Since this response applies to this thread as well as the "New Rules for Fort DeSoto Beach Access," I will re-post my comments here:
ACA / BCU Level 4 certification? By the way, I know of at least one ACA Level 4 kayak-sailor that required assistance! No cars on DeSoto? Paperwork turn-in sequencing? Do any of us REALLY believe these (kneejerk?) changes would have made any difference in this year’s outcome?? I am a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and through years of experience in problem solving, I’ve learned that in order to fix a problem, you have to drill down to the real cause of the problem. So far, all the solutions I’ve been reading have been how to fix symptoms of the problem. We must properly identify what the problem is if we really want to affect proper change!
As many stated, the conditions were not so awful, therefore, what else would have caused the mean ol’ Coast Guard to stop our fun? Could it have anything to do with Race Management (RM)? What should we recommend to change in RM that could have prevented these events from being cancelled? Why do we act like it is everyone else’s fault and that we are just being picked on? For example, the Tracking Map – did anyone coordinate with SPOT to let them know that these events were about to occur? Why is it SPOT’s responsibility to figure out when the WT is going to have an event? These are our events and our Tracking Map, not SPOTS’ – their site was working just fine. Unless the WT has a written contract with SPOT stating that whenever SPOT changes their codes, SPOT is supposed to contact the WT…. Gang, I think this hit is on RM and is easily fixable with a simple phone call / pre-event coordination initiated by us to SPOT.
Another example, the Maritime Event Plan – how can we accept “the Coast Guard never told….” excuse for never submitting a MEP in all the years the WT has been conducting events? The WT’s “ignorance” to this requirement does not make that requirement any less required? Isn’t this the main REASON we were shut down? If RM had properly satisfied the concerns of the Coast Guard on Saturday, March 7th, wouldn’t the results have been different? Why is it the Coast Guard’s responsibility to seek out the WT and ask us to "pretty please" submit a MEP?
Finally, why isn’t it RM’s fault that we are required to carry all the bells and whistles that make us look like we are all about safety and self-preservation, but so many of us still wanted outside help to spare discomfort and property loss? RM could use the 2+ hour Captain’s meeting to focus on things such as actually USING the items we are required to bring before calling for outside help, USING the items we are required to bring before slipping into a state of hypothermia, USING other WT assets (e.g., the Whistle – used it to marshal help from other Tribers) before calling for outside help. Additionally, if the Coast Guard was more informed in our ability to help ourselves, perhaps their response would have been different. Perhaps if local communities were more informed of our ability, panicky onlookers would not have felt compelled to call for help. Perhaps, if we challengers (especially those new to the tribe who have been reading and believing posts that the “hardest part of these challenges is getting to the beach”) were given more guidance in how a WaterTriber is expected to conduct him/herself before calling for outside help….
I could go on - my point is, let’s figure out the real problem and address it before we layer more bulky bandages onto the symptoms.
DeadCat
