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Alex McGruer
 
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Default Sea kayak Leadership on trips.

Peter Clinch wrote in message ...
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.


Thanks Peter.
our club events , all of them that are on the sea are set for CRCA 1
level paddlers. BCU 3 + - Most are day trips and none particularly
arduous. Out Jan 1 splash for example is not a club event, The water
is to cold and the history is ,,,,,, Rough. It is good fun though.
Our trips in sheltered lochs , Aquaforte, Cape Broyle, Avondale, are
reasonably safe. A trip to say St. Pierre would never be a club event.
St. Pierre is a 16 nautical mile crossing or a little more with a
fetch from Nova Scotia ( 500 Miles) That I think would be like the
Ireland Crossing.
Even mundane trips can go south. Woody Island , Cape Broyle and
irelands Eye are three that I have been on that could have gone
better. It happens.
The Cape Broyle had 10 fair paddlers and 4 strong paddlers so it
turned out OK.
We would never leave in a gale but they happen.
Anyway , thanks
Alex