Church Canoe "Ordeal"
Many years ago when my wife and I were in our 20s we agreed with another couple to lead a Canoe trip on the Wisconsin river. An outfitter delivered the canoes but did not serve as a guide, etc. There were about 20 young couples that went. Most of the men had claimed to have canoed in boy scouts, and where I lived that meant you got your canoeing merit badge, which meant you knew basic strokes, how to steer, keep the canoe upright, etc etc. WRONG! The problem was halfway through the day some freak storm system moved into the area, and generated a wind with 35-40 wind gusts up stream. When ever a wind gust would hit half of the canoes would tip over. We were in the lead group many of the paddlers could not make headway. I ended up walking back and paddling canoes for people so they could get around exposed regions of the river. A 4 hour trip took many many hours for us to get everyone off the river.
I would suggest doing an easy paddle on a protected lake as a first outing so people can sort out if they are really up to a 20 miler. Also delegate. You don’t have to be the general if you don’t want to be.
Thanks.
I’m looking forward to it. I’m pretty excited to see the area and learn from some different paddlers, so I’m just trying to get everything put together.
No, I’m not considering myself the start, and certainly not one. Just offering added help.
I’m just figuring the OP would be going from themselves, now to 3, and perhaps more. I’m just someone willing to help that might prove useful with local insight and paddling experience should they decide to come paddle this area.
15 paddlers to 3 leaders on a flatwater short-distance paddle on familiar home waters starts to sound a little less intimidating.
Yes it does…
and you might just have to put your tow skills to practice.
We had one trip with paddlers that were basically OK and we had lots of help. That is till five oclock came and the winds accelerated. We were on an island with a nesting osprey screaming at us. We had ungreen thoughts of roast bird.
We went over the principles of wind ferry for the crossing to the far shore where dinner awaited. On the water half the paddlers promptly forgot what they had been told and had to be rounded up down wind. My usually mild mannered husband screamed at a woman who was in the throes of giving up and literally bullied her over to the other shore. The cook meanwhile gave up…ferried across the mile to the other shore and went to camp to make dinner.
a couple of hours later we had everyone back. It took a few brews before ruffled feathers were smoothed.
No not the ospreys…
I frequently schedule/lead Meet- up
groups. Seadart nailed it. Start with an easy paddle on a lake so you can determine who has what skills. I schedule river trips on a personal invite basis only so I get people who know what they are doing.
If I am the leader, I take others safety very seriously. They wear PFD, OR DON'T COME.
I refuse to paddle
with folks who won’t wear their PFD.
Similar boat type and length
Make sure that everyone coming has at least a 14' SINK. I have found that 14 foot rec kayak like a Pungo or Tsunami can generally hang with 16' and 17' touring kayaks fairly well but if you have someone or several people show up with something like a Swifty 9.9 or one of those wide, heavy, fishing/beer drinking barges (also known as SOT kayaks) there is no way they are going to keep up with the group and will slow everyone down.
I paddle a Tarpon 160 SOT and don’t slow
too many down . It is also an outstanding rescue craft if needed.
Your going to miss out on some …
good trips!
jack L
Your definition of "good trips"
and mine are probably not quite the same. I have plenty of great trips to be part of. More than one person could ever hope for. I am thankful for that. Best part of it is that everyone always comes home at the end of trip. Everyone I paddle with agrees at the start of the planning - we wear our pfds.
I don’t think that will make any
difference… At the beginning with poor paddling technique it really matters not what is paddled. They won’t come close to being powerful enough to make the hull length matter.
At this stage its more about being together and having fun… Put the more experienced in the rear…
We have all been at the beginning with crappy technique.
Organizing
I’ll agree with what everyone else has said and suggest that it is way too dicey for safety. It would be very difficult to keep 15 boats close enough together without some additional trained individuals in the middle of all of this to keep it safe.
The thing is that there may be some experienced paddlers in the mix, but you have no way of assessing who they are or their competence. Having done some of this with boy scouts, all of whom had to pass a basic skills test before being allowed on the outing, I found that the varied skills and choice of paddling partners left us with boats strung out over a surprising distance. It was the competent paddlers between the leader and sweeper that kept the entire group communication working and made it possible to periodically call a halt and get folks back together. We still had our share of capsize (often on the flat water where a eddy surprised the unsuspecting).
If the organization included a gathering and practice session beforehand and allowed the “organizers” a chance to see what they were working with, perhaps this would be more practicable. Otherwise, I might find some other body of water to paddle on that day.
