Author Archive: K38 Rescue

WHEN YOU DECIDE

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When You Want Excellence in Your Operations, You Express Gratitude.

Want some real-life water rescue advice? This is a compassionate question.

To instill excellence in your rescue boat operations you have to give more than the instructor guidance, more than the workbooks and be ready for the water and weather.

This means you need to decide who you are going to be and what you are willing to give.

You need a hunger or a model of inspiration to drive your will towards goals that exemplify ‘excellence’.

That does not mean you take a course and resign yourself to the certificate issued. Many courses hand them out freely without scrutiny that cares about your functionality. Start caring about your performance.

Were you challenged and corrected, measured and critiqued with sincere discernment? Seek out the critics!

You are just beginning to learn- post training, you now have a place to start. You certainly have not arrived!

It’s time to continue taking steps towards navigating your reputation, spirit, beliefs, strengths and fears.

Don’t succumb to the methods of educational or instructive mediocrity or your last class, even mine. Move ahead on a continuum of developing a structured reasoning of water rescue knowledge. Don’t be brand favorited.

Explore fearlessly the things you embrace or ignore. Tell yourself with sincere conviction: I CAN DO THAT

You may allow yourself to be confined and restricted from creative opportunities that hold your potential hostage.

You have to give more. Put in more time. Sacrifice and possibly use additional resources of financial commitment or travel.

GET CONNECTED

Find a trusted mentor. Do they care about your reputation? How does that measure in action and output?

The only life that provides a spiritual and physical balance is one lived with purpose.

Remember this do not seek praise as your justification of excellence. No, refrain from the praise and seek the encouragement of improvement where you are not excelling! Those critical assessments even if they seem harsh to you, if you don’t get it, you are not trainable. You are emotional.

If you are feelings are hurt from an instructor comment, you need to keep practicing till you get it right! Listen to them and don’t waste their time or yours. You must be trainable or you are looking for the wrong results.

If you have selected the field of rescue as a work discipline, whether volunteer or paid staff, you have eclipsed a spiritual calling, it is simply not a job.

It requires of us that strive for excellence a deeper understanding of the fear associated with dire circumstances, the unknown human condition, our courage and bravery and our foremost skills and tools.

We must keep a measure of continued seeking knowledge to maintain that sacred trust.

We are seekers, searchers and problem solvers, we think for two, three or ten. It is not just about us.

WHO IS YOUR MENTOR?

When I teach in my audience, I see the prospective student in front of me. Spiritually I recognize my burden. It is their parents, teammates, agency, children, wife, husband or beloved, their brothers or sisters or those who depend upon them.

It is the manufacturers of the equipment we train with and use, it is their employees, all who laid a hand on the production and we trust their efforts and tools.

There are thousands of people in my classroom. And my ancestors are watching me. Am I a good steward of their trust, faith and determination? Do I wield their failures and warnings and guidance with respect, duty and honor?

How do I determine that? By humility and service, being a servant of the past to move the future.

These students are either there by their own volition or assigned to take my training. They come in blind faith, or with judgement and negative attitudes. How do we move beyond our own prejudices and expectations and arrive at trust?

We earn it by evidence and historical tempering.

We are the most difficult and opportunistic beings alive; we choose every minute how and what we will do.

In training, we cannot be selfish to a fault, we have to encompass all personalities, maturity levels and egos.

That takes trust, genuine influence of your explored and unique soul-and an open mind who is willing to listen.

But the training content must deliver.

I will keep learning. I invite you to join me and thousands of others in the pursuit of excellence as a way of being.

The world needs your competence and abilities. Let’s get busy!

__________

Posted: December 6, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Come train with us and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!

Caution: Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

REGIMENTED RISK

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Life is Risk Be Ready

Public Safety Agencies that restrict outside professional influencers from the field by those who are doing the work, getting into or on the water and taking the risks to learn the risks at risk level, are holding their program safety hostage.

Many training programs restrict their personnel from being in the proper conditions of water flow for proficiency or from learning from industry influencers. Pride, ego, fear and program doldrums protect this hubris. Does this sound like your department?

