Re: [Paddlewise] Danish dragon boat, some answers

When a trip goes well, we don't spend hours analysing why it went well. When 
a trip
goes sour, it's human nature to agonize over the possible causes. If we knew 
the
leader had led hundreds of successful outings before finally engaging in a 
failed
trip, it might alter our comprehension of the event. So perhaps we don't 
have the
complete picture.

Bradford R. Crain

Nick Schade wrote:

> The leader in the dragon boat appears to have given up his PFD and thus 
> his life in an effort to save his charges. To me, this indicates that the 
> students were well served by trusting his leadership. Do we have any 
> indications that the teacher/coaches took this adventure lightly? 
> Obviously they did not take it seriously enough, but that is almost always 
> the case when bad stuff happens. With a little more regard for dangers 
> most accidents would not happen. With a little more regard for dangers 
> most of us would not enjoy kayaking as much as we do.
>
> Analyzing the Danish incident is good, but after a point there is no more 
> to be gained by identifying specific actions that others did wrong. It is 
> easy to say "I don't do that" I'll be safe. Eventually, we need to turn it 
> around and look at ourselves. I have been in situations where I had to 
> work very hard to keep on this side of a disaster. Sadly for the Danish 
> dragon boat crew, their efforts were not sufficient. They could have had 
> dry/wet suits on but where is John Winters to talk about risk homeostasis 
> when you need him.
>
> I honestly don't know what lessons can really be drawn from this 
> discussion. We are human, we like to push the boundaries, sometimes the 
> boundaries push back, sometimes they give way. We can step back from the 
> boundaries or move past them. Some of the Danish students may never get in 
> a boat again others will gain strength from their experience to go on to 
> do riskier things. Identifying one set of boundaries may just mean we push 
> against others that we don't recognize.
>
> So, my question is: How do we take the Danish incident and learn to paddle 
> safely?
>
>
> On Feb 23, 2011, at 1:10 AM, Doug Lloyd wrote:
>
>> Maybe Nick just meant in general. But due to an historical context, 
>> casting
>> stones is typically associated with being hypocritically culpable of 
>> course
>> and while I understand what Nick is getting at, I don't see the hypocrisy
>> here on the list. I do see some pretty big magnifying glasses coming out
>> which is perfectly understandable when there's a tragedy of this 
>> magnitude
>> where trust is element and has been broken.
>>
>> Exemplary leadership is something on the decline these days. Just look
>> around or listen to the news.
>>
>> Doug
>
> Nick Schade
>
> Guillemot Kayaks
> 54 South Rd
> Groton, CT 06340
> USA
> Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847
> http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/
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