Robert Woodard wrote >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. As a novice paddler the above advice rings true although I haven't been on a formal group paddle yet. The Australian club which I belong to grades their group paddles against a description of sea conditions, which is helpful. They also recommend that novices train for a sea proficiency test, which also seems sensible. Additionally they insist on the need for careful self assessment before taking on a trip together with the emphasis that ultimately responsibility for safe paddling is on oneself. For me self assessment requires that I "Build experience gradually" & "Choose paddling partners carefully", allowing potential partners to give advice if they want to. This requires spending some time with them when they are doing trips within ones ability. Fortunately I've found quite a few experienced paddlers in Sydney who are willing to do this. I've also found the book "Deep Trouble" to be very valuable. However, the safety strategies recommended by our club only partially apply to foldables, particularly the Klepper Aerius 1. Rolling is strongly emphasised within the club. Whereas I've learn't that rolling a Klepper Aerius is inappropriate. A "hardshell" kayak company I paddled with in Monterey emphasised using a float paddle over rolling as a prerequisite to the more ambitious trips. A friend tells me that a similar anomaly applies for handling surf in which the techniques adopted by the Australian army who use Klepper foldabless are quite different from those recommended by our club for hardshells. PeterO *************************************************************************** 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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