[Paddlewise] Chuck Holsts Poor Judgment Posting.

Hi folks,  ( Let me apologize in advance for the
extraordinary length of this message )

I am new to the paddlewise group.  A friend of mine passed
on the following posting from last winter, which includes
some distortions, and misinformation that I felt I must
comment about.  I believe that I ( Bill Newman ) am the this
terrible person with “ poor judgment ” based on the
reference to towing a victim in surf – not a good idea but
read on if you want to see why I did in-fact tow someone
once in moderate surf.

Actually it sounds like this terrible irresponsible person
is a combination of myself and a good friend of mine Don
Dimond.  The supposed trips appear to be a collage of
several minor incidents that have been distorted and mixed
together out of context.  Reading Chuck’s summary I could
not help but feel sorry for the naïve innocents who were
lured out sea.  Although the descriptions of the events have
been distorted,  they are clearly describing events from two
trips that I participated in, and I will describe them in
some detail.

[ Here Is The Paddlewise Posting In Question]

From: Chuck Holst
Subject: Guide Training
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 11:25:21-0600

A few years ago a  kayaker named Sam complained to me that
though both the ACA and BCU have instructor training
programs, those programs do not necessarily train you to be
a guide.  Now, Sam is a professional guide, but I think that
many if not most of the skills of a professional guide are
also needed by amateur guides –  in other words, leader ad
organizers of both personal trips and club trips.

What brought Sam’ comment to mind is a sea kayaker I know
who has ACA and ( I  think ) BCU instructor training, who
nonetheless has on several occasions shown poor judgment by
leading club trips in conditions that were beyond the
capabilities of some participants.  Two trips resulted in
capsizes and/or tows, while on another trip the leader felt
compelled to use his tow line to help participants land
through the surf.  In my opinion , those paddlers should not
have been taken out in the first place in conditions that
they could not handle by themselves.

What do you think?  Does instructor training also equip one
to be a guide, or is that a separate, if related, discipline
that deserves its own program?

Chuck Holst

This type of misinformation from gossip makes our club look
reckless and irresponsible.  The Twin Cities Sea Kayaking
Association has been an active kayak club for over three
years with dozens of club trips on the Great Lakes.  In that
time there has only been one capsize on an official club
trip.  The implication that capsizes have occurred because
paddlers were allowed to get in over their heads is simply
not true.  The one capsize occurred in a sheltered bay in
one foot chop.

We will call the victim Dave Brewster (because we see no
need to protect the not so innocent).  I was not there to
see the capsize, but apparently Dave had his paddle under
the decklines and was fiddling with some gear, when he just
tipped over by accident.  The victim was then teased
unmercifully and went on to paddle quite comfortably later
that day in four foot seas.

Sorry to tease Dave yet again, but a capsize can happen to
anyone at anytime.  Paddlers who challenge themselves in
difficult conditions, or like Dave make some little mistake
when they are not paying attention, will sooner or later
have a capsize in a sea kayak.  Whether they roll up,do a
paddle float rescue, or let someone assist them in a group
rescue it should be viewed as great practice.  To be a safe
kayaker you need to be prepared to deal with a capsize at
any time.  With proper training it should be a minor
nuisance, not a major event.

As for towing Don and I have assisted other club members
with towing on club trips.  I feel that asking for a towing
assist should  never  be viewed as a failure or an admission
that you are in over their head on a trip.  When Don and I
taught the Towing for Sea Kayakers Class at the Bayfield
Symposium we stressed that towing is a way to even out the
strengths of a group of paddlers.  People should not let
their egos get in the way of keeping the group together and
moving at a good pace.

I am not aware of any  trip participant who has made a
formal complaint about safety on any Twin City Sea Kayak
Club event.   If any of our club members on the paddlewise
list  has had safety concerns about a trip they participated
in, please write up a detailed summary of  the incident and
bring it to the attention of the other club members.

[ Sand Island Club Trip July 1997 ]

First I want to comment on  crossing to Sand Island.
Although I have seen postings on paddlewise that suggest
that this is a difficult or dangerous crossing, I must
disagree on this point.  The crossing is sheltered from all
wind directions except winds that come from almost due north
or from almost due west.  The distance to nearest land is
only two miles and from Little Sand Bay to the Sand Island
dock it is only 3 miles.  The hazards associated with the
sand bar have been exaggerated since it is only a hazard in
large seas with a strong west wind.  The charts show depths
for mean-low levels of 4-6 feet which means typical depths
are 6-8 feet.  Yes with a 30 knot west wind blowing all day
long there might be breaking waves on the bar, but who in
their right mind would be taking inexperienced paddlers to
the island under those conditions?  Also paddlers crossing
to the island do not cross the bar and would not be blown
over the bar in a west wind.

