions
have focused on post-event,  near-miss deconstruction (a la DEEP TROUBLE).

While the experience of fatal or near fatal events provides effective
feedback on the preceding sequence of conscious or unconscious
decision-making, there is another process and learning opportunity.
Although less hair raising and dramatic, it comes from analysing those
situations where you have planned for a trip (day trip or longer), were all
set to launch, and then exercised judgement to not go, for some variety of
reasons, or otherwise significantly deviated from the plan.

In this type of scenario, you don't really know how close you might have
come to guessing wrong....would launching still have resulted in an
experience and outcome within yours or the group's comfort zone, or would
it have resulted in a fatality or near-fatality (and I'll beg the question
of what is a near-fatality!).

But it seems to me that it requires certain skills to be able to reach a
decison that says, in spite of the planning and commitment to this specific
trip, (and any Conquer drive I might have to "JUST DO IT"), "I will not
launch because....."

Borrowing another cliche....learning when and how to "JUST SAY NO" may be
just as essential a skill as paddling techniques and equipment.

So, do you have stories of pre-event decison making that we can learn
from...even if it less dramatic?

One that comes to mind for me had 2 happy outcomes....

A few years ago my wife and I planned a trip to the Broken Islands (west
coast Vancouver Island, British Columbia). In the week prior to the trip
there were major storms and regular gale force winds crashing through the
area. Up to the day before departure we were uncertain as to whether we
would even bother, but then the weather started to improve. We headed up to
Toquart Bay and launched and spent the next 5 dyas or so exloring the area
under the blessing of pleasant weather. Nearing the end of the trip, we
were still going to stay for another day or so, but we had been using our
VHF several times per day to track the weather report changes. They began
to sound more ominous through the Thursday and we got up early Friday
morning to one that suggested a storm might be coming through by
mid-afternoon. We decided to quickly de-camp and try to get back to the
shelter of Toquart Bay before noon, rather than staying the extra day or
two that we initially aimed for. Our paddle back was relatively uneventful,
apart from frequent glances over our shoulders at the approaching storm
front. It did turn out to be somewhat nasty, but by then we were off the
water and trying to figure out what to do with the flat tire on our motor
home.

All in all...a boring story. Maybe we could have stayed another few hours,
maybe we could have been stranded for 5 days, maybe we could have capsized
after feeling forced to paddle in conditions we shouldn't have been in....
we will never know or have that feedback. On the other hand, assessing our
skills and paddling abilities, considering the recent weather patterns, and
listening closely to the weather resulted in a preventative decision, one
that I feel we made wisely, even if it went against the original plan.

The second happy outcome to this story, as an aside, is that we pulled out
moments before another couple did. We had met them very briefly one one of
our lunch pull-outs a few days previous. Not only did they have a tire pump
we borrowed, we have become close friends and regular vacationers/paddlers.
Timing is everything.


Sam Isaacs
saisaacs_at_netcom.ca  
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/
***************************************************************************