and then there were 3

“Three kayakers continued on, without realizing the fourth wasn’t behind them, Shouse said.”
-  The State Journal, Frankfort KY

This is the sort of report that speaks very deeply to me having witnessed situations like this so many times in the past. Luckily in my experiences the results have never turned tragic.  The story goes that 4 paddlers were enjoying a day on a river in Kentucky. All was fine and after a lunch break they headed off again. Some time later  a woman driving over a bridge noticed a lone kayaker in the water struggling to get back into his kayak.  Now the headline says, “ Dive Teams Look For Kayaker’s Body “.

You want to give this group every opportunity to explain what happened.  We don’t know the circumstances.  Currents tend to separate paddlers quickly.  Sometimes it’s simply a matter of  “last man in” playing catch-up. (Not sure that’s a good plan either). Sometimes it’s assuming the person in back is skilled enough to not get into trouble. As it is, those first news reports are often lacking in detail.  In time the truth and the lessons will come out.  At the moment though reports certainly illustrate a problem you see all to often in the paddling community; A group leaving behind or overlooking another member of their group.

A little experience shows us that it’s easier than one may think to lose track of group members.  A few odd strokes, a wave, a simple distraction and someone is gone. In kayaking, one should always look back. Luckily most of the time we notice in  a moment or share responsibility with other leaders in the group. If we are lucky everyone is looking out for everyone else.

We can also be blinded by perception. With friends or experienced paddlers it’s easy to leave someone behind who is perceived as more skilled.  (or because we hate waiting for the guy with the camera) Sometimes groups simply have never discussed or even thought of potential problems. Clubs can sometimes get lost in conversations with other members and forget about the newbies.  The sad truth is that at times you have paddlers who just don’t feel it is their responsibility to look out for others.

Here’s a story… I remember once listening to a paddler and coach I’d always respected telling me over a fire that it’s not anyone’s responsibility to look out for another paddler.  Each paddler should be able to take care of themselves. While accepting that premise I also expressed that while logically true, that it was also true that even skilled paddlers sometimes need help. I related to him a story where a very good paddler I knew got into a sticky situation and needed a hand.  His response was that he (the paddler in my story) should have. . . . and he went on giving heady solutions to the problem. Unwilling it seemed to deal with the concept of simply looking out for one another as if it were a burden.  In the end I asked him, “Why ever paddle in a group then?”.  His response was that sometimes, “You just have to.”.  I marked it down in my mind that day that I would never paddle with him. Ever.

As an instructor, occasional guide and perpetual worry-wort I’m a bit over the top on the concept of group management. Not that I haven’t had my own moments of flaky distraction mind you.  The thing is that from a coaching stand point you can “teach” anything but you can’t make someone take it to heart. That’s up to the student. We can rabbit on about looking out for one another. We can demonstrate every form of on water communication and etiquette.  We can talk all we want about signaling and who’s gonna be sweep.  We can demonstrate how a kayak, a rafted group or swimmer separate  move at different speeds in wind and waves. We can rant and lecture about every story and possibility. Still, in the end it comes down to singular personalities and moments in time more than any other factor. The hope as a coach is that we can inculcate some habits that save our students from getting too self-absorbed out there.  We have to recognize that some paddlers are given to constant distraction.  After all we are out there to take it all in! Some just have one speed (flat out!). Some simply don’t  have feel responsible for others.  Some resent slower paddlers.  When coaching we have to try to ferret that all out and then figure out how best to bridge who they are with what they need to be for the best of everyone in the group.  Sometimes it works and sometimes we walk away knowing that some people should simply not be group paddlers.

There is safety in numbers.  Well, there can be if we take advantage of it.  Often people just never think it all through.   For that reason alone, it’s worth talking about.