Nootka Sound Paddle Trip July 7 - 15/97 We started with six interested, and wound up with Brian, Trish and me. Brian has been paddling for about 4 years and has done some solo trips. He is a high volume person, paddling a Solstice High Volume. Trish just started paddling this summer and had been on one three day guided tour. She is tiny but very strong, paddling a rental Solstice. I have been paddling 6 years, in my Arluk 1.8 for the past 4 years. We borded the Uchuck II in Gold River, went to Tahsis, and back to Bligh Island where we were dropped off. We headed to Vernacci Island, in the Spanish Pilot Group. There aren't many places to pull out in the area as typically the forest grows right down to the tide mark which is vertical on a rocky cliff shore. We were so pleased with Vernacci that we stayed there and made day trips from it. I thought at first we were very isolated, and spent Wednesday poking around our watery "front yard", just paddling around what I could see, mostly because the minute I turned a point and lost sight of camp, one round green mounded island looked exactly like the next one and I felt lost quickly. This was a big reminder that there is no excuse to be so useless with a compass and navigation as I am. I have always relied on someone else to take care of that and that is unsafe as well as personally limiting. However, on Thursday, I decided to go further and watch and note carefully where I was at all times. I returned to Vernacci, by this time realizing that there was a large fishing estblishment just behind Vernacci at Nootka, several float houses on various islands, and several cabins on shore as well. Many small sport fishing boats were either going out to fish off Yuquot, or returning to camps or Gold River. On Friday, we set out for Ewin Inlet. The wind increased as we paddled north up the inlet, and small following seas were building. By the time we reached the end of the inlet, we were glad to have a sheltered rest for from the wind and waves. We reluctantly got back in our boatsafter a break in a sheltered lagoon for what I knew was going to be a hard slog through waves and slop and a by now strong headwind. Brian is big and this kind of thing doesn't bother him. He just keeps going, seemingly effortlessly, staying close to shore. He says it's easier paddling in there. I always seem to wind up farther out right in the middle of whatever's happening. Trish and I are small. I feel good in my beautiful Arluk. I felt that Trish's lovely boat was a little big for her as she is even smaller than I am. She was struggling against the wind and water but eventually got sick and tired of struggling and "let's get this over with" kicked in for her. Brian went ahead, and I stayed behind her. We slogged it out past the point and into the lee of Spouter Island from which point the return to Vernacci was enjoyable. Saturday morning we set out about 9:00 for Friendly Cove and arrived there about 45 minutes later after an uneventful and pleasant paddle over absolutely calm water, the ocean swell very gentle beneath our boats. We decided to go around the point and see if any big surf was happening. Being such a calm morning, there was very little surf, just small breaking waves on the shingle beach. We continued on and paddled to the large lagoon midway between Yuquot and Maquinna Point. After an exploration and rest break, we headed back to Yuquot. Just a few meters farther offshore were at least 50 small sport fishing boats trolling. These were the people who were on a mission from the camps or inlets to Yuquot and back each day. After an exploration stop of a couple of hours back around the point at Friendly Cove, we pushed off again, to explore the shoreline up to Nootka at which point we planned to cross over to Vernacci, but at about 3:30 Brian mentioned that as we knew, he had been feeling ill for a couple of days, and it was now really catching up to him. He decided to paddle directly for the channel between Narvaez and Clotchman Islands, wanting by now to get back to camp as quickly as possible to rest, and asked if we wanted to come along. Trish and I decided to carry on to the fishing camp at Nootka, and cross toVernacci from there, as we had originally planned. Brian left us, and Trish and I paddled along the Saavedra Islands and into Boca del Inferno Bay and Nootka, which I discovered is a very prosperous looking fishing camp. Drifting around in the small bay, the lagoon beyond the actual "boca del inferno" looked intriguing, but I did not want to risk the very fast tidal flow I knew would be rushing through the extremely narrow passage through the cliffs. Slack water would be at 6 pm and I did not want to stick around that long. I was tired by this time as well and wanted to begin the passage across to Vernacci. However. My intrepid (and naive) companion decided that she was going go through and there was no dissuading her. I told her I would wait for her reappearance, and watched as she was sucked through the passage. I spent about an hour poking around Nootka in my boat, and just as I paddled out from behind a float building, I saw Trish paddling out past the fishing camp toward the mouth of the bay. I got her attention. She said she had been unable to get out of the lagoon (surprise) but finally struggled through 30 minutes or so before slack, followed by the canoe. She did not see me right away and assumed I had left witout her. Her arms were jello, she said. I said, boca del inferno means something in Spanish. Right! The mouth of hell! I had heard of people trying to blast through surge channels and broaching and getting wedged upside down and I didn't want to experience it. Plus, one of the books on the area says, *do not* attempt to go in or out except at slack water. I had shared this with her before she went in but she didn't take