:
I get leery about paddling with self-proclaimed "racers". I'm not
: an instructor, and when I'm initiating a trip I tend not to call myself
: "leader" (more of an "instigator" 
) So I rarely try
: to manage a group.
: But I've noticed racers tend to be focused on their own trip and only pay
: attention to other paddlers to make sure they're still "ahead of the
: pack". The farther ahead they are, the better. Yes, I'm
: over-generalizing here. But a race mindset is a different thing from an
: "assist the group" mindset.
: Also, it seems common for a student to feel "I'm not a fast paddler yet.
: I don't want to hold the group up, so I'll press as hard as I can".
: Seems to me that a better position to assign to a racer would be sweep - they
: won't get ahead of the group and yet may be more likely to have the speed
: to catch up with someone having problems.
: You obviously did enough of the "right things" on this trip -
: everyone got back unscathed. Thanks for sharing so we can all learn.
: Val