When the water is running high, when its flowing, when its cold, when its night or when the surf is up! The times most call-outs occur are during these types of weather and water episodes.

Why would a department not want their personnel fully ready to go? I have witnessed personnel bring up their concerns with their administration and they are strongly admonished for asking. They get put back in their place and surrender to the status quo. Their leadership teaches them ‘don’t ask-don’t tell’.

Programs need to look at the difference between technical work and the need to go where time is of the essence. Simple rescue techniques that allow a team member to execute a fast moving and dynamic situation that is not in their textbook, nature will require it!

Reality avoidance is a huge liability.

GET ON YOUR BOAT

Technical work requires time, survivor(s) are not always able to afford that. There are times you go quicker than the training tempo, but personnel are ready to do so. Because they trained from a modern reality. They are not stuck in the past and they don’t stare at it.

This is really telling in the world of swift moving and surf rescue, where the conditions are not static but in constant stages of evolution.

Who takes those risks? Who takes the bigger risks? Identify those people. Empower them with the ability to compliment the risk. Because safety is not a word or a training manual, it’s a behavior in our world of risk.

Is your team physically fit? Does their PPE work, are they flexible wearing it, are they comfortable moving in the water wearing their PPE and moving through the water, back and forth, in and out, up and down, pulling, drawing and heaving? Ask yourself: Who is a liability and how is that being managed?

Public Safety Agencies should not be competitive against private service providers.

People who do this within the hierarchy of an agency structure must be exposed and removed from public service. They do not care about their teammates and their fear should not become a public liability.

Do not restrict these education gurus from the opportunity to enable agency team members to learn and glean new information and warnings that their team could not afford to learn - unless there was a mishap or a death involved from their own team actions. Why allow this to happen? The answers are laid our clearly here.

The calling for lifesaving lies within the spiritual fabric of an individual, or it’s a void and just a job.

Lifesaving is considered a sacred action throughout history. We gift medals to hero’s and laud their risks. Make sure you are not gifting a medal to somebody merely because they survived not killing themselves during a callout. We don’t need dead heroes!

Stop that negative potential and reprogram your training methodology, mindset and execution now, do not delay.

LAZINESS IS AN ENDING

Consultants and evaluators are the key to program security and safe practices. Unless your program has individuals, who are operating at 4,000 hours annually and specifically gleaning intel, connected with others who are doing so, comparing notes and results based off evidence, your program is at risk!

We will continue to see mishaps, deaths and equipment failures where agencies will say ‘we will learn lessons from this’. When in fact they should have taken the risk to prevent the liability when they knew it existed in the first place. It’s hard to accept the truth. It is even harder to hear it.

It seems impossible to change, but there are those brave few who will risk ridicule to ensure that their conscious is clear.

Does your program need an outside scrutineer to evaluate your program pitfalls? Is your program lazy, lax or lagging? I’m not talking about hiring surfers or kayakers, but professionals who are industry icons, proven and tested by the evidence they support and know the business of risk to protect reputation.

I will leave you with this observation from years of working with public safety agencies.

Do not be afraid of the water you work in. Make sure your personnel are ready for it. Vet your program attendees on physical fitness, and mental toughness so they can be comfortable working in the environment, under pressure.

Stop encouraging personnel to do ‘brain dead’ evolutions that do not allow them to be challenged for reality. Seek out your partners in water safety that are not within your normal scope of contact and listen to them. Research and have your program annually inspected, equipment with minimum carriage requirements and maintain certification expirations.

Review you program and be honest in your assessments of personnel response and functionality. Ensure your budget is in accordance with the need and you put the hours in for security.

Protect reputation. Handle program pitfalls, be better problem solvers, be willing to accept your problems and remedy them before the next call.

If someone challenges your program, celebrate that individual, take up their case.

Do not be afraid. Be brave, because courage is contagious.

Your people want to learn, give them permission.

__________

Posted: December 3, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Come train with us and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!

Caution: Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

PWC COMPETITION SOLUTIONS

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CHOICES

We are imperfect in our power, drama and expectations. It is possible to control and navigate specific behaviors and expectations based on leadership and team principles. This is a mutable relationship built upon trust and enforcement.

