Harold wrote: > What say you all? What real experiences have you had that tell the > difference? Zero group experience...so apply my standard "I'm a novice who doesn't know any better" disclaimer. When the fight or flight instinct kicks in, I imagine it is very very difficult to overcome the flight tendency. Especially if you have no personal ties to your group, or your confidence in your own skills under pressure is in doubt. The extreme danger here is really to the novice in these conditions. The novice, under the notion that the group will keep him/her out of trouble, is more likely to attempt a paddle beyond their skills. They probably would never try such a paddle alone. So when the group breaks down under stress, the novice is suddenly way in over their head (no pun intended). My advice to the novice would be to ask other paddlers how group members behaved in past outings. If a person has ever felt deserted, I suspect that person will speak up publicly or privately to you if you ask, and tell you who to stay away from (or more importantly, who to stay near). It is important to try and find out how your buddies will perform under stress. I've seen people who are normally concerned for you forget you exist under combat conditions. At the same time I've seen people who are complete loners risk his life while under fire to get every person to safety during battle. All paddlers must sometimes extend their experience by paddling in conditions that are a little beyond their comfort range. This does not mean throwing caution to the wind and taking on a trip way beyond your skill level. Build experience gradually. Increase paddling conditions gradually. Choose your paddling partners carefully. A novice has no right to assume the group will make up for his/her lack of skill. > I know that this subject has probably been drummed to death > before, but how many responses do we routinely see about > Canadian Ballast and GPS's and other equipment? Why not > the same interest in safety? All the GPS and VHF and BFD > equipment in the world may not save you when the ax falls, > while one good partner who stayed by your side could save > your life. This last sentence is true. However, just like all the other safety equipment discussed here, your partner may fail you. It's best to carry a spare 8^) >Why not the same interest in safety? I think there is a strong interest in safety here. My perception is different, and could probably be summed up as: With all the interest in paddling gear and safety, why almost no focus on the paddling 'experience'? In a typical week we see 100 messages or more on safety or gear. If we are very very lucky, we might see one trip report...but probably not. Woody *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Mar 30 1999 - 18:59:45 PST
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