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. *************************************************************************** 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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