This trust is dependent upon expected exchanges agreed upon by determined rules and regulations. Trust on the racetrack is also lifesaving and sportsmanlike conduct for competitor, staff and spectator.

These relationships are specific between several entities, associate governing bodies and staff members, sponsors, competitors and their supporting teams, regional and national pride, culture, boating rules and regulations, maturity, spiritual presence, equipment compliance, physical ability, sanctioned rule books and expectations.

This is a complicated blend of human directives.

Racing has a distinct pattern to it. Racing is a game. In the game there are rules, actions, weather and water conditions, human interaction, equipment demands and dialogue. In this game there are liabilities, and risks. This game holds disappointments, tragedy, success, ambition, fulfillment and enforcement.

Facts are important because they decipher truth. It takes an interview process based on facts and where those facts are derived from and how they are interpreted to arrive at plausible conclusions. The truth must be accepted. Otherwise corruption is given allowance.

A person can have all the answer that are appropriate in the room, but if the audience denies the answers, then the neglect will continue to operate with poor results the audience demands.

Race preparation is an extensive process. It is costly and bears aspirations from both staff and participants. The demands are vast and complicated, when fatigue is an admixture a lot of volatile patterns can evolve, some are in the imagination and some are concrete fact.

The content that evolves and is transmitted for racing is complicated. It requires study, proper training, vetting and education.

Fundamental understandings and expectations may be in conflict. To move forward as a competent race community, we face a myriad level of chaotic events, and structures that are based in factual domains.

There are many people serving towards the goal of a podium finish. Only a select few individuals will attain the elevation of a Championship attempt let alone bear the #1 plate.

On Friday, the IJSBA Awards for Amateur Ski Lites were to be gifted their trophies. These competitors raced on the previous Wednesday, which means they wait an additional 2 days for their awards ceremony.

They were not called to the stand up on the podium in front of their race peers to receive their due recognition for World Championship earned placings. After waiting through the entire awards program for their class to be called up. How could this happen? We have to perceive a lot of contributing causes and reactions.

The awards announcer and responsible staff for the awards did a poor job reflecting sincerity regarding the lack of accountability and a deserved explanation and public apology from complaints received. They may not have been aware of the situation regarding the trophies.

This could be due to multiple factors, such as staffing issues, fatigue, it could have been a communication error, or the chain of command may have failed. Trophies were stated to have been stolen after the Awards were completed.

However, once the alarm was raised by the competitors themselves emergency actions could have taken place at that time to make amends and modify some solution for petition of error or acknowledgement. Who would be responsible for this action?

Staffing hierarchy structure would need to be clearly outlined with operational guidelines to ensure program success.

Along with the Amateur Ski Lites Champions, likewise the Pro Runabout 1100 Stock Class Champions did not receive their trophies.

This is intolerable at a World Championship event from what appears to be incompetence in managing an awards program in hindsight. Staff needs to make admission on this and not cower in ego defense. Admit the wrongs, identify the issues and fix them, now.

PREPARATION IS EXPENSE

There are also Technical Inspection calls that are in dispute. My question to staff is how familiar are you with the 2019 IJSBA Rule book and the interpretation of those rules? Who mentored you and signed you off after a vetting process? How were you tested and what evaluations occurred? What are your qualifications?

I also extend this responsible accountability to the competitors. Many who do not have English skills and staff has limited international language skills, do you understand the rules and the spirit of the rules? Did you experience frustration in understand and comprehension of rules or expressing them to others?

When we look at a problem you must also look at ourselves to find the answer. Communication is the best place to start.

Interpretations must be fact based. This begins with the Technical Inspection crew and Race Director along with Scoring or Registration (if that applies). It relies on the documents and inspection lists that are filled out for each entry. This is also a responsibility of those in Staging to be looking for any infractions as the race vessels come to the line. How is this noted and conducted if at all?

It is also a responsibility of the racer themselves, and their teammates to understand and ask effective questions far in advance if they are not understanding a specific issue.