In July of 1997 our club had a beginner/intermediate level
trip out to Sand Island.  No novices were involved.  All
group participants had demonstrated the ability to perform a
paddle float rescue, and as per club policy all participants
on Lake Superior trips are required to have a wet suit or
dry suit.  On Friday and Saturday the weather was excellent
and several club members crossed out to the island without
any problems.  All trip participants were required to bring
camping gear and extra food in the event that we had to wait
out bad weather.

On Saturday we rechecked the marine forecast and the
predicted weather was for 20 knot winds from the south on
Sunday.  Knowing that a strong head-wind would be
challenging to some of the group we strongly recommended
that people consider going back to Little Sand Bay and
camping at the township campground.  Don and I offered to
paddle back with anyone who wanted to return before the high
winds forecast for Sunday afternoon.  All participants
agreed that they would be comfortable paddling in those
conditions, and none took us up on our offer to paddle back
early with them.

On Sunday the winds were as predicted.  Paddling out of the
east bay it became apparent that not everyone in the group
was comfortable in the conditions.  We rafted up discussed
the conditions and decided to go back to the beach.  Two
options were offered to the group.  They could stay the
night and paddle back on Monday with an experienced kayaker
who had volunteered to stay an extra night, or they could
make the crossing with a towing assist to ease their way.
Everyone voted to cross.  We set up a towing assist for all
paddlers who were having trouble and as an added safety
measure each had a third experienced paddler at their side
to raft up with if they felt uncomfortable in the 1-2 foot
chop.

On club trips we do not have guides or formal leaders.
Experienced paddlers and trip organizers are asked to give
advice and help out less experienced paddlers.  Although we
can and do refuse to let paddlers come on a trip if we feel
they don’t have the needed skills or experience, it is not
done lightly.  No one likes another club member to pass
judgment on his or her skills or to order them about like a
petty dictator.  As an example Don and I  strongly
recommended that the less experienced paddlers return
early.  However we did not have the authority to order them
to do so.

Our club members are expected to be honest in assessing
their abilities and we expect them to be responsible for
their own safety. On this Sand Island trip everyone made
informed decisions, and they were given several options.
The towing kayakers got a good workout, but the trip
proceeded with out any  significant problems.

[Sand Island Trip Fall 1995]
I first want to make clear that this was a trip that I did
with three friends that I had met through the Minnesota
Rovers.  It was not a Twin Cities Sea Kayaking Association
trip, and at the time none of the participants were even
members of the club.  All three had demonstrated self rescue
skills and we all were wearing dry suits or wet suits.

On Saturday we had practiced self rescues and group rescues
and paddled the Squaw Bay Sea Caves without any problems.
On Sunday we wanted to make a day trip to  Sand Island, but
since it was fall and they were inexperienced kayakers we
did not want to get caught on the island in rough weather.
The forecast for Sunday was moderate with winds predicted to
increase in the evening.  We decided that since winds were
from the north if conditions did worsen we could go with the
wind quickly to the safety of Little Sand Bay.  We left
early in the morning in calm conditions and started at 1:00
in the afternoon for the return crossing, again in
relatively calm conditions expecting to return to shore
before the winds picked up.

About half way into the return crossing the wind direction
shifted from the northwest to due north.  We had been
paddling in the shelter of Sand Island and with the north
wind we quickly had 3-5 foot steep chop and a 20 knot
tailwind.  We rafted up to discuss what we should do.
Fighting the head-wind would take an hour or more so we
decided to run with the waves and wind to land at the safe
sand beach or enter the harbor at Little Sand Bay.
Everyone in the group agreed that they were OK paddling in
these conditions.

Being the most experienced kayaker I asked that we keep the
group close together with everyone to my right one boat
length apart so I could easily keep everyone in sight.
Unfortunately this did not work out as planned.  Bob who was
most comfortable in the conditions, was getting ahead of the
group.  Bob had kayaked some in the past and had even
learned to roll a kayak.   It was hard for me to keep us in
a tight group and this was the biggest problem that we had
on the crossing.  About a half a mile from our destination
Bob surprisingly capsized and I tried to hurry the rest of
the group to get to him quickly.

