[Paddlewise] another approach at sea kayaking

Julio MacWilliams  raised an interesting issue about just what to do
when you bill a paddle for a given level and then find people turn up
without the levels of experience needed. It certainly is not a new problem
and I know from a club paddlers point of view it makes things very hard. 

-"I have been thinking of arranging a rescue clinic prior to every paddle
I lead, then only admit to the paddle those who performed at an acceptable
level at the clinic. Doing that would make anyone very unpopular, so 
maybe you folks can offer better suggestions."

Well maybe leaders do have to be prepared to be unpopular!

 I like to think
that if you give very clear information people will make up their own minds
as to whether to go on a club paddle, but I know that some do not seem able
to assess things or just refuse to do so and turn up. There is always the
inherent problem that the moment some people see that something is
organised, they perceive that it is going to be safe.

In club terms I have found that a way of  trying to reduce this risk is to
do a few things-
If you think you will get less experienced paddlers turning up then in the
club programme pitch your trips at a slightly lower level than you might if
you were doing the trip with some fellow paddlers you know well. I am
always very weary of some club paddlers who want to run trips which are
clearly going to be quite difficult and try to bill them as ok for all
levels. 
Make sure you are clear about who else will be along to give a hand. Due to
problems of getting instructors to take out groups in our club we have just
set up a system whereby each session you run, your name goes onto a bit of
paper. At the club dinner the the first three names drawn out the hat get a
voucher to spend on gear at the club shop. Hopefully it will work as a way
of saying thanks for all the time they give up free of charge
Get paddlers interested to go on the trip to phone you to confirm their
place. No call
no place.The phone call also gives a chance to find out about the paddlers
experience- or at least get a very rough idea-.
 Again, this is safety and most should understand that a big group
increases the risk of trouble if you are short on experienced paddlers.
Outline in advance what equipment they need to bring- ok some people will
rush out and buy the stuff but it just helps a bit to make peole think that
if they have to take flares, then they are also taking a bit of
responsibility for the trip. It also  It is surprising how often I have
turned up to run a trip and found  everyone assumes Derek will have brought
all the safety gear because he is running the session!
Plan a seasons paddling programme with other club members and pitch the
trips at different levels. Then say that to do some trips paddlers must
have been on previous paddles. It means however, that you need to still be
prepared to turn people away, but at least you have a programme of trips to
refer them back to. When I think about it my paddling started by slowly
building up trips, not by going straight into big trips. hopefully most
people will understand this and if a club has a range of trips through the
season then you may be able to avoid or reduce the issues recounted.
Is it possible when planning the club paddles to choose locations where the
group can be split and still do some paddling suitable to different levels.
Specifically target less experienced paddlers with certain trips. Again, a
lot of the bigger paddles we do in the club tend to be organised by
personal invites and club paddles are pitched at a more basic level. The
really keen ones will soon begin to be spotted and will end up being asked
along on more advanced trips by other paddlers.
A while back I talked with some of the sea kayak group uk who have had to
deal with similar issues. They adopted a very strict approach I recall
right down to telling people they were not part of the paddle if they
arrived late for the briefing before going afloat.
On the liability front ours laws are a bit different but we do not allow
anyone to paddle unless they are a club member. Again this ruling might
help to at least mean you have had a bit of prior contact with the paddlers
beforehand- say on a rolling clinic, or winter navigation class.


 



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