Rick
I paddle with groups that let each …
other think for themselves.
Some times we all wear them. Some times some wear them and some don’t.
Most decide based on the wind, weather, waves, other conditions and their likes and dislikes.
Over the years I have paddled with hundreds of paddlers and never once was told I had to wear a PFD, except in races, and if the race is insured by the USCA, they leave it up to the race director, and normally if the race director mandated wearing one because o0f the conditions, I would already have mine on
Enough said on my end!
Jack L
Another, recent church group disaster
http://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20150412/NEWS/304129981
And that was a much smaller group going a much shorter distance.
100% agreed
on this
Thanks. I don’t think
that poster has paddled a modern one built for speed but is thinking they look like what one sees at a Big Chain Fishing Outdoors Store. They are indeed wide, flat, heavy, and would be slow.
May as well point out that if you put a beginner INTO a kayak, they then must learn to either exit the kayak or roll to be safe on the water when they flip over. If they don’t flip over, what happens when a big wave, powerboat wake, or a rapid flips a lot of water into their boat, if they’re not wearing a skirt, which is what you get with a really big cockpit opening? They start to ride low and sink if it is enough water… water is heavy! What is the capacity of the boat ? Have a small kayak? If your weight, and the weight of the gallons of water you just took on, exceed it, you’re going to be going slooowly doooown. gurgle. gurgle… bail, bail !
So he’s saying you should put a beginner INTO at least a 14’ kayak - and expect them to be able to roll. Oh my. What could go wrong there.
Instead, a well designed, stable, modern and fast, self draining sit on top could work so much better. If you manage to flip them, you just turn them over, and they are ready for you to get back on. And you can take them into shallow water and frustrate the power boat people who are trying to see if they can flip you with running by too close, really fast, they don’t dare come too close to the rocks, but you can just glide over the wake while you continue, which is not what they were expecting, and the little rec boat people can’t do that, they are bobbing around like corks.
Trying to explain to someone that your 14’ “barge” actually tracks, maneuvers and steers much easier than that little 9’ boat is difficult, sometimes it must be illustrated. The energy I save not fighting the kayak while steering can be applied to covering distance.
Goodness what a tragedy.
Time and time again it seems good smart people don’t perceive the dangers of our sport and get into very serious trouble. I continue to believe that the dangers are not obvious or understood even by very intelligent people until they have been involved in the sport for long while. Be careful out there folks. Sounds like this might have been a launch decision problem - maybe also a lack of understanding of the very significant danger of cold water.
This Is So Right!!
Excellent response! Isn’t it amazing how those that suggest things for others to do, never do any of the actual work of organizing, planning and preparing for the outing? Just say no thanks and shift the burden of the outing back to them.
Dilemma
I think this is one source of trouble:
Larger groups mean that if one or two people cancel, the activity is more likely to still go on, compared with a smaller group.
The flip side is that an activity that SHOULD be canceled is less likely to be called off.
On the day of the Dungeness outing, the forecast was poor, even for more experienced paddlers. Add rough conditions to the ever-present cat herding syndrome, and it's not surprising that things went bad.
Want to thin out the herd?
Organize a pre trip get together before the outing.
No show = no go.
Have each participant paddle their craft approx. 60 feet from shore and intentionally capsize. Preferably in water over their head.
Results predicted by me:
- Some will flatly refuse to do the exercise; myriad excuses will be given.
- Some will attempt the exercise and fail miserably; myriad excuses will be given.
- Some will pass the exercise with different degrees of success.
Mulitiple safety boaters must be present to assist.
All boaters should have complete change of clothes available at practice site.
Can you accidently capsize on a flat water river? YES
Is getting yourself & your craft safely to shore need to know information? YES
Is that need to know, before you go information? YES
There will be a lot of no shows on paddling day, and a lot of excuses why they are no shows.
BOB
No one wants to voice a dissenting
voice and be the “odd man out” when you really think a trip is unwise. IMO that’s where group paddling can become dangerous. More than once I have pulled a group off the water and they were pi’'off. Till the thunderstorms struck and the seas immediately boiled. ( I had a weather radio and was corroborating the forecast with the sky)
That’s where a leader has to be firm; when there is a safety hazard that might be unnoticed by others… Does not mean be a dictator on the trip.
But paddling in Washington and North Carolina in this case ; the background aside from a group, is different.