We expected Bob to do a paddle float rescue, but in the
rough conditions he was having  problems reentering the
boat.  When he did not get in the boat after three attempts
I raced ahead and quickly got him back into his kayak with a
rafting rescue.  Instead of joining up with Bob and I ,
Wendy and Paula continued on to shore as we were now quite
close to Little Sand Bay.  After pumping Bobs boat dry we
saw Wendy capsize.  I asked Bob if he was ready to go and he
said he was fine.  He paddled about a hundred feet and
flipped again.  I put him back in his boat and again we set
off to help Wendy who was having problems getting back in
her boat.  He paddled a short way and flipped again.

I have seen this happen with other paddlers.  After a flip
or a bad swim they lose confidence and stiffen up at the
waist so they are easily capsized even in moderate seas.
Bob is not a timid guy and he can tell stories of his
adventures in the Peace Corps that would make your hair
stand on end.  However that day he lost his confidence and
his paddle skills disappeared with his confidence.  After a
third rescue and capsize I told Bob that I was going to
paddle ahead to help Wendy and then return to him.  He went
back to a paddle float rescue and I quickly put Wendy back
in her boat.

By now we were only about a quarter mile from shore and
Paula and Wendy headed in to shore without incident.  I  put
Bob back in his boat for the fourth and last time and we
rafted up and talked for awhile.  He seemed fine but even
though he was not panicking I knew he would almost certainly
capsize again if I let him paddle unrafted.  I put two
paddle floats on his paddle for him to use for stability and
we discussed towing him the rest of the way.  At this time
the ranger from Little Sand Bay came out in the Park Service
Boat.  We chatted for awhile and he asked if we needed any
help.  I said that if Bob wanted to ride back with the
ranger I would tow his kayak back to shore.

The ranger said he would be glad to help, but pointed out
that if we used his assistance we would have to fill out an
incident report, and we all agreed that any ranger assisted
rescue might contribute to giving sea kayakers a bad
reputation for safety in the Apostles.  We thanked him for
his concern and said we may as well paddle in ourselves
since we were almost to shore.  Poor Bob had been in the
water  quite a lot that day and I  really did not have the
heart to ask him to swim in through the surf.  I decided to
continue the tow since he could not paddle easily with two
paddle floats on his paddle.

Although I realize I was putting myself at some risk of
entanglement I had a knife and could release the tow from a
caribeener if needed.  Somehow in spite of the paddle float
training wheels he capsized and his empty boat caught a
bigger than average wave and shot ahead of me.  As the rope
tightened I realized that I could not quickly release the
tow with one hand ( A caribeener will not release under
tension – I now have a Cam-cleat on my tow rig for just such
a quick release ).  I could have cut the line with my knife,
but I would have flipped if I had taken my hands off my
paddle to reach for my knife.  Instead I decided to try to
enjoy the exciting and undignified ride backward into the
beach laying on a sculling brace all the way.  I landed in
my boat right side up with only my dignity harmed.

With 20/20 hindsight we probably should not have gone out
that day.  The NW winds fooled us with the shelter of Sand
Island making the weather appear better than it was.  Bob a
paddler that we expected to be  confident and competent, had
a bad day and had unexpected problems.  As for towing in
surf, I am well aware that I took a slight risk with my own
safety to help spare a friend from more discomfort.  I
should have taken the time to gather up the tow line and
paddle floats so we could raft up and side surf in or just
told  Bob to bail out and swim in the last 100 feet to
shore.  I certainly do not advocate people towing in surf
since there are obvious risks of entanglement.

If anyone wants to criticize me or the other participants
who were on that trip they are welcome to do so.  However I
feel that it is unfair to the club to imply that this was a
club trip when none of our group of four had even heard of
the Twin Cities Sea Kayaking Association at the time.
Whatever I may or may not have done on private trips with my
yahoo kayak buddies is my business. However when paddling as
a guide, instructor, or participant of an official club trip
I have never put less experienced paddlers at risk. Also I
am not aware of any case where a club member has used poor
judgment and put less experienced paddlers at risk during an
official club trip or event.

As a member of the clubs board of directors I find it very
frustrating when I hear rumors that imply that the club has
conducted reckless or irresponsible trips.  Usually upon
further investigation I find that the trip in question has
nothing to do with club members, or if it is a club trip
some minor problem (like Dave fiddling with his gear and
flipping) has been transformed into a life and death
crisis.  I also once heard an outraged club member talking
about an official club trip crossing to Isle Royale.  The
trip in question did have some advanced club members as
participants, but it had nothing to do with the club.

In the future I ask that our club members refrain from
passing judgment on trips they know little or nothing
about.  If there is a safety concern associated with an
official club trip we need to get a full account from the
participants (not from the rumor mill),and  write up an
incident report so we can learn from our collective
experience and improve safety on future trips.  Passing on
gossip may be entertaining, but it does nothing constructive
for the club or club safety.













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