Re: [Paddlewise] Judgement

Good ideas, but I would add a potluck lunch (hot chicken soup!) and some
kind of chocolate thing for dessert.
In Bay Area Sea Kayakers we organize skills practice sessions every so
often, and in varying conditions. I initially dreaded them, but once I
started dressing for the water temp. the sessions became more and more fun.
The key is to have everyone work at their own skill level with plenty of
support. You can also develop little contests, like what team can do the
fastest T-rescue, and so on.
Barbara in Richmond California

At 09:25 PM 4/18/98 -0700, John C. Winskill wrote:
>> The problem, I believe, is that very few participants are willing to try
>> a self-rescue under those conditions.  I know I have a bunch of friends
>> who paddle who have done the self rescue drills in a heated pool, and
>> nowhere else.  Any ideas on incentives to get them to do the real thing?
>
>Dave;
>My experience is that you will have to organize a clinic and sell it to
>your friends.  What I found is that as people do it they begin to see
>the need to practice the rescues and the process will begin to gain
>momentum.
>What I would recommend is for you to, first of all, plan a cold water
>rescue session that has adequate control over conditions, that is, no
>current, nor wind, and close to shore.  Make certain everyone does
>several assisted rescues (perhaps of various types) and and at least a
>couple of self rescues (I generally have students empty thier own boat
>at least once and I also have them paddle a boat full of water about
>fifty yards.
>Next find a location where the prevailing winds blow onto an easy sandy
>beach.  As people begin to gain confidence and get thier systems down
>for rescueing themselves and others in calm water they will, with only a
>little more encouragement want to go on to something a bit more
>challenging.
>As and aside, we have found that, within the club I am most active in
>(the Seattle and Tacoma Mountaineers), we tend to get the most response
>when we charge for clinics.  Go figure.
>If you (or others) are interested in how I specifically stucture either
>the beginning rescue clinics or the advanced clinics let me know and
>I'll give more details. 
>I think you'll find that there are more people in your area who are
>interested than you might realize.
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