17 of us met at North Berwick on the Saturday morning for a weekend of leadership development which Kate Duffus had come down from Skye to run for LSKC (think we must have lied about the east coast weather).
Kate started by introducing the concept of “lemons” factors which on their own don’t cause a problem on a trip, but do if they all line up so the leader should be aware of them – hangovers, cold weather, paddlers recovering from illness, forgotten kit, unfamiliar boats etc.
Following an on the water warm up – a useful time to observe people you’re not familiar with, the session moved onto group management , with suggestions for appropriate techniques for managing large groups on club trips and varying the degree of control depending on conditions and the number of lemons. Deliberately splitting into smaller groups who were responsible for looking out for each other on the water and performing buddy checks proved much easier to manage than allowing the group to split organically.
We then looked at techniques for assisting other paddlers, including distraction techniques for nervous paddlers and setting up tows quickly. I don’t think any of us were particularly efficient with tow ropes with gloved hands and freezing conditions, but that’s why it needs practice. Conditions at Craigleith were “lumpy” and gave the opportunity to look at reading the water around rocks, managing a group in bigger conditions and contact towing.
Sunday was forecast to be windier so we met at Longcraig and again looked at how some of the group management techniques worked for the crossing under the bridge and in the bigger waves and moving water around Inch Garvie, and how a combination of contact tows and rope tows could be used in practice. During lunch we discussed safety kit a leader may carry, including PLBs and the pros and cons of LED and pyrotechnic flares and in the afternoon we looked at on the water boat repairs.
Conditions, particularly the cold and wet on Saturday made the leadership practice, and the need for good group management to avoid incidents developing very real. Lots to practice over the course of the summer and to think about for club trips.
Thanks to Kate for running a very useful weekend, and to David Towsey and Alice for organising.