We have had hickups like that.
We inundate entry level paddlers with oportunities to learn in ponds,
pools, calm inlets. We plug professional schools to death and we have a
fast transition for interested paddlers from Newbe to beginner to
intermediate.
I am not shy about telling folks they are responsible for their own
safety.
The problems I see on club paddles is more people with no strength
having to try to keep up. The groups break down into sub groups and I
normally hang back. ( Some one has to. ) For me club paddling is a
social thing. I paddle alone a fair bit so I have no trouble waiting
for a slower paddler. A couple of the better paddlers in our club have
no problem with that as we will vanish on our own in non club functions
and see how long we can all hold 8 or 9 KM .
Safety sessions on the ponds and in the pool are not club events, they
are done by club members but we have a limited club schedule. See
www.kayakers.nf.ca the activities circulated by sub groups is
increadle. There are beginners and members of our club I would not tell
i am off to say Irelands Eye ( Small island off Newfoundland Canada )
because it is a long paddle with no other way out. Cell phone does not
cover any place near there, Marine VHF does not hit coast guard
repeaters. Sat phones would be the only signal. I try to avoid
beginners and that situation unless i am sure of myself and the
company.
You are right but I and most of our club pushes a little harder to get
people interested in the sport. We have a land mass in Newfoundland and
labrador of about 500,000 KM and a population of about 500,000 people
so we have a small population and have to work to get them into
kayaking.
You have a different problem all together.