This is from someone who does not kayak, sea or otherwise. Rather, a whitewater open canoeist. With that caveat, may I relate how my paddling friends approach the same types of situations. 1. We make clear that the group - to - individual responsibility is not one way. The individual should not take actions which put members of the group at risk. 2. If the individual is putting the group at risk, we do one of two things; either make it clear the individual is putting himself in a position where he can not be helped, or veto his decision. Eg., last week a kayaker, told me not to run two class V rapids, even though I had run them before, at both higher and lower levels. He felt our group (two counting me) was too small if I did not make it. I walked, thru poison ivy, boulders and trees. But, no complaints. 3. If the whole run is going to be very tough, we tell the boaters do not expect help. The group will try, but the individual should not make the run unless he has the confidence to get himself out of trouble. May I suggest these types of guidelines be reviewed at the outset of the trip. When the boater, with the anchor on his "stern", falls astern he be reminded that either he stays with the group, or he is responsible for his own safety. John *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced/forwarded outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:17 PDT