Caboose Contemplations
I’ve volunteered to run sweep on many club paddles. I’ve written about it. We’ve discussed sweeping over river lunches and on shuttle rides. It turns out, running sweep for a group on whitewater is a simple job that’s hard to do. For your amusement and enlightment, here are 3 things I’ve learned.
The sweep really should go last.
The sweep can (probably) land where they are needed.
The sweep cannot make the group stay together.
Sweep Goes Last.
That seems ultra-obvious, right? It’s the job description. It may be obvious but it is difficult to execute. Practically speaking, it’s hard to stay behind a pack of paddlers. Especially if they are determined to surf, or they want you to show them the way. Staying in the back is hard, and it’s important, too.
Here’s a story that illustrates why. I was just 20 feet ahead of M when her inflatable kayak (IK) got stuck on the rock. It was Ducky Day on the lower North Santiam, and we were close to the takeout. She bounced and bumped around hoping to come loose. When that didn’t work she stepped out onto the rock, only to slip into fast water and get swept away. There were plenty of boats downstream to rescue her, but the IK was still stuck.
While she was trying to bounce off the rock, I had jumped out of my IK in the midstream shallows and started wading upstream, dragging my IK. I was *supposed* to be Sweep but I hadn’t been last, and it cost me. I could have been in position to land on that rock and easily get her boat. Instead I had to find a way back upstream.
Someone volunteered to corral my IK so I set it free and kept wading up toward the stuck boat. I had to leap across a channel that was wider than I like, but landed OK. Then I was in position to use my grip extender. I threw a rope across the river upstream from the boat, the rope floated under the boat, and I pulled on it hoping to dislodge the boat. It came free easily (I was lucky). Then I jumped in the cold river, swam to the boat and climbed in. I didn’t have a paddle.
By the time I was sitting in that IK, repacking my rope while I floated downstream, I was cold. I hadn’t expected to spend that much time immersed in ice water. Dressing for the water temperature is a different safety topic, not covered here. Being last so that I could have done a rescue without having to wade and swim would have prevented my getting cold just as well as wearing a drysuit would have.
Sweep Comes Downstream to Pins and Sticks
The Sweep is, by virtue of their position in the pack, likely to be the first person on the scene when someone gets stuck. From the back you might be able to swoop right in where help is needed and save the day. It feels really good when it works out.
Needing the ability to swoop into position is one reason to have a skilled and ideally athletic paddler at the back of the pack. They’re better at swooping. It helps a lot to be good at catching eddies and wading, and agile enough to get somewhere fast.
It’s also great if you have the skills, willingness, and tools (like a rope) to help out a boater in trouble. If you want to keep running rivers, or maybe increase the difficulty or remoteness of the rivers you attempt, you are well advised to seek training in river rescue and first aid. Knowledge and practice in these areas will bring a sense of confidence that one cannot have from boat handling skills alone.
The Sweep Can’t Keep the Group Together.
You can’t keep a group together from the back. I’ve tried. Some folks seem to have the idea that the Sweep is like a sheepdog that bites laggers in the ass. The problem is that unlike sheep or cattle, boaters’ butts are in a boat and you can’t bite them. Boaters are especially hard to herd if they haven’t agreed ahead of time to a particular schedule or pace. They are going to go their own pace. Club groups are catch-all groupings of people, so we have all kinds of paces and styles lumped together on a single trip. This is the special challenge of club boating.
On one of my attempts at Sweeping I was frustrated right from the start because there were people in the group that really didn’t want to paddle with the club trip, they wanted to “hang out in the back” with me. They took photos in an eddy and surfed while I waited. The front 2/3 of the group was already out of sight when someone in the back went for a swim. The next time I saw the lead boat he was irritated. He accused me of “playing in the back” when in fact I’d been herding as best I could. I had a miserable day with an impossible task.
If the front (of the group) isn’t watching behind them and waiting to let the pack tighten up, the group will be split. If the people in the middle see that the back of the pack isn’t coming, they have two choices. Stop and wait for the back, or keep up with the front and signal them to stop until they do.
Ideally the lead boat will slow down in straightways and make sure everybody is coming before going around the next bend.
If the folks in front are not looking back or responding to your “stop” signal, you are better off waiting. They are not looking out for you anyway.
When a group is split up, the more people who wait for the back to catch up, the safer the trip. If you are not sweep, you can always eddy out and take a break and the Sweep will catch up with you. When you find yourself uncomfortably alone in the middle of a trip, it is safer to wait alone than it is to keep going alone.
If the trip coordinator has an agenda, like a certain style of paddling, or a time constraint, their interests can best be served by making sure everybody knows about it before they decide whether or not to join. Some trips are surf-heavy, while others go straight down the river. Some take a long lunch break, and others have a takeout party.
If you know what kind of trip you’d like, coordinate it! Tell everybody what you’d like to do and how, and you’ll get participants who like that idea. Reiterate your plan in the pre-launch talk, and you’ll at least find out who doesn’t agree with your plan. Any objective besides going with the flow needs to be stated.
The Tail Does Not Wag the Dog
What I’ve learned is that running Sweep is a hard job and sometimes thankless. It’s great when you can make an easy save, and it stinks when your efforts are fruitless. I am grateful to the folks who’ve run sweep for us in the past. Thank you. I’ll be looking for you to come around the bend.
