[Paddlewise] Group Dynamics

Interesting, this group dynamics. Far to often, the tail wags the dog. I'm
fairly new to kayaking having only been at it for 2 years now and most of my
"trips" have been with a buddy of mine on fairly calm lakes. The kayaking club
in a big city near me had, I thought, way too many restrictions on exactly who
can go on certain trips. The provable skill level they must have and the
equipment they must take along seemed like overkill to me. After going on a
couple trips with the newly formed and (very) loosely organized local club,
suddenly - I'm all for rules and regulations! At the local level, there was
little or no organization on trips. They had everything from experienced
paddlers in sea kayaks to novices on SOT's along. With the varied rates of
speed, the sea kayakers were constantly having to stop, or even go back, and
wait on the SOT folks. After 2 trips, with pretty much the same result, I
dropped out. First of all it wasn't any fun and secondly, I thought it was
dangerous. Now, I know the big city folks are right. There is no way I would
even think about going on a trip with a group of paddlers of unknown ability,
questionable equipment, and no strong leadership. Kayakers may have to depend
on the skills of others for survival. I want to know who I'm with and I want
other paddlers to feel confident that I could assist them in case they find
themselves in an emergency situation. 


Ron Dunnington





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