Re: [Paddlewise] How and when to speak up

I am very hard minded, if it comes to paddle or cycling with *me*. I
tell the people that *I* will not go out together with them, if they are
not prepared for the situation.
But I do not tell them, that I am worried about *their* health, I tell
them that I don't want to be the one dealing with rescues or at worst with
their dead body. I will not be the one who has to change his plans
because they are ill prepared.  I don't want to pay for their ignorance.
I do this in every case I have serious doubts about peoples skills
and/or if they are not proper dressed and equipped.

Its another thing with people I see going out ill prepared. It depends
on my feelings, sometimes I talk to them sometimes not sometimes harsh or
really friendly.

In spring I was at a meeting of folding kayakers. There where about 50
paddlers. It was a very unstable weather with sunny hours but also heavy
rain and wind every day. We met at a lake in eastern Germany, and the
water was not very cold (I think about 12 degrees Celsius) but too cold
for a long swim without a wetsuit. There were only 6 paddlers of all wearing
a pfd, three of them were with me. Its useless to talk to people, having
paddled for years and going out underdressed in such a crowd. One guy,
about 25 years old asked us if we had no confidence in our boats,
because we had wet- or drysuits, pfd, towing rope etc. I did not answer
him anything. He went out with a cotton sweatshirt and trousers, without
rainclothes, without a sprayscirt on his boat and of course lacking
rescue gear at all. We did not see him the whole day until we met him on
our way back in a lock. Back on the open lake we had a good headwind and
some rain, it had become cold in the late afternoon. We stayed then with
that guy who was absolutely cold having real problems paddling against
the wind. We would not leave him alone because we were not sure if he
was able to paddle back. We were ready to tow him but we decided to wait
until he would ask or it was obvious that he would not make it home
alone. He did make it, slowly and shivering, and we never changed a word.
Perhaps he has learned something but I doubt it.

--
Rainer Schroeter, Marburg, Germany
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