I have been nursing a bad cold this weekend and feeling sorry for myself that I couldn’t go paddling. So lots of sleep and lots of TV. So I was flipping channels yesterday afternoon when my eyes locked into the start of a Baywatch Hawaii episode. The bodies are knockouts and I thought it would be soothing just to look at the incredible bods on the female lifeguards. It was but then I started getting caught up in the main story line of the day. It was one we were talking about-- on when and what to say to people who may be endangering themselves. The story revolved around one of the supermacho lifeguards, Jason, who in the beginning of the episode does a dramatic rescue on a jetski of some surfers stranded on wave thrashed rocks. He takes much too much risk in doing so and his boss, tired of his devil-may-care attitude, decides to can him but then gives him one more chance after some stroking by the babe lifeguards at their body language best. Jason is assigned to a beach with crashing waves that is favored by heavy duty surfers. It is a dangerous spot with a history of serious injuries. Jason is all gung ho as he sees it as a chance to redeem himself with some dramatic rescues but the head lifeguard lays down the situation. He doesn’t want Jason to think that he should be measured by dramatic rescues but rather by the situations he can prevent. “This is all a matter of risk management,” says the head lifeguard. This goes right over Jason’s head as he can’t understand the concept. The head lifeguard simplifies it. “Okay, we have two or three basic elements here, mainly the ocean and people.” In a typical dialectic approach, he works Jason through the situation. What can we control? Certainly not the ocean; it is going to do what it is going to do. We could manage the risk by eliminating the people part of the situation, i.e. prohibit everyone from going out on the water at that beach. But they agree that you can’t really do that, since the water is certainly within the skill level of better surfers, who indeed are seen riding waves in the background safely. So what we need to do in try to assess situations before they develop, i.e. spot people who shouldn’t be going out there and talking to them. At the point, the head lifeguard points to a couple with two pre-teen daughters carrying small foam swimboards who are getting ready to head out. He sends Jason over to talk to them. He does a nice job. He starts by introducing himself and then recounting the type of injuries that have happened on that particular stretch of beach. Jason explains why the danger, basically waves breaking close to shore that can slam you without mercy into the hardpacked sand. But Jason isn’t a spoil sport. He tells the family. “Look, just a third of a mile over there is x beach and lagoon. The water is calm and not at all stirred up. Your daughters can float on their boards and see the many fish swimming around.” The family thanks him for giving them an alternative. The head lifeguard is pleased and leaves the beach to attend to some other duties. Now Jason is left alone and quite taken by this risk management thing. He now spots three guys in their late teens or early 20s. Something about their equipment and looks tells him they are not from around there. So he goes over to them with his newly found risk management imperative. He does approach them quite nicely but this situation is different. These are three macho guys who immediately get their backs up to any implication that they don’t know how to surf. Jason has made it clear that these are pretty heavy waters that take some knowledge to surf well. But the guys will have none of this. The louder of the bunch challenges Jason. “What about those guys out there?” Jason says the guys out there have been doing this for years after having worked up to it in varying sea conditions. But the macho guys get their backs up even more. Finally the loudmouth says “Do you have the _authority_ to tell me I can’t go out on the water?” Jason says no. The guy then laughs, insults Jason by calling him a cabana boy and the three buddies go out with smirks to surf the waves. Well, sure enough, the loudmouth gets into something too much to handle, gets slammed into the beach. Jason rushes to his aid in shallow water and, pretty certain that the guy has injured his neck or spine, supports his neck, gets him on a board, etc. But it looks like the guy will probably be crippled for life. Later, Jason keeps kicking himself thinking that he had somehow managed the situation with different words or a different approach, he could have prevented this, i.e. managed the risky situation. His boss calms him down telling him that some people just are not going to listen no matter how you phrase it. All of this is what we were talking about during the week and it all was played out in a Baywatch Hawaii episode. So, the next time your SO finds your nose glued to the screen at the Baywatch bods, tell ‘em that you are really watching for the inherent water-related lessons. Show ‘em this post if you wish as proof. Kinda like the old line about buying Playboy for the interviews. :-) 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 - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Great post, Ralph. Thanks for writing it up --- and great note-taking skills, what with all the distractions you probably had while watching! I'm reading a book that is starting to relate to the PaddleWise discussion on "experience": Martin Dugard's "Knockdown" --- the story of the 1998 Sydney-Hobart sailing race in which just about anything that could go wrong did. And it's all about risk management, along with the bluewater sailing ethic, Aussie machoism and other interesting dynamics. Vaguely reminiscent of Sebastian Junger's "The Perfect Storm", a much better written book and the reconstruction of the collision of three big storms off the Grand Banks a few years back. Either one makes great reading while the Kokatat Drysuit dries! No red bathing suits in either one, as I recall. Jack Martin *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 11/07/1999 4:46:28 PM Eastern Standard Time, rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com writes: << So, the next time your SO finds your nose glued to the screen at the Baywatch bods, tell ‘em that you are really watching for the inherent water-related lessons. Show ‘em this post if you wish as proof. Kinda like the old line about buying Playboy for the interviews. :-) >> Ralph, you know you're getting old when you're watching pretty girls and you get tied up in the story line!! Sandy Kramer Miami *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