This also means that the IJSBA needs a dedicated staff member who is highly trained in human relations communications (able to handle stressful situations and communicate with compassion and stand grand when needed) to be accessible on the race site from start to finish with language skills. This person needs an iPad to document each question and answer and load it into a database for access. This can support evidence based appeal processing. This iPad can also assist in language translations as needed.

However, in the IJSBA defense there may be secondary issues not exposed here that should be taken into consideration. This is the only way to gain understanding and equitable solutions. Blame is easy to project, solutions are what people step away from, because its uncomfortable to be held responsible, it requires time and effort.

We do not have the full story, only the expressions of competitors who did not receive the benefits of their efforts. There was a press release from the IJSBA stating that trophies were stolen and misappropriated, this could explain a lot, however the racers whose trophies were stolen should have been contacted as soon as this came to light individually. People understand hardship, they can deal with it.

Staff and Management need to be educated on the protocols and procedures of problems that may occur from unforeseen circumstances and have what is called an ‘action plan’ or what others would simply say ‘damage control’. Sincere apologies go a long way.
People can handle the truth, but not to be dismissed.

Here is a Pro Tip for the IJSBA staff and other venues: I propose a meeting, take notes, race stakeholders’ public comments, structure the complaints and the timeline of problems faced at the venue. Evaluate the issues that took place with fearless courage. Issue public apologies. Ensure these athletes, their teams and their sponsors are given a platform for recognition after the fact for their earned efforts.

Secondly; IJSBA needs to responsibly train staff members to a higher level of functionality with organizational solutions for secondary controls. Staff members need to be vetted, tested, evaluated and assessed. Some people may not be the right fit for this job and they have to go away. Their Character and principles may not align with altruistic work. Others deserve more support and encouragement.

These people deserve a stronger leadership platform to assist them in the safe and competent production of a legacy event.

Perhaps it will take novice and seasoned IJSBA staff will take this into consideration and care about their constituents they represent with a higher level of professionalism. It would be helpful if staff would remember these simple pressures that people are placed under.

There are emotional and physical demands, lack of language translations from staff to teams that lead to frustration and misunderstandings. Many competitors who travel from all over the world, pay high costs throughout the year to compete for qualifying for this event, acquiring equipment, funding, sponsorship and travel demands.

It is demanding for both the supporting staff as it is for the athletes and their teams. There is a lot of emotion, hopes, aspirations and disappointments that are experienced during an event like this. There is the political climate, territorial issues and personality conflicts to navigate.

The IJSBA has disenfranchised many seasoned race event staff personnel and competitors. Some are deserving and some are incompetent rulings.

There may be financial considerations in these changes, personality or management conflicts. Whatever it is, solutions are potential for advancing the mission, vision and goals of Championship race events. It takes both parties to work together, like a marriage it is not about both sides, it is about the sum of the whole.

This problem is not just for Havasu, but worldwide. This has left a great void in mentorship, safety and event flow from crews and leaders. The time is now to address these concerns that have been voiced publicly by participants and former staff for a few years and organize a stakeholder meeting.

In defense of the current and past IJSBA staff, many are not paid high salaries, or they are volunteering their time, taking away from their work, livelihood and families. They sacrifice a lot to be a part of this amazing venue! They work long hours, in adverse conditions, and perhaps only once a year, or at local events, they may not have any training. Some of the rules and manners of racing may be different from where they are coming from in relation to this event.

Staff, you must hear the things you do not want to hear, you may shut down and become adversarial, that is not to your advantage.

Some of you may not be as great as you think you are. This goes the same for competitors. If you want to look at integrity in motorsports it begins with you.

Fearless review and inventory of your mistakes is the only way to grow the sport in unity. It’s not one against the other, it is everyone combined as a community invested in the culture and spirit of a dangerous and stressful motorized power sport. Otherwise carry on with the ‘Clown Down’ and drama, because it will only continue to slide downward with you driving it. It is your reputation you should be concerned about, not ego.

Do not expect affirmation or fame, expect sacrifice, hard work and personal achievement.

There are intolerable personalities who will continue to be a determinant to themselves and the race community by their own contempt and avoidance. There is nothing we can do to support folks such as this, they are unable to evolve.

