[Paddlewise] No-Fault Paddling Get-togethers

In a message dated 4/27/01 5:47:25 PM, ashton_at_tundra.org writes:

<< I personally believe that if I am organizing a trip, that is to say, 
pulling it together, I have an obligation to ensure certain minimum levels of 
safety and communication. >>

    I agree, in theory.  The problem manifests itself in practice.  As an 
individual or group works towards providing these minimum levels of safety 
and communication, they expose themselves to someone else's definition of 
said minimum levels. This exposure can lead to serious threats relative to 
liability issues when the inevitable mishaps occur or the person with the 
alternative definitions is voicing them in a court of law.

<< I believe it's my responsibility to ensure that we have an adequate mix of 
experienced and novice paddlers, and that it's my responsibility to ensure 
that there is first-aid gear somewhere in the fleet. I also believe it's my 
responsibility to play liaison between the various groups of paddlers, and 
let the fleet know that we are, de facto if not de jure, all together in this 
endeavor. 

I suppose this opens me up to liability, but there are insurance forms for 
that; my basic take is that if I am organizing a trip, whether it's no-leader 
or led, it is absolutely, positively incumbent upon me and *nobody else* to 
make sure that we have our proverbial <deleted> together. >>

    While I agree completely with your last statement, this shepherding of 
other paddlers can lead them into a false sense of security. By insulating 
people from these realities, do we stunt their learning? I am not an 
emergency medical anything, but I share your sense of responsibility for all 
things within my sphere of influence. If our sense of responsibility is 
similar, maybe too is our learning experience that produced this.
    I did everything wrong, as I was learning about every adventure sport to 
which I was drawn. Oh I tried to be prepared, but ignorance of the potential 
for life threatening situations, kept me relying on the grace of god to 
survive without serious injury. What I did learn, very quickly, was the 
difference between owning the right gear and knowing how to use it properly.

    The club I paddle with offers both led trips "in season" and leaderless 
trips off-season. "In-season" we cater to the newer, sometimes slower, 
sometimes less adventurous paddlers. In the "off-season" we cater to no one. 
Every paddler is responsible for recognizing their own limits and managing 
them. We wont leave a friend alone to fend for himself. But neither do we 
downgrade our trips to accommodate someone that should not be there. We don't 
have to, no one in the group would be there if they could not handle the 
conditions and mileage. We do make allowances for good paddlers having "off 
days" or equipment issues. But basically, the "off-season" is when the 
leaders can relax, go into auto-mode and enjoy themselves.

    That being said, each person prepares and conducts themselves as if they 
were paddling alone, with no one to help them. In some cases the conditions 
are such that assisted rescues would be very difficult and dangerous. So each 
of us plans to rely only on ourselves for our own safety. We just happen to 
all paddle in the same area close enough to talk while we all paddle toward 
the same lunch spot. So in a sense, far from being leaderless, these trips 
are made up of only leaders.

Respectfully,
Jed

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