Re: [Paddlewise] Group Paddling

Regarding group paddling, I did something for our Hudson River
Watertrail newsletter back last year that may be helpful.  I can't
recall if I sent this on to Paddlewise earlier or not.  If I have,
please forgive the repetition.

START HRWA STORY

Paddling in groups is an art form, a free form one at that.  I learned
that early on in my paddling life.
        I was on my first circumnavigation of Manhattan in a group of 20
boats,
a mix of mainly kayaks and some canoes.  The leader had some Prussian in
him (is it PC to use such a ethnic stereotype term?) and set certain
rules he insisted we all adhere to.  First, no one should paddle out
ahead of him.  One can argue with where the leader should be in a group,
but to my untrained ear it sounded reasonable enough not to get ahead of
him.  Next rule, we should paddle in rows of two (like you paired off
for
first grade field trips).  Each boat should be 14 feet from the one next
to it and each pair should be 12 feet from the pair ahead and behind
(maybe I
don’t have the dimensions quite right, but it was something like that).
        That presented some interesting problems.  For example, should
the
distance between the pairs be based on the average length of each pair
or the longest of the two boats?  Of course, it was a nutty idea. 
Different boats move through the water at different speeds and patterns
especially in reaction to favorable strong currents or winds.  To comply
with the leader’s demand, some people would have had to back paddle to
stay back within formation.  Wind and wakes soon played among the
boats.  As it turned out, some boats took to the currents boost and flew
out ahead of the leader or their paddlers just tired of paddling
backwards to stay behind him.  The leader eventually abandoned the group
at about the half way point.  Just disappeared.  And here I learned two
valuable lessons about group paddling.

Lesson #1. Don’t expect too much of a group (and, I guess, a leader!).

Lesson #2. Groups find a pattern of their own, if you let them and just
coax the phenomenon along a bit.

        The second point showed itself right away once we knew our
leader had
split.  We all huddled around.  One group of seasoned round-Manhattaners
got together and agreed among themselves to forge ahead at a good clip. 
The other group, including me and Donna in our double Klepper, rallied
around one person whom we found had paddled around Manhattan before but
didn’t feel like charging down the Hudson particularly fast.  Each of
the two groups remained tight within themselves with reasonable
distances of contact among the paddlers in it, namely able to
communicate by whistle or shouting.  It was a great trip!
        I’ve thought a lot about that eventful July day a decade ago.  I
have
since seen good leaders and clueless leaders.  And I have listened to
the experts lecture about group dynamics and leadership.  Here are some
pointers I have come up with for any one who finds herself in a position
of “leadership” or coordinating a group of paddlers on the water. 
Please don’t treat these as gospel.  Think of them as pondering points
for establishing your own level of comfort with the role.
        Of course, I expect that you are fully equipped to take care of
emergencies yourself, know where you are going. etc.  You most
definitely should have an idea of traffic patterns in the waters you are
dealing with, what the currents are doing, what the weather is expected
to do that day especially wind changes and potential storms, what
particularly spots on your course have a potential to create problems
such as ferry slips, what places are good bailout points if an emergency
arises, etc.  This is the kind of savvy you should have anyway if
paddling solo.  If you don’t, you should probably not be “leading” the
group.

1. Get a real feel for the capacity of the individuals BEFORE you
starting off.  Look at the people.  Talk to those you don’t know from
previous trips.  Look over the kind of boats they have.  Be careful not
to make assumptions about the latter.
        Some people in the sleekest and longest of boats may not know
how to
move them well.  Some in the shorter boats may be faster than everyone
else and more experienced.  One of the fastest paddlers I know paddles a
12 year old 14 foot length fiberglass boat and can beat anyone on the
water with it.
        You should be looking over people and boats anyway for other
reasons. 
See who has bilge pumps, spare paddles, paddle floats or seems to be
packing extra clothing or has a compass or radio or anything that can be
brought to good use in an emergency, i.e. be taking a safety gear
inventory for yourself.

2. Based on what you can see and establish at the put-in, tailor your
plans for the trip.  If you thought you might do a 12 miler, scale back
if it looks like newcomers are on it and might not be capable of the
original plan.  Same goes for such things as any plans for paddling into
wind or current for a bit of the time or crossing a very busy, summer
traffic Hudson.  Scale back your overall plans to the LCD, less common
denominator, your weakest paddlers.  You do have adjustment room...see
below.