LAZINESS IS AN ENDING

However, we as a culture can evolve by addressing known problems or recurring problems without ego or spitefulness. It will take effort and that is the problem. Some will inflict politics and strategy into dominance to undermine control. That is and has always been a challenge, but with personalities focused on unity a lot of that can be enforced and subsequently dismissed.

This is a strong justification for staff training and mentorship. Instead of focusing on the negativity, I have addressed concrete issues to solve. You may have others to bring to light. What are the solutions?

I am offering a solution.

If any noble IJSBA staff member who is willing and has the volition to further their competition event management skills, I would like to offer free training, mentorship and guidance to assist you in professionally developing your skill sets. I have the answers.

I also extend this same invitation to any race competitors who are interested in professionally developing their race career. This invitation will stand until the deadline of October 24, 2019 to allow enough time for sincerity in considering the truth of these matters for those who care and are willing to be constructive in resolution.

This is not about ego, company, nation or team bias or political affiliation, it is about competency in race management for both staff and competitors for power sport safety and competence. This commentary is positive in spirit and driven for the purpose of creating solutions and to deny future drama, blaming, shaming and mistrust of a sport that I helped develop along with my colleagues. Stand with us.

I have a strong pedigree in racing events and event management. However, I acknowledge that I have in the past made mistakes and I did make corrective measures after the fact. Today I remain in regret over some of my decisions that had negative effects on others. However, I determined not to make them again which I did not, and to apply myself towards a higher level of dedication to service, safety, accountability and communication towards others.

It is not easy to change, but it is the only way to move forward. Otherwise expect the same results. These are not new issues, they are just growing. In 2012 these same concerns were presented to the race community by myself and others, its now 7 years later and the issues are deteriorating. Many new racers have a sub-par race platform they enjoy today because they have nothing to scale it against. Those of us who are legacy pioneers know the difference.

What I learned about my mistakes was that I was not fully prepared to meet the demands I wanted to manage; I did not receive training because there was no source for such competency.

I had to retrain myself. In owning a mistake, the goal is not to repeat it. Once negligence is established as an awareness it is up to us collectively and individually to alter course. This means we must hear the truth, the hard facts, the mistakes and the full understanding of the situation and its reciprocal effects.

We must admit that these problems may have ancillary options we can understand and should. Ignorance is not an excuse. Safety is a behavior. Racing is not Fair. Staffing cannot rely merely on having a good heart, one must have competence and structure. Racers must come to an event fully prepared.

Not all racers are ready for the race track, they may not belong on a race track and therefore their scrutiny is most important. Do your homework, study, prepare, find a mentor or a coach, don't just show up to the starting line. Show up as a representative that understands the history, rulebook, water and your boat.

There is no value in pointing out problems if a solution is not offered. It is up to us as individuals to decide right now, what kind of a staff or competitor do we want to be? Do you want to be the person in the room or on the racetrack others will be able to depend upon?

The real question here is what are you willing to do to make effective changes? What effort are you willing to exert for solutions?

The past cannot be changed, but the future can be addressed. It begins with you, or it ends with you.

Private message this page PWC Competition if you are interested in accepting my proposal.
Those who do will not be disappointed, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Shawn Alladio
10.16. 2019

Take the Survey and Contribute to Change

KAWASAKI MOTORS CORP., U.S.A. Press Release

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APPOINTS NEW PRESIDENT AND CEO

Foothill Ranch, CA – Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A. (KMC) welcomes Mr. Eigo Konya as President and CEO effective immediately.

After three and a half successful years leading KMC to industry-leading retail and market share growth, Mr. Yoshi Tamura has returned to Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. in Japan.

Mr. Konya first joined KMC from 2001 to 2007 contributing to record sales revenues in the U.S, which led to his appointment as General Manager of Kawasaki Motors Shanghai, Ltd.

Mr. Konya led the team that built the Kawasaki brand in mainland China, establishing the company, developing the sales structure and strategy, growing the dealer network and emerging annual revenue over a five year period.

Returning to KMC, Mr. Konya is excited to continue the success the company has achieved in recent years and looks to continue growing retail sales and market share in the U.S.

