I don't think Paddlewise is the appropriate place for club politics, so I will try to keep this short. Bill Newman correctly inferred that I was thinking of reports of a trip he was involved in when I asked my question. However, the opinion I paraphrased in my opening paragraph was made before TCSKA existed, and the Isle Royale trip Bill mentioned (if it is the one I think he is referring to) happened several months *after* I posted the message. I deliberately named neither the club nor any individuals in it, because I wanted to keep the question general. Regarding the hazards of a Sand Island crossing, experienced kayakers disagree. Bill was practically born in a kayak, and I think he underestimates the difficulties such a crossing can pose to a relatively inexperienced kayaker. Several years ago I was the last-minute assistant leader of a beginners trip to Sand Island that resulted in a capsize and a return to the mainland. Fortunately, everyone had practiced group rescues, and no one was injured or became hypothermic, but I put the blame for that capsize squarely on the leaders (including myself), who should never have taken the group out in the conditions we experienced that day. A potentially far more serious situation than the capsize, which happened to a reasonably competent beginner who was caught off guard by a wave, was that of a woman who kept paddling out toward the center of Lake Superior during the rescue because she didn't know how to turn into the wind and waves. It was because of her that I canceled the crossing for the part of the group I had control over. I learned several lessons on that trip, including some important ones about group dynamics, that I will never forget. >From all the safety talk on Paddlewise, one could get the impression that capsize is a normal, everyday event among sea kayakers. In fact, most sea kayak trips (as opposed to practice sessions) occur without any capsizes or other serious incidents, which is why I think it is important to scrutinize those that do. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Chuck wrote; (SNIP) >Regarding the hazards of a Sand Island crossing, experienced kayakers >disagree. Bill was practically born in a kayak, and I think he >underestimates the difficulties such a crossing can pose to a relatively >inexperienced kayaker. Several years ago I was the last-minute assistant >leader of a beginners trip to Sand Island that resulted in a capsize and >a return to the mainland. Fortunately, everyone had practiced group >rescues, and no one was injured or became hypothermic, but I put the >blame for that capsize squarely on the leaders (including myself), who >should never have taken the group out in the conditions we experienced >that day. (SNIP) This comment presents one of the great dangers in leadership that sometimes surfaces I.e. that leaders may lead people into danger because they incorrectly assess the abilities etc. of participants. I cannot recall exactly how many of the examples in "Deep Trouble" contain this scenario but I do recall some. I like Dave Kruger's solution to club trips although I occasionally do organise (as opposed to lead) them. Most of the time I travel alone so I guess I just avoid the problem. In a way I employ Ralph's "fear" method. The thought of having to rescue someone scares me to death so I don't take anyone along if I can avoid it. On a slightly off topic matter (but one I hold dear to my heart) I noticed that Ray Killen wrote; >3. Define the curriculum for 5 proposed new classes to be sanctioned by the >ACA. These are: >A. Rolling >B. Surf >C. Tidal Currents >D. Expeditions >E. Greenland skills I do not see weather and weather forecasting on that list. I have just completed a re-read of "Deep Trouble" and kept tally of the root causes of the accidents. In all but four instances the root cause of the incident resulted from deteriorating weather or the failure to recognise its severity. I have assumed that the list provided by Ray reflects those topics that the ACA considers important or at least important enough to treat as major topics of instruction. I may be chastising the ACA unfairly so maybe Ray can bring us up-to-date on the amount of the proposed course devoted to weather and weather forecasting as well as staying out of trouble. As I mentioned some time back, few kayaking courses cover weather awareness in much detail (based on my own experience and my survey on the topic) . No doubt there will be some content in the ACA course on weather but the list Ray gave us suggests its importance (not much) to the course. No doubt accident prevention lacks the glamour of rolling, expeditions, surf and traditional skills but it seems to me to that bland old keeping out of trouble should be a major topic. I have also checked the BCU handbook and out of roughly 500 pages only four are devoted to weather. In 6.5 pages of bibliography only one book listed is devoted to weather. Lest one think I am picking on the BCU, none of the other manuals I have read does any better and many do worse. Sorry for the broken record. I get bit testy at the almost never ending parade of posts over wet suits, rolls, rescue gear, rescue methods etc. but nary a word about not getting into those situations where such gear might be required. ETC. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft http://home.ican.net/~735769/ *************************************************************************** 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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