Compatibility Counts

December 2003 - January 2004

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Bill Stinson

Once you find paddlers who share compatibility, don’t let go of them!

You may have seen those desperate looking advertisements pinned to bulletin boards in your favorite outdoor equipment stores.

Wanted: someone to paddle the ______ River in July. My paddling partner just backed out and we need one more paddler! Call ________ for more information.

While paddling does allow you periods of solitude, the overall experience of a multi-day trip requires huge compatibility among the paddling partners. It’s not like the entire paddling group needs to be born under the same astrological sign—that might be a recipe for an axe murder—but there is a definite need for the group to at least be compatible.

One of the first steps is for members of the group to discuss their personal goals for the trip. One trip I remember had a participant whose main goal was to finish the trip as soon as possible. Or perhaps you have paddled with the person who gets up early and wants to be on the water by 5:45 a.m. sharp? That’s fine, if that’s one of the goals that your group supports, but if not, it can lead to unhappy paddlers.

All kayak trips require careful planning. This isn’t the kind of planning that goes on while you’re driving to the launch site. It’s too late then to find out that one of your paddling group has become a Vegan. There are many components of a kayak trip that need to be determined well in advance of the actual trip. There also needs to be compatibility around skills such as paddling ability, cooking ability/interest, first aid, camping expertise, and navigation. Do you like to fish? Are you an early morning riser? Do you insist that your Chardonnay be chilled to 9 degrees Celsius?

If you’ve already found some wellmatched paddling companions, you know how long it has taken for the trial and error process to carefully construct this group. Mark and I have been paddling together for about six years. We were friends first and paddlers second. Every year we plan and dream about next year’s trip. There have been trips to Northern Alberta, the Yukon and the West Coast a couple of times. We’ve done trips with just the two of us and other trips with friends, brothers, or cousins. But it always starts with the two of us.

There have been times when we’ve considered participating in a guided trip. We paddled an incredible trip through Gwai Hanaas a few years ago and we came across two guided groups. One was a British contingent eager to tame the Canadian wilds. The other was a group of male relatives intent upon a He-Man experience. We haven’t dismissed guided trips entirely, we just haven’t come across a compatible guide! Our wives say we don’t take directions very well and that we’re ‘too lefthanded’ to accept unfamiliar participants for our trips. But there’s far more to it than that.

Kayaks can take you into remote environments where the stark natural beauty is awe inspiring. Consider those moments you’ve dreamed of or experienced, and think about how you would like to share them around a campfire in the evening after a long day’s paddle. Can you anticipate the reaction of your group members when it has rained for three consecutive days and your dry clothes have a distinct lack of dryness?

Is there a direct correlation between the size of the paddling group and the potential for conflict? Psychologists might be able to confirm that the larger the group, the greater the potential for disagreement. But even if there are conflicts on a trip, you can usually find someone within a large paddling group who makes the trip enjoyable for you. The greater difficulty might lie in paddling with just one other person, if you find you don’t get along.

You can try the bulletin board opportunity to paddle with someone new, but there are kayak clubs in most major centres that help in organizing trips, and this may be a better way for new paddlers to find their future paddling partners.

However it happens, once you find that small core of paddlers who share compatibility, don’t let go of them! The memories of trips should be of camaraderie, not personality conflicts we had to overcome.

© Bill Stinson resides in the prairies of Alberta during the winter, while he dreams and plans for his next kayak trip.