Melissa wrote:
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All the variables that the Tsunami Rangers consider are valid, and
good to think about; whether paddling with a group or paddling solo.
I still don't use the rating system as such, because I just don't
want to spend half an hour sitting on the beach playing with a
calculator before I go paddling!


Melissa,

I've watched Eric and co. paddling on the Monterey Coast. They spend
only a few seconds making their assessments, but then, there is little
these guys are not capable of handling (if there is, they are in
conditions few others would consider paddling, must less bother rating).
As with any system, it needs to be adapted to consider the prevailing
conditions. According to what I've read, they rate the trip before
leaving based upon their expectations of the conditions. When they
arrive, they judge the conditions and determine whether the trip needs
to be re-rated. When they arrive, unless conditions are considerably
different than their expectations, they pretty much just put the boats
in the water and go.

Also, while the Ranger's system does consider various potentialities
"in general", it necessarily disregards several specific
possibilities that can be unique in every different place, like
shoals, very specific configurations of rock gardens and sea caves,
and how these influence conditions in those areas during various
times of the tide/current cycles, and in various weather conditions.
No matter how specific we can get with the numbers at the time of
launching, we have to constantly reevaluate conditions while on the
water based on our overall situational awareness.


Again, they tend to paddle in familiar areas. Like our WW bretheren, who
seem to paddle the same rivers over and over (probably because there
aren't that many wild rivers left), the rangers have their own favorite
coastal spots in the Monterey/SF Bay areas. When paddling south of
Monterey, where landing sites are few, conditions are consistently
rough, rocks are plentiful, etc. they are paddling in areas they have
already rated. I'm sure they've been surprised, however, nonetheless.

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================================================== ===================
Don't underestimate conditions to be macho or sucker people into doing
activities beyond their skill. The SCRS is useful but artificial; it
only estimates, not guarantees the actual risks you will face.
Finally, keep in mind that the SCRS is at best a general guideline,
an indicator; it doesn't account for freak incidents such as
williwaws or rogue waves. Its main value is it encourages kayakers to
take the time and effort needed to assess the complex factors which
comprise the sea.
================================================== ===================


I left this in because it bears repeating.

I paddled on the sea for a long time before I even heard about the
Tsunami Ranger's rating system, so reviewing it "after the fact" is
interesting, but I still see no particular need to play a numbers
game every time I want to go paddling. Once we've been paddling a
while, in addition to knowing something about tides and currents,
wave dynamics, shoals and other underwater features, shoreline
topography, weather, and what's possible on truly open water (not
just near shore), we can develop a "feel" for the overall conditions,
and what to expect in terms of changes as the day progresses. As we
can see by how detailed the Ranger's rating system is, we can also
see how someone not so well versed in "sensing" the conditions for
themselves can kind of trip over all the numbers, and become even
more confused than ever by trying to quantify too precisely the fluid
conditions (no pun intended) with numbers, because those conditions
are always changing, and sometimes, they can change very suddenly and
severely indeed.


I first came upon the rangers when I started paddling many (about 15)
years ago. Back then, they were already on their way to building this
system. Though its been around for a while, I haven't used it myself.
Mostly, like you, I use the "god, this looks stupid," rule-of-thumb.

Being too concerned with constantly recalculating the *numbers* is
sort of like trying to constantly evaluate and compensate for all the
particular muscle movements required as we walk. If we do this,
we'll either take a year to walk a short distance, or we'll simply
fall down.



And I just thought I was slow.

Rick