Alex McGruer wrote:

That may be what we are moving toward. We are looking at a standard of
one club guide level paddler to each 6 of less than high skill. That
is sort of OK as most of out paddles are full of people that I would
trust to pluck me out of the drink.

The problem I have with this sort of thing is basically that it doesn't
scale, and if you want to have watertight cover over any possible
weather and conditions then it needs to scale.
IMHO the thinking about it probably leads to the real increases in
safety, but saying "you will need X, Y and Z to do such and such" just
allows people to turn off their brains and/or becomes pointlessly
restrictive.

The "you must have 3 people with club kit" rule we have doesn't scale,
because it applies just as much to a former club coach who's moved down
south and coming up for a visit without her boat wanting to pootle
around a shallow loch you can stand up in as it does to people with
minimal experience wanting to paddle to Ireland in a gale. Where is the
distance line between needing X and needing Y. How big does the swell
have to be to need Z as well? I can't see it being a fully workable
system in a club of private individuals out to have fun.

In a fairly small informal organisation of what amounts to friends with
clues it's not so much of an issue, but as you get bigger it becomes
more of a problem, and there's no sure way of solving it without
removing some of the fun :-(

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/