Serpents Tail Pan…………
1. Student Needs…….This one is easy. The student came up to me and said “I want to run Serpents Tail.”
2. Equipment……The student is using one of my paddles and a club boat. I will give the boat a good safety check. The student is loaning the boat and it hasn’t been checked by the equipment officer for a while. A ratchet snapped on this boat on the upper dart a few months ago. This has been replaced. The student wears a new buoyancy aid and helmet. The student wears trainers.
3. Risk Assessment………What have I observed at serpents tail before? What safety issues come to mind? I think back over the years and experiences have built up.
Most incidents here have occurred off the water!
A paddler standing in his boat whilst getting in and the boat moving from beneath him. With an injured back the paddler never paddled again.
A rescuer on the bank being pulled in by the swimmer holding the line.
A boat on the bank accidentally sliding into the water and the paddler out of sight jumping into the water to swim after it.
Chaos with other groups using the water. Novices in rubber rings.
Swimmers not knowing what’s expected of them.
Using the steep steps next to the rapid. Manual handling issues.
Having all of these different experiences over the years leads me to one conclusion. The actual paddling of serpents tail is the fun bit. The actual learning will be all encompassing. Safe way to get into a boat, throw line practice on the bank, a swimming brief, manual handling, appropriate footwear, line of sight etc etc etc.
The paddling of the tail is the bit we post on meta. The learning is far reaching.
.