it seriously. We paddled out of the small bay and began the crossing to Vernacci. I saw immediately to my great dismay that instead of the typical wind drop in early evening which results in usually calm pleasant evening paddling conditions, the wind had continued to pick up and was crossing the seas which were building behind us, resulting in big slop. I knew we had a least 40 minutes of ugly paddling to get back to Vernacci. Neither one of us liked this at the outset but we pushed out and got into it. After about 15 minutes, I realized that I was afraid. Largish breaking following seas and lots of wind and slop is my least favorite of paddling conditions. My fear was multiplied because I felt responsible for Trish, who was understandably more frightened than I was. I saw Vernacci slipping by on our right as we struggled to keep from broaching, and yelled at Trish to turn. She could not bring herself to do it, and I understood this completely, having been similarly frightened on other occasions. We decided the only course of action was to just keep paddling evenly and strongly till we reached a point of land which was on our course, which was now determined by the wind and sea. This turned out to be the larger northern Villaverde Island. We pulled the boats partially out of the water on a very small beach just inside the south point where there was some shelter. We looked at each other and shook as we sat on a log. It had taken us about 55 minutes of constant even hard strong paddling through pretty intense fear. After calming down we got back in our boats and I took us over to the lee of a smaller island and around the northerly point. We poked our bows out into Fidalgo Passage which was still ugly. I hauled out on the rocks in a tiny cove, tied my boat to a tree and climbed out on a point. By this time I was not exactly sure where we were as all the islands were really looking the same by now, even with the chart, although between us we had located ourselves correctly,it turned out. Although Trish wanted to try to paddle on, I refused to go on and determined to wrap myself in my tarp which was in the bow of my boat, in order to stay overnight in the woods on the shore. I would paddle on in the morning when it was calm. I worried about Brian worrying about us, or coming out to look for us when he was sick, but I could not face any more struggle against wind and water that day. Additionally, neither of us was 100% sure where we were. Trish did not have any extra clothes and was getting cold, and pretty well refused to spend the night with me wrapped in a tarp in the woods! She wanted to try going out around the south end of the island we were on, hoping that the water conditions might be better there. I explained how it would be even worse, but I did not want to let her go alone. Once around the point, we were able to go from island to island for a short distance, as had Trish noted on the chart, and she said she felt better doing something rather that just sitting there. The water was still choppy and there was still wind, but not like we had crossing from Nootka. Two men in a small boat were returning from fishing and I was able to get their attention with my whistle and by waving my paddle. They told us that we were where we thought we were and were on the right course for Vernacci. We paddled consistently and patiently on. I was very relieved to see the pink buoy marking our little cove as I rounded the point. Brian at first thought we had been invited to have dinner at the fishing lodge, but then grew concerned.. We both hugged Brian and with great pleasure ate the wonderful tasty soup he had prepared for us. We were very glad to be back at camp, and I was happy I had followed Trish this time! On Monday Trish and I paddled close to home, not together, but not far away either. Brian stayed in camp. We set out to meet the Uchuck on Tuesday, a fine morning. We arrived at San Carlos Point at about 2:00. Brian jokingly noted that the crew of the Uchuck had told us to be at San Carlos Point at 2:30, but had not said that they would be at San Carlos Point at 2:30. He now thought we had been told 2:30 because once five years ago the Uchuck actually made it toSan Carlos at that time on the return trip from Tahsis. Remember, he said, we were dropped off at 5:30 so it stands to reason that that is about when they will pick us up. We arrived at the dock in Gold River much later than we thought we would (the 2:30 thing; what Brian had surmised was true). The end! I have a hard time with the "save yourself" thing, but I know that I probably couldn't save anyone else, to be realistic. I have practised rescues but have let them get rusty and I am not therefore confident. And fear plus lack of confidence plus actual lack of ability to help is close to a guarantor of disaster. I would probably try tohelp anyway, and there's a chance I would be helpful, but a far greater chance of increasing the trouble. I want to be sure that if I say I will stay and wait, that my companion understands that I mean that and not to go off without me, and that I expect the same; I would not let a headstrong novice paddler set out on her or his own; I wouldn't leave my paddling companion unless he/she was injured or unable to paddle and I had to seek help. This was my first experience of being supposedly more capable in a boat than my companion. It brought into glaring focus my lack of real skills. And this was not in conditions that would faze a lot of paddlers on this list. This trip made me think about a lot of paddling related issues, including interpersonal / group dynamics. Diane *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Large Club Safety Oversight Function The discussion concerning waivers, the discussion concerning group dynamics, and the rapid growth in popularity in paddling have