Re: [Paddlewise] Dictatorship of the Timid (was something else)

Matt Broze wrote:
 
> ...
> This "weakest member decides" approach is fine on land. The timid or nervous
> can just refuse to paddle and stay put. ...
> On the water this "weakest member decides" approach
> runs into serious trouble unless the weakest member also happens to be the
> most experienced and prudent. Rarely the case. Often the prudent thing to do
> is to somehow make the slowest paddler speed up. The group doesn't need to
> spend any longer at risk than necessary if the weather, sea conditions or
> daylight are deteriorating. 

This covers only two cases: the decision made on land as to whether to
launch, and the decision that has to be made when trouble is imminent
and there is a need to move to a safer position. For both of these cases
I agree with Matt's analysis. In the latter case, where it is important
to move from a dangerous position to one of safety with all due speed,
"democracy" needs to be suspended by the leader. (The more experienced
paddler needs to step forward and make a decision if there is no formal
leader.) But there is a third situation which Matt does not address,
this being the decision made on the water to go from a position of
relative safety to one of increased risk. Examples include the decision
to strike out along an exposed shore (with few or no landings) rather
than a more protected alternative route; or the decision to undertake a
significant crossing; or the decision to take a route through "boomer
alley" rather than a safer alternative through deeper water. 

The role of the more experienced paddler in such cases is to explain the
risk to the less experienced, but it is not the role of the more
experienced paddler to make a decision regarding the level of acceptable
risk. The decision to move from a position of relative safety to one of
increased risk is one that should be made democratically, with every
paddler being given a veto. These are decisions that often cannot be
made from shore. At times a paddler will become more timid when
observing conditions from the water. If a more timid paddler wishes to
take the safer route, or poke around in a sheltered bay near shore
waiting for more benign conditions in which to undertake a crossing,
then that is what the group should do. No paddler should ever find
himself in a position where he would have been safer had he gone
paddling alone. 

Matt continues:

> ... There is a reason why ships aren't run democratically 

There is also a reason why crews sometimes mutiny. Many crews have been
killed by insufficient risk aversion on the part of the captain. 

Dan Hagen

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