“It is a very exciting time to return to KMC,” said Mr. Konya.

“Kawasaki has seen fantastic retail growth in the United States thanks to the best dealer network in the industry and new, exciting models each year. I look forward to leading such a top-tier company.”

Mr. Konya will address the U.S. dealer network at the Kawasaki Dealer Business Meeting, October 7-12th, 2019 in Palm Desert, California, where Kawasaki will launch multiple new models for 2020.

Kawasaki Website for more information
__________________

Posted: October 14, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Come train with us and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!

Caution: Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

TAKE ON DIFFICULT LEARNING

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CHOICES

Stop taking the easy cheap route. That is a fast track to misery.

This is how you stop progress and cheapen the results. Don’t do marginal inspections. Use good quality and proper personal protective equipment (PPE).

Operate your Rescue Water Craft in a manner that your ancestors would be proud of.

Behave as if you read about yourself in a history book and the ending was good.

Our world demands the strongest, bravest and most educated to have the wits to surmount disaster.

PREPARATION IS EXPENSE

It’s no joke to be prepared! Maybe right now by reading this post it will motivate you to pick up and move onward.

Do not feel justified if you took on marginal training. You are just beginning.

Keep moving ahead with your education. If you settle you lost the argument.

Winning generates increase.

Losing declines potential.

When you give less there is no challenge, there is nothing you can do to elevate your opportunity. That is the essence of giving up.

This is not what any of us can afford in the dynamic and often times terrifying situations we will respond to that survivors place themselves in.

LAZINESS IS AN ENDING

If you are lazy you will never possess the capability to do anything that is challenging and requires of your efforts. Your team will not be able to depend upon you.

You will easily find the objections and excuses needed to say ‘I don’t need that, I’m better than that, nobody can teach me nothing’. This is how people filled with errors hide their potential and they give far less than their very best.

This elusive behavior becomes complicated quickly. It prevents that person from opportunity.

So ask yourself this? Do you have a goal of how you want to operate?

What is it? You cannot own it if you are not capable of defining it.

Then you must admit to yourself you have to throw your sorry ass head to toe into discovering that capability!
You should fear greatly with a terrible recognition to pursue your operational goals rather than being afraid to do so!

1. Articulate your goals
2. Write your goals down and expand 3 additional needs from each
3. Learn to negotiate for your maritime heritage
4. Learn how to protect seamanship skills
5. Know who you are
6. Understand what it is you want and what will be required to access it
7. Make sure you have other options, courses, opportunities and learning directions
8. Follow a mentor and honor their advice and person
9. The ocean will win because you have to be able to negotiate its reality
10. Know your boat as you know yourself

If you want to be a competent Coxswain, you have to practice being competent.

Otherwise you are practicing by your own volition constant failure.

And that is not something you should aspire towards in your career, ever.

__________________

Posted: September 9, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Come train with us and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!

Caution: Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

TRAINING IS NOT SECURITY

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SAFETY IS A RESPONSIBILITY

Training is not security but responsibility of the training standards are.

Rescue Water Craft Coxswain qualifications must adhere to a strict vetting process. Even more so for Instructor Cadre.

No argument has the strength to contaminate this.

In our Rescue Water Craft community, Coxswains and Crew have killed themselves because of a lack of effective vetting. This transforms into service-related performance and execution once training is completed, the enforcement of standards begins.

How many people should be sacrificed for this to mean something else?

If a program manager or instructor permits an incompetent or marginal Coxswain or Crew to move further, they have blood on their hands.

THE BURDEN

The burden of instructing is a conscious filled with the horrors of death and intricate methods of preventing the possibilities.

We are not alone. Every action has this human weakness. When negligence is permitted and ignored so that someone is sacrificed to prove it. Those lessons are not learned, they are given as an invitation to seep into the grossest form of performance. Yes, they are preventable and should not be permitted to become a mishap at any time.

The accountability requires a strong woman or man to tell people what they need to hear and respect, abide by and enforce. It is not the dead who can defend themselves, but it is the guilt and shame of a lifetime that follows in the wake of the living.

