Do your risk assessments mention wind direction and strength? A wind off the
nearest shore of a large loch is a similar risk to offshore wind at sea -
don't do it with novices.

Never mind off-shore winds, any wind coming down a glen can create a
considerable swell. We paddled (my family) down from Strathyre onto
the head of Loch Lubnaig. As we entered the loch, what was, onshore, a
mild breeze became a considerable wind, and the swell created at the
head of the loch was siderable, within about 50 metres it was such
that our boats were disappearing from view in the troughs. We turned
west and beached. Our return trip was somewhat more rapid than our
outbopund trip!

Had we been with novices there would certainly have been capsizes.



I am a fairly experienced level 3 coach, who's done a lot of these sessions
with kids - and I wouldn't be happy in that situation.

snip

You might want to look at the "terms of reference" for a level 2 coach. I
can't find it on the BCU web site, but I think for an "inland kayak level 2"
coach it refers to "sheltered inland water". A loch doesn't qualify as
"sheltered". You would probably need a sea coach to be properly covered.
This means that your employer is being unfair to you, both in asking you to
coach like that, and in effectively threatening you when you are unhappy. It
all sounds too much like the situation at Lyme Bay.

To be fair there could be sheltered areas of a loch that would be
acceptable. Most L2 Coaches forget that they are only supposed to
travel not more than 750m from base. Kind of screws up any realistic
trips. Even on canals where the paddler will never be any more than a
couple of boat lengths from the bank!

snip

I may be reading too much into your description. I hope so.

I had similar concerns.

Ewan Scott