got me scratching my head over how clubs can improve the safety of their trips. I thought I might take a look at the old chestnut of trip organizers v. trip leaders in large clubs. A review of the problem large clubs are having in this area has led me to the conclusion that large clubs should consider having a person or committee in an oversight role with the function of looking at safety throughout the club and its activities. For trips which are composed entirely of experienced paddlers, there is seldom a need for a defined leader. Open communication and consensual decisions help draw on a broad range of experience. When need for a leader arises, e.g. when co-ordinating a rescue, a group of experienced paddlers should smoothly transform into the leader-team model. At the other end of the scale, obviously beginner groups or groups with a fair percentage of beginners require a leader. A problem can arise when there are one or more inexperienced or immature people on a trip, which is common for trips run by large clubs. For the occasional inexperienced person, a buddy system works nicely, but the entire group must be supportive so that you don't end up with friction. The problem of an immature person is much more difficult (e.g. someone who persistently heads off on their own, or takes risks that the rest of the group finds unacceptable). Obviously the rational solution as far as safety goes is to toss them from the trip as soon as possible if they do not respond positively to counselling, and to black list them from future trips, but this is often socially difficult. I don't have a clean solution, but I suggest that taking care in deciding who will join a trip is a good start (and then hold fast against cling-ons who tend to turn up at the put-in and expect to tag along even though they were not invited). For example, if a person has a reputation for straying, place them on trips where (a) even if they stray they will not get into much trouble (e.g. tightly controlled beginner trips only), and (b) assign them as a buddy to a person whom you know will not stray, and see if they will take their responsibility to an individual more seriously than their responsibility to the group. The next step is to hold both pre- and post-trip briefings. Lay out everything ahead of time, including what is expected of every participant, and then at lunch, at the end of the day, and at the end of the trip, compare what happened (both good and bad) against what was planned, and discuss how each member succeeded or failed in their tasks and obligations. If you get in the habit of doing this, you will find less hostility than if you let matters fester and then suddenly jump out and criticize someone. You will also forestall the commonly used "better hindsight than foresight" rebuttal which is often used by negligent paddlers when they are criticized after messing up. Hopefully this will help prevent serious problems, relieve friction, and still provide an opportunity for immature paddlers to learn how they can develop into more responsible paddlers. I've found than in about three decades of paddling, I have only encountered three people who eventually did not come around, and with whom I simply have to avoid paddling. This leads directly into the old problem of whether a club should have trip co-ordinators or trip leaders (a topic which was touched upon several times during the waiver discussion, but which was not closely examined). I'd like to use the Wilderness Canoe Association (WCA) as an example. The club started with a small number of experienced paddlers, but in the last decade has had very strong growth (I think they are now at about 700 memberships or so, and given that a membership usually includes a couple or a family, the overall membership is probably about 1,500 people). The odd thing is that the number of local trips listed in the newsletter has not increased as rapidly as the membership. Of even more interest is that a greater proportion of these local trips are now instructional oriented. The WCA has always maintained that the people who run the local trips are trip organizers only, and unless otherwise specified are not trip leaders. To quote from 1979 newsletter: "We remind you that our trip organizers are just that -- ORGANIZERS -- not outfitters, guides or instructors, but fellow members who have volunteered to put together a trip and share the experience with you. Participants are responsible for their own transportation, equipment, and safety while on the trip." Since trip organizers are not trip leaders, there has been little relatively little concern over the leadership ability of the organizers. How does this policy fit with the reality of most local trips having paddlers of a variety of skill, experience and maturity levels, the growth in the relative number of new paddlers who need guidance whether they realize it or not, and the need to perform rigorous risk analysis and group briefings? Quite simply, it is forcing the organizers into more leadership oriented roles. The policy does not match the reality. This dichotomy has contributed to a lack of consistency, where some organizers take on a leadership role in their local trips, while others do not. This has led to new members being unsure of what is expected of them and what they can expect from the trip organizers. It has contributed to the tripping committee not rigorously ensuring that only competent leaders are permitted to organize trips. It has led to trip organizers occasionally finding themselves in the position of having a leadership role forced upon them due to the on-water exigencies. It has led to trip organizers who prefer to take a leadership role to back away from offering local trips because they find that due to prior club practices their task is similar to herding cats. The bottom line is that the