Sir Edmund Hillary’s wife and daughter were in an aircraft crash piloted by a man named Peter Shand. Fact-checking on performance, remedial action, dismissal, certificates verification. Even Hillary's wife wrote in her journal that she was concerned of Shand's recklessness, there were warnings that everyone avoided.

When was the last time your agency verified a qualification? Never? Or only after an accident?

Peter Shand, and the four people on board the plane he piloted lost their lives. And from their death aircraft safety emerges. Is that good enough or is there something humanly preventable that could minimize that risk? Why are we reactive when we pronounce the word preventative all the time?

We talk a lot about risk management you know. It is a catch phrase of a conglomeration of warnings, but is it respected?

Leadership matters at the helm. If people are not willing to think for themselves and realize their potential is reckless, cause harm or they have a petty attitude, a leader needs to step in and enforce their charge.

Counseling, corrective measures and if all fails and the character behavior of the individual cannot soar, they must be dismissed.

Everyone wants to be something, but not everyone is willing to pay the price to get there.

THE CONSCIOUS OF GUILT

Forty years later, an unexpected letter to Peter Hillary filled in some back history:

Dear Mr. Hillary


 Peter Shand's father bought him a small plane when he was still a teenager. He told me he taught himself to fly but had a few lessons at a flight school in order to obtain his pilot's license. He clocked up a considerable number of hours flying this plane.

In about 1969 Peter came to Africa. He met with three pilots where I was living and heard about a job. He was a very outgoing person but very disorganized. He wasn't able to get the job as a pilot as he didn't have the correct license so he had to sort this out which he said would need flying lessons and take about 6 months and a lot of money.

Within a month he was back with a license – he had changed his log book to show he had night flying experience and other requirements.

I flew extensively to remote airstrips with Peter and ex-Air Force pilots and the difference was profound. Other pilots carried a proper case for documents and wore a uniform – white shirt / tie / cap – Peter was disheveled, a typical bush pilot. However, that was not my main concern. All other pilots took care before takeoff, checking everything. I asked Peter many times why he never did this and he said 'they still think they're in the Air Force'. Peter was always in a hurry.

Two events led to Peter being told that his contract would not be renewed. He had a side business buying goats in remote places and flying them back on return journeys. This later led to his plane failing an inspection – the urine from the goats had damaged the rear control cables.

A more serious matter and one I had warned him about was that at remote air strips he would leave the engine running while loading passengers and freight. The inevitable happened when someone walked into the propeller killing him instantly.

When he was put on suspension, he looked for another job and was accepted by Royal Nepal Airways. The moment I heard on the BBC that a plane carrying Edmund Hillary's wife had crashed in Nepal I knew it was Peter. Years later I learnt he had not done his pre-flight checks.

Mr. Hillary, I was in a position to have stopped Peter flying on a commercial basis. This has been on my mind for over 40 years.
Please accept my apology.

I was very young at that time.

Reference: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/96860943/dishevelled-pilot-who-caused-hillary-family-tragedy-should-have-been-barred-from-flying-new-biography-reveals

__________________

Posted: September 2, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Join the Rescue Water Craft Association
and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!
Join the Rescue Water Craft Association

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

VOLUNTEER TRAINED PWC RESPONSE TEAM

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Know Before You Tow & Go!

We developed the worlds first Personal Water Craft Volunteer Response Training Program for Civilians.

We recognize the critical need for competent training to assist those to become aware of the inherent risks and dangers during these catastrophic events.

Our CCRT PWC program will assist those persons or groups to be able to respond with confidence and knowledge that will permit them to be an asset to their community.

K38 is well known worldwide for disaster work during flood events as well as training coxswains for qualification.

Our experience ranges from Hurricane and tsunami flood recovery work using Personal Water Craft (PWC) for recreational users and Rescue Water Craft (RWC) for occupational Coxswains.

BE REPUTABLE NOT RECKLESS

Join our newsletter for information and updates, we would love to hear from interested parties.

Please send an email request with your name and region you reside in and if you are a Personal Water Craft owner and join our newsletter: RescueWaterCraft@gmail.com

ABOUT
K38 is partners in education with the Civilian Crisis Response Team based out of Indiana. We are committed to the safety of those who wish to help others during hurricane or flood events. Our focus is on your safety first!