3. Reconsider your plans after about 15 minutes of paddling. (Do mention
beforehand that you want to stop for a few minutes at that pier up ahead
or a certain jetty.)  Here is where you have a chance to see if people
who look weak aren’t and those who seem sleek are slugs.
        Ask yourself questions such as:  Is the group paddling pretty
much
together at the same speed?  Are some people racing ahead?  Do some seem
particularly insecure?  I once had a guy on a trip that was so spooked
by every motorboat wake that he felt sure would swamp him that he
paddled hard into the wakes to take them head-on.  He was doing so so
often that he kept getting deeper and deeper into the path of other
large craft.  That’s a very low LCD!

4. If you find that the group is getting separated, now is the time to
formalize that de facto separation.  To make the separation work for all
the paddlers, you might want to try some of the following:

—Give the faster group something to do.  Your objective is to burn up
their energy and speed.  For example, send them off to explore something
on the other side of the river, a potential stopping point for on the
way back.  Or up some creek, or to scout ahead for a good lunch spot. 
And have them paddle back toward you part way to report what they have
found.  What they will wind up doing is probably paddling about twice
the distance the second, slower group is covering.  So the fast ones are
getting a good workout and are less bored and frustrated.

—Agree on rendezvous points every half hour or so.

—When the groups meet up, make certain that the slower group has a bit
of a break.

—After the short break, send the slower group off first.  This way they
don’t feel they are eating dust all day.  Then send off the faster group
to again do something.

5.  Make certain that each group is fully self-contained in terms of
dealing with normal parts of the trip and emergencies.  Each group
should have one or some experienced paddlers who are capable of
effecting a rescue in the event of a capsize, pumping out, seeing to the
victims condition, warm, confidence, etc.  You are looking to have
someone who can do a rescue in 15 seconds or so after making contact
with the capsized boat.

6. If the group that starts off tends to stay together, then, of course,
no need for separation.  But you should still be thinking of group
dynamics.  Keep looking around at how paddlers are doing.  Don’t paddle
much in the lead as you can’t see much or establish much about the group
from that position.  Let someone be in front who you know won’t race off
but can keep a good clip and be alert.  You are probably best off
staying somewhere in the middle but moving around at times toward the
front and the rear.
        Just because the group is together doesn’t mean you shouldn’t
think in
terms of assignments.  Designating a sweep and rotating that person is a
given.  But also making certain that a good paddler is next to or close
to your LCD paddler or paddlers.  Ask everyone to be on the lookout when
nearing areas you know could be troublesome.  No one should feel they
are just a passenger.

7.  Communications.  This is a tricky area.  Ideally your paddlers
should all be close enough together that they can communicate by
conversation.  But it doesn’t happen even in a fairly tight knit group. 
And paddlers often will be out of easy talking distance.
        The trouble is that there are no universally agreed upon
signals.  BCU
doesn’t agree with ACA or with XYZ club or guru A or know-it-all B.  I
have seen so many conflicting ideas on signals.  Also some signal
systems are so intricate, often with bare distinctions between such
messages as “let’s stop for a photo” and “somebody has died”, that how
can you really communicate with them.
        Keep it real simple and to just three or four key messages. 
Here are
some suggestions that are easy to distinguish from one another and quite
visible:

a)”We have an emergency!”  Blow your whistle like mad.  Wave your paddle
vigorously.  In a very agitated manner, swing your raised arms, hat,
anything you can hold up high.  It is an emergency.

b)”Watch out for X or avoid Y!”  Blow your whistle a blast or two to get
attention if you feel it necessary. Then point your paddle toward the
danger to avoid and gesture with a slit throat motion.  This is good for
pointing out something like a sandbar or some vessel that is getting
dangerously close.

c)”Let’s go in this direction.”  Again, whistle a blast or two to get
attention if you feel it necessary (generally try to avoid whistle
blasts except for an emergency, i.e. don’t be whistle happy).  Then
point your paddle in the right direction and starting paddling toward
that way.

d) “Let’s get together to talk, rest, normal stuff.”  Raise your paddle
vertically and be facing the rest of the group if you can; have the
first other person or two who comes to you to also raise their paddle
vertically.  It is a clear signal for a pow-wow.  Looks impressive and
official.

SUMMARY
There are no hard and fast rules for paddling in a group.  Use your
common sense.  Be flexible.  Let everyone know what you plan and give
them a chance to agree, disagree, etc.  Relax and let it be safe and
fun!

END STORY

ralph diaz



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Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter
PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024
Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com
"Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag."
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