...oh enlightened Mr. Diaz, Your noble posting on Baywatch parables offered no elucidation on the purpose of, and just *how* the females of the cast manage to run in slo-mo! I also await enlightenment. Write if you find work, Chris *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
WOW The Tao of Bay Watch. Bay Watch: The Morality Play. Shows how first impressions fail us. I thought Bay Watch was just a shallow, poorly acted sexually exploitive advertising mule. Now I find out it has "MESSAGE". Lends a whole new dimension to "sugar coating". I only bought Playboy for the articles. Way to go Ralph. Incidentally, Jason, our Bay Watch hunk, would never have gotten his lifesaving certificate had he taken the Royal Lifesaving Course. They flunk you if you take any risks in the accident simulation tests. The American Red Cross, RLSS, and St John's Ambulance all state clearly at the beginning of their courses that the object of life saving is saving lives not risking your own life. Two casualties don't make a rescue. Cheers, John Winters Redwing Designs Web site address, http://home.ican.net/~735769 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
That must've been a good Baywatch. I remember watching an episode not to long ago, where they were trying to rescue some kayakers (sit-on-top) that apparently capsized and were swept into caves. Not a single person on that whole show wore a pfd. Not even when the machos guys (could've been Jason) decided that they could be the heros by rescueing them at night (no pfd's, and I think one of them had a flashlight). They were jetskiing in and out of caves... all the fancy, hard-body, dramatic stuff. My favorite part was that the "current" was going one way the whole show. For the whole 24 hours it was pushing the trapped people INTO the cave. :) <big snip> >tell 'em that you are really watching for the inherent water-related lessons. < <big snip> *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I would rather you watch the shows and then recap them for me as so expertly done in your post. Thanks Ralph. Debs > ---------- > From: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com[SMTP:rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com] > > > > All of this is what we were talking about during the week and it all was > played out in a Baywatch Hawaii episode. So, the next time your SO > finds your nose glued to the screen at the Baywatch bods, tell 'em that > you are really watching for the inherent water-related lessons. > > *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Responding to Jack Martin " I'm reading a book that is starting to relate to the PaddleWise discussion of "experience": Martin Dugard's "Knockdown" --- the story of the 1998 Sydney-Hobart sailing race in which just about anything that could go wrong did. And it's all about risk management, along with the bluewater sailing ethic, Aussie machoism and other interesting dynamics. Vaguely reminiscent of Sebastian Junger's "The Perfect Storm", a much better written book and the reconstruction of the collision of three big storms off the Grand Banks a few years back. " I read "Knockdown" as well and agree with your thoughts. More in that direction are.... Great books about leadership(1), lack of leadership(2) just bad luck(3) and cascading small wrong decisions eventually lead to death(4) ... try 1) "Endurance", the classic of Shackelton (spelling?) epic on the ice 1914 ish. Everything that could go wrong does but through bullheaded leadership they all survive 18 months in the South Pole. A MUST READ. 2) "The Donner Party" (the 1930 ish version not one of the newer ones) of settlers getting trapped in what became Donners Pass in California. A series of bad decisions and no leadership eventually leads to cannibalism. 3) "A Walk in the Wild" well educated man ends up deciding his dream is to rough it alone in Alaska. One bad choice kills him. Guy who writes for Outside wrote a piece for the mag and became so involved that he went deeper in research and turned it into a book. If I remember correctly, the same guy authored "Thin Air". (My library shelves are two books deep at this point so its hard to find some of these books). 4) "Into Thin Air" the climbing death of one of the top professionals on Everest. All based on true stories, I read these one after another two summers ago. They all provide difference ways of looking at leadership and responsibility. Excellent reading. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Nov 8, 21:04, Gengcheese_at_aol.com wrote: } Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Baywatch, no kidding!!! > Responding to Jack Martin " > > 3) "A Walk in the Wild" well educated man ends up deciding his dream is to > rough it alone in Alaska. One bad choice kills him. Guy who writes for > Outside wrote a piece for the mag and became so involved that he went deeper > in research and turned it into a book. If I remember correctly, the same guy > authored "Thin Air". (My library shelves are two books deep at this point so > its hard to find some of these books). I think you mean "Into the Wild", not "A Walk in the Wild", unless it's been retitled at some point. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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