CCRT is an incredible non-profit whom applies safety and education of volunteer responders in disaster zones. We are united in that mission.

HAVING A GOOD HEART IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH-YOU NEED TRAINING

CCRT Statement:

We are an organized group of civilian volunteers who are committed to helping the people in our communities during their times of greatest need.

CCRT Motto: “To be the frontline responders who make a difference.”

For more information on CCRT: CIVILIAN CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM
For more information on K38: www.k38Rescue.com

K38 Motto: A Moment For Safety Will Save a Lifetime of Regret

__________________

Posted: September 1, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Join the Rescue Water Craft Association
and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!
Join the Rescue Water Craft Association

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

BE REPUTABLE

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BE REPUTABLE

There is a saying: ‘Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’. No, it is not when it comes to training. It is stealing.
This quotation is borrowed as well from the imitation of a quote from the biography of Marcus Aurelius by Jeremy Collier and Andre Dacier. Their book ‘Emperor Marcus Antoninus his conversations with himself, 1708’.

“You should consider that Imitation is the most acceptable part of Worship, and that Gods had much rather Mankind should Resemble, than Flatter them."

Do not become a bad imitation or a thief. Become a partner instead. Its much easier and it is noble.

Humans have a good and a bad side of their conscious based on our will. It is hard to always operate on the good side, it takes humility, responsibility and discipline. But what it really takes is a spiritual humility or respect for life and the chaos of its reign. It is part to our moral compass.

And Lifesaving is a sacred trust.

THE POWER OF NEGATIVITY

It is quite intoxicating. The closer a human reaches towards negativity the sooner they start to slip and begin to lose the grip on their spiritual balance.

Soon, life begins to narrow. It becomes harder for that person to see the ramification of those choices. They will soon collect other damaged people to them to justify that reality.

Likewise, I have a saying. 'Surround yourself with your own kind'. I choose to seek out amazing humans who are nor corrupt, maybe once they were and they learned. Certainly, I have learned my lessons. We all agree we want to be better and do better.

Training is a method of action based on explicit trust. Imitation means you want to be like the person you are copying. And that is flattering, but it can be dangerous. Why?

You miss the fundamentals, the rules, regulations, safety warnings, development and content is weakened.

The benefits you will receive are far greater than the money you will save. In fact, a poor imitation may be costly: damaged equipment, ruined water jet pumps, inaccurate information, injury or death.

Your reputation is very important. The type of imitation you should seek is professional development from a qualified instructor who can guide you through the vetting process.

POSITIVE IS ABSOLUTE POWER

The great part about that is you become part of something greater than yourself. You save time and money when you go directly to a mentor, or a leading authority.

Remember, you may gain for the moment, but you can lose for a lifetime.

Invest in your reputation, seek out qualified mentors and instructors, study and listen. Take your time to build your professional portfolio.

Do not contribute to weakening the Seamanship Skills our community desperately needs to defend. Future generations are depending upon our honest commitment to honor and duty.

It begins with imitation, yes, but for the pursuit of excellence, not the bits and pieces that will create a random pattern.

All our water rescue patterns need to be based on evidence results focused on by peers who have already made those mistakes so you don’t have to.

__________________

Posted: September 1, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Join the Rescue Water Craft Association
and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!
Join the Rescue Water Craft Association

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL INSTRUCTOR

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What Makes a Good Instructor?

To be a successful Rescue Water Craft instructor first means that we need Rescue Water Craft experience. We have to learn from our previous mistakes we made, have field experience and we need to be trained by a competent leader.

But before we get on with that, what exactly is a Rescue Water Craft instructor?

An Instructor is a student, leader and a mentor. They have gone through a selection process and have been evaluated to possess the required knowledge base and use the supplies needed to host a competency training course.

They are able to prepare for a course, scrutinize themselves and their student cadre and to maintain the course records. They must have a thorough working and maintenance capability of all tools and equipment.

They have a safety plan and are prepared for emergencies. Most importantