:In this case, I was a little over impressed with the lead,
easy enough to do.
: he informed me he was an adventure racer and
: began the weekend by quizzing my about eco challenge gear. He paddled with
: confidence most of the weekend. It turned out in the end though, that he
: had never actually participated in an adventure race, but intended to
: shortly.
Not to totally discount racers, but they train and mentally plan for a completely different set of parameters than rough or open water paddlers do. Other than the Watertribe challenges, and offshore coastal races, most adventure races' paddling legs are mellow, from what I've seen. They're difficult due to distance, or perhaps darkness of night, but the bigger things adventure racers have to worry about are exhaustion, heatstroke, dehydration, and finding the take-out.
: I agree with Lee's comments about generalship also. I tend to be an
: egalitarian leader, preferring Lao Tse's leading by not leading...but in
: cases like this, I am extremely assertive. This is why were able to
: recover so quickly from what might have been worse.
Me too. (Well done)...without wanting to be a dictator, it's tough to practice generalship without either a)being in the "line of fire" to do so or b) pissing off your students on a nice sunny afternoon paddle! 
:In high wind, with only rudimentary knowledge of
: bracing, stoppoing the kayak and holding position is not a viable option.
This is damn tough to teach in a classroom setting...even with 4:1 student:instructor ratios. It's almost easier for a neophyte to go out and paddle with 2-3 more experienced paddlers on some fun paddles. Rather than one looking out for the mass, the mass looks out for the less experienced individual. Sensing this, the individual can relax more and learn faster. It makes friends and paddling partners, but it doesn't put meals on an instructor's table!!
Shawn
