dldecker_at_se.mediaone.net wrote: > > At 01:11 PM 4/4/99 -0500, Sarah Ohmann wrote: > >>If you are ever on a group paddle with a designated leader, and this > >>leader fails to keep control of the group, resign yourself to never > >>paddle with him/her again. > > > >Wow. > > > >If I followed your advice, I wouldn't be able to paddle with any of the > >experienced paddlers I know. > > > >I guess by your call all the folks on this list who have had a problem with > >a group are not fit to be leaders. Every local paddler I know who leads > >trips professionally or informally has had some problem at some point, > >including myself. Each one has tried to figure out why things went wrong > >and how to prevent it from ever happening again, as have many people on this > >list. Which I find pretty encouraging. > > > >I suspect that if you've never had a problem in twenty years of paddling you > >are a) practically perfect in every way, or b) have a leadership style > >similar to that of Slobodan Milosevic. > > > >Maybe instead of slamming people you could say something constructive about > >how you prevent problems???? > > > >Sarah Ohmann > > > > > > Sarah > Some people only see back and white and can't see all the other shades > out there. They are best ignored. > > Dana Dana is right of course but the subject does deserve some more thought. I gave Gabriel Romeu a hard time in a joking fashion for introducing time-proven managerial skills to a put-together group paddling trip because there is quite a difference between coordinating and motivating a staff and coordinating a paddling group. Coordinating a group at work has a built-in attention getter...people's salaries, promotions and careers are on the line and they tend to listen better...i.e. money is on the line. The same is true of a commercial trip, for the most part. People pay a guide and his/her staff to guide them. Money is on the line and so the guide and staff (if they want repeat business and a good reputation) train themselves and do their job (for the most part) and their clients, having shelled out good money are more inclined to listen. Obvious, there are exceptions. But can you picture some one paying a daytrip company $60-80 (pretty typical fee for a day's outing not necessarily including cost of boat rental) and then ignoring the guide and paddling out of sight. I wrote up something earlier that came from an article I wrote for our Hudson River watertrail newsletter and which I put on here. Some additional thoughts: 1. Keep instructions to a minimal and simple. Lay out the gist of the trip, ask what people feel about its general parameters and then go for it. 2. Don't micromanage every minute on the water. If your group is off to the side away from traffic and in relatively calm conditions, let it spread out. What is the worse can happen. Someone might go over and be uncomfortable. 3. Save the insistence of getting the group tightly together for crossing situations in either traffic or heavier conditions. That is where it counts. 4. Make certain someone with some experience is with weaker paddlers. The weaker ones make themselves known not by admission necessarily, but rather behavior on the water. A couple of examples of when it works and when it doesn't work. A) Last year I happened to be launching in Manhattan on the Hudson into the harbor at the same time a group was going out. I knew the leaders who really haven't done much of this and asked if I would take over. I said sure. They are friends. Things weren't bad on the way out as it was early on a Saturday morning. But by the time we headed back, we had lots of wind with us and a strong favorable current and we were crossing through tons of traffic. It was imperative that we not spread out, that we would be real visible and that we stayed together. I decided to do the crossing in sections, stopping every so often to let traffic pass before crossing on to another section of the river. Here is what I did: a) For greatest visibility for the group, I put paddlers in the brightest boats (yellow) with some experience at either end of our formation. b) Our formation was pretty close to a chorus line, i.e. the boats lined up in line with the river and not strung across. Not actually fully a chorus line as some boats were nestled slightly behind in a close contact stagger with the chorus line. c) As we went across the first section of the river, I immediately spotted what boat was the slowest at that point. It was an older fellow in a double with a woman in the front who wasn't doing much paddling; he had earlier been doing just fine but he was tiring. I called to the closely knit group that we would key our speed and our position on him. d) This worked just fine. I kept letting the group drift with the boats that were in least control of their tracking. But we drifted as a group with the current and wind as we made progress across. But then we hit a snag. e) As we neared the last quarter of our crossing, an oil barge and tug was coming along. With a group of experienced paddlers with any kind of sprint speed, it would have been easy to get across in front of the slow moving barge and tug. But I couldn't risk it with the unknown sprint speed of some of the paddlers. So I wheeled the group around. f) Instead of being a chorus line with some boats trailing slightly behind us, we wheeled around to go as a single file (again with some staggered boats) along the same line of travel as the barge and tug. We were still making progress but we were a small target as we allowed the barge and tug pass parallel to us. When he passed, we wheeled around again to a chorus line and finished the crossing. I considered that a successful trip. The ingredients contributing to this were: --several of the paddlers were friends who would listen to my suggestions for the easiest and best way to proceed --I did not micromanage except in places where it counted --I got people to play a game in trying to keep the chorus line straight; they took it as fun; they particularly liked the wheeling around manuever...it looked smart and felt good to feel control of ourselves in the chaotic traffic situation --the situation was froth with danger...lots of traffic; that was certain something to smarten people up without much yelling or screaming --I set an obvious point for all to guage their speed, the slower guy and gal in the double --I let the drift in tracking occur with just a minimum of corraling which meant no one tired or was overly frustrated; sure I can control my boat at every moment but I know others can't...I bow somewhat to them while getting them to make a bit of effort to go straight...it is a matter of proportions and balance B) This also an example from last year, one that didn't work as I would hope in the very same waters. It was in mid-week so there wasn't much pleasure boat traffic but still plenty of ferries especially at the end of the trip which coincided with the beginning of rush hour. The group was homogeneous in the sense that they were all from the same company, a publication for youngish professionals on enterntainment, sports, etc. It didn't go as well as the pick-up one mentioned in example A above. We were always scattered on the river even the crossings. It was hard to get some of the individuals to listen. Some would race off without looking back and showing signs of being totally unaware of their surroundings. Some were real slow. I had one other good person with me but it was a bitch of trip in terms of our exposure to potential problems. I know it, my colleague escort person did too. But the group for the most part was oblivious. A couple of reasons, I guess: --these were physically fit people with a go-go attitude --they were relieved to be out of the office and got intoxicated with the quite stunning setting of the city skyline --they were pretty unsavvy about a lot of things...for example didn't know what Ellis Island was, kinda young and self-centered --they were showing off to each other, at least some were, and that manifested itself in those forays of taking off ahead of the group --they were too young to appreciate the dangers and kind of feeling invincible...again a matter of age and the go-go slant of the publication --their boss was along. She tried to help but the group for the most part paid her little mind either After awhile I realized there was nothing I could do. I sure could have used the superior leadership qualities of John Kortis who started this string on "Group Paddling-A warning." I managed to just keep the group in a modicum of control when in the greatest areas of exposure (for example, crossing in front of where the ferries emerge blind from Ellis Island slips) but just barely. However, I was real uncomfortable throughout the trip and was sure glad when it was over. So, you win some and you lose some. If I ever am confronted with something like that again, I have some ideas I would try but not fully formulated...the exploding collar sure sounds like a good one. :-) ralph diaz -- -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** 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 Sun Apr 04 1999 - 14:07:03 PDT
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