safety practices are slipping. (For those WCA members who disagree with this, I suggest that you take a look at who is offering what sort of trips, and note that several wild water trips are being offered by a person who does not believe that women are capable of front ferries, who routinely dumps in class I, and who has verbally abused several members on several trips. Enough said.) All in all, I would suggest that the club needs to recognize that each trip needs to have a leader, and that responsibilities and expectations of both leaders and participants should be clearly set out and discussed prior to a trip being offered in the newsletter, and again prior to the start of a trip. I also suggest internal technical and leadership workshops, promotion of external formal certification and professional development, and close vetting and regular reviewing of all leaders. To do this will require a shift in the mindset of the club, and given the ongoing efforts of the tripping committee, I believe that this shift is already underway. For the WCA, and for any large club with a significant number of new paddlers, I suggest that it is no longer possible to have trip organizers but not have competent trip leaders without compromising safety. I realize that the road to providing competent leaders in a volunteer club is fraught with obstacles, ranging from promoting a hero-badge culture to discouraging competent, non-professional paddlers. For examples of these sorts of problems, I would like to look at the London Canoe Club (LCC). Similar to the WCA, the LCC has experienced strong growth over the last few years, but unlike the WCA, it has embraced the Ontario Recreational Canoeing Association's (ORCA) certification (BTW, the WCA and ORCA began with many of the the same people, but broke into separate organizations primarily over matters such as these: the WCA was more into paddling, whereas ORCA was more into instruction). The LCC's shift toward requiring ORCA certified instructors and trip leaders has been fraught with difficulty, for the club has made some very arbitrary decisions which have discouraged competent instructors and trip leaders. Folks who have been very competent volunteer trip leaders for the last ten or more years have been forced to become certified (a several hundred dollar expense) or to stop leading trips because there has been no grand fathering clause (this was a contributing factor in the club president leaving office). Folks who are already both highly experienced and certified in other disciplines such as sprint or wild water have been marginalized and precluded from offering basic paddling instruction because they are not ORCA certified (additionally, and perhaps tangential to the certification issue, a national team sprinter was not allowed to paddle a sprint boat, and an OWWA instructor was dissuaded from holding a series of wild water clinics). Two of the more vocal ORCA instructors who have pushed most strongly to promote ORCA instruction could not paddle their way out of a paper bag (one received his certification before the standards were very high -- he thinks that the Ottawa is a deadly river but does not insist on his students wearing wet suit or dry suits in spring wild water, and the other is an inexperienced paddler who recently earned his Junior Instructor badge but has yet to master the forward stroke). Most importantly, the Board has not kept track of what the instructors are up to, which directly led to the wiping out of a trip on the Spanish last summer (no serious injuries -- they just lost a couple of boats) when the club designated leader dropped out immediately prior to the trip without either arranging for a replacement or cancelling the trip. Quite simply, the LCC has had the best of intentions in trying to improve the quality of its trip leaders, but has fallen into the hero-badge trap. The emphasis is on who has what ORCA level, rather than who can do a safe, solid job. Too much faith is being put in the paper qualifications, and too little thought is being given to what is actually being delivered to the membership. The LCC is assuming that in requiring ORCA certification, it has met its safety responsibilities, which could not be further from the truth, for requiring qualified leaders is just the beginning of a club's responsibilities. Please don't get the impression that I'm not supportive of ORCA. I think they are a terrific organization. They have made great inroads in promoting paddling safety in the province. I am a member of ORCA and I have been a director of ORCA. While I support the promotion of formally qualified leaders, and consider it negligent to lead a trip without appropriate rescue, CPR, first aid, survival and paddling training and experience, I suggest that a club should not look at a certification program as a global solution to its safety needs. Putting blind faith in a certification program is a logical fallacy: argument ad auctoritas. Yes, if I had to make a choice based on knowing only that a person were certified or not, I would go with the certification, but clubs are not faced with such limited data. They need to closely examine their needs and then look at what resources are available. I suggest that a club should look behind the hero-badge, and closely examine what they are getting in a leader. What skills does the leader have? What experience does the leader have? How well does the leader perform when running a trip? In what types of activities is the leader competent to lead? These are just a few of the many questions which should be answered. I suggest that a club should not delegate its responsibility when selecting leaders. The club should be the first and last authority on who is qualified to lead, and should set its own standards based on its own needs. If the club decides that an ORCA certification program, or OWWA certification program, or OWWA certification program is required, then it must recognize that it still has the ultimate responsibility to decide who is competent to lead in what circumstances. The club must not pass off this responsibility, for if it does so, it will sacrifice safety for hero-badges. So now we have looked at two examples of large clubs which have experienced significant growth. One, the WCA, has run into difficulty because it has avoided recognizing the need for trip leaders rather than organizers. The other, the LCC, has run into difficulty because in its wish to provide competent leaders, it has fallen into the hero-badge trap. What is common to both is that neither club has done a very good job at looking at specific safety concerns, and in taking responsibility as a club for the safe running of trips. I suggest that both outfits would do well to take a close look at what is actually occurring on their trips, and try to step away from dogma in their analyses. I wonder large clubs, should have active safety committees, whose oversight role should be to poke into all aspects of the club (particularly on-water activities), collect data, and make recommendations? For example, the WCA organizational structure is broken into a general six person board of directors including a chair, and non-board positions for secretary, treasurer, membership records, public information, tripping and journal. The LCC organizational structure is broken into a task based twelve person board of directors, including president, vice-president, membership, treasurer, secretary, tripping, marathon training, boathouse staffing, newsletter, and lessons, and non-board positions for maintenance, high-school instruction, sprint racing, dragon boat racing, and kayak instruction. I find it curious that neither club assigns a person or committee to look solely at safety. It seems that every need under the sun, from staffing public information booths to swabbing the toilets, is assigned resources, but safety is not. I realize that safety should be, and usually is, an important factor in any given decision by any person holding a responsible position with a large club, but is this enough? Would a safety officer or committee help move a club as a whole to assuming responsibility for the safety of the activities its sponsors? Would it help a club avoid the problems the WCA and the LCC are facing? If it would be helpful, how best would it be implemented to avoid creating another layer of bureaucracy in a large club? Richard Culpeper www.geocities.com/~culpeper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Hi Folks- I have been thinking about Richard Culpeper's post on club safety and trip leadership for the last few days. Our club (Twin Cities Sea Kayaking Club- Minneapolis) is also grappling with the same issues raised, partly due to the fact that in the last three years our club has grown from five people who knew each other pretty well to about sixty (I think membership just about doubled last year). While some of these points have been discussed in a general way during the last few weeks, I would like to hear specifically from members of other clubs on how they have dealt with the following questions- Are trip leaders for your club strictly organizers or are they expected to be responsible for safety of participants? What are their responsibilities in the event of an emergency? What, if any, are the requirements in terms of skills, training or certifications for trip leaders? For participants? Does your club have any sort of process for approving trips or trip leaders? Do you have trip ratings such as beginning, intermediate and advanced? If so, how do you define the different ratings? To answer Richard's question, our six member board of directors is currently considering forming a safety committee. Initially, at least, the policies that need to be worked out seem too complex to leave to one person. Some of the discussion about safety rules and/or guidelines in our club has to do with liability issues. So these next questions are for any attorneys on the list, or any other clubs that have experience with the legal aspects of club safety. Our club is incorporated, we do have a liability waiver (for what it's worth) and since we are a chapter of the ACA (American Canoe Association) our trips are covered by their liability insurance. But some are concerned that we have not covered our butts legally, and that safety rules may be required for this reason in addition to ensuring the safety of our club members. Is there any information on this, maybe from clubs who do other activities such as ww kayaking or mountaineering? Personally, I worry that too much obsessing about liability will result in no club activities at all. But then, I have no good information on how much of a concern lawsuits should be. Are there any examples of clubs or club members being sued? Are there any cases of club activities resulting in fatalities in sea kayaking? I sincerely hope the answer to these question is "no"! I would really appreciate any feedback from other clubs who have faced or are facing these questions. Thanks! Sarah Ohmann On Sat, 28 Feb 1998, Richard Culpeper wrote: > Large Club Safety Oversight Function > > The discussion concerning waivers, the discussion concerning group > dynamics, and the rapid growth in popularity in paddling have got me > scratching my head over how clubs can improve the safety of their > trips. I thought I might take a look at the old chestnut of trip > organizers v. trip leaders in large clubs. A review of the problem > large clubs are having in this area has led me to the conclusion that > large clubs should consider having a person or committee in an oversight > role with the function of looking at safety throughout the club and its > activities. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
dianem_at_sd61.bc.ca wrote: --big snip of insightful post-- > I want to be sure that if I say I will stay and wait, that my > companion > understands that I mean that and not to go off without me, and that I > expect the same; I would not let a headstrong novice paddler set out > on her > or his own; I wouldn't leave my paddling companion unless he/she was > injured or unable to paddle and I had to seek help. --snip-- I quite agree with John's analysis of Diane's adventure, and also agree with John that Diane's trip raises several separate issues which warrant discussion. In this post I would like to focus on the pressure which is sometimes felt on day trips to make it home rather than to camp over. OK gang, hands up for those who have spouses, children, parents or close friends who would flip-out, think we are dead or in dire circumstances, and call 911 if we did not return in the evening from a day trip. Let's face it, for many paddlers (perhaps most), there is this outside influence on our decision concerning whether to press on or to pitch camp. Lord knows my folks were like this. I think, however, that this sort of counter-productive pressure can be somewhat mitigated by including the stay-at-homes in the trip planning process, and by acclimating both them and yourself to occasional un-expected camp-overs. By going through the trip plan with them each and every time you go out, you stand a better chance at them realizing that your not arriving home for tea means that you are more likely to be safe and snug somewhere than in danger. Make it very clear when they should call for help, but make it equally clear that up to this point they should not worry. The less they worry, the less you will worry about them worrying, and the more rational your decisions will be. If they are not capable of rationalizing their fears, you simply have to recognize this, and if you find yourself in a jam, you must remind yourself to not let your perception of their anxiety affect your decision. At each leg of a journey which is running into trouble, discuss the matter with the group. Get it out in the open, and ask that extraneous concerns, such as the anxiety of folks at home, be filed away and not be allowed to influence your immediate safety decisions. Even if you are concerned that an expensive rescue may be called in, you still must not let this affect your decision. Richard Culpeper www.geocities.com/~culpeper *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
One little comment here. We have all this money invested in equipment in order to paddle safely. It's not that much more for a VHF radio (maybe $100 US). Though I haven't made use of them, I am told there are certain channels where people will phone your family in case your plans change suddenly. And don't forget you have a direct line to the Coast Guard. I know there are times when having a radio may not help you, but in the majority of cases it will. Both Megan and I have our own radio. In the event we are separated we have a plan of time and channel for contacting each other, in addition to our ability independently to call for help. Keith Kaste Richard Culpeper wrote: > dianem_at_sd61.bc.ca wrote: > > --big snip of insightful post-- > > > I want to be sure that if I say I will stay and wait, that my > > companion > > understands that I mean that and not to go off without me, and that I > > expect the same; I would not let a headstrong novice paddler set out > > on her > > or his own; I wouldn't leave my paddling companion unless he/she was > > injured or unable to paddle and I had to seek help. > > --snip-- > > I quite agree with John's analysis of Diane's adventure, and also agree > with John that Diane's trip raises several separate issues which warrant > discussion. In this post I would like to focus on the pressure which > is sometimes felt on day trips to make it home rather than to camp over. > > OK gang, hands up for those who have spouses, children, parents or close > friends who would flip-out, think we are dead or in dire circumstances, > and call 911 if we did not return in the evening from a day trip. Let's > face it, for many paddlers (perhaps most), there is this outside > influence on our decision concerning whether to press on or to pitch > camp. Lord knows my folks were like this. > > I think, however, that this sort of counter-productive pressure can be > somewhat mitigated by including the stay-at-homes in the trip planning > process, and by acclimating both them and yourself to occasional > un-expected camp-overs. By going through the trip plan with them each > and every time you go out, you stand a better chance at them realizing > that your not arriving home for tea means that you are more likely to be > safe and snug somewhere than in danger. Make it very clear when they > should call for help, but make it equally clear that up to this point > they should not worry. The less they worry, the less you will worry > about them worrying, and the more rational your decisions will be. If > they are not capable of rationalizing their fears, you simply have to > recognize this, and if you find yourself in a jam, you must remind > yourself to not let your perception of their anxiety affect your > decision. At each leg of a journey which is running into trouble, > discuss the matter with the group. Get it out in the open, and ask that > extraneous concerns, such as the anxiety of folks at home, be filed away > and not be allowed to influence your immediate safety decisions. Even > if you are concerned that an expensive rescue may be called in, you > still must not let this affect your decision. > > Richard Culpeper > www.geocities.com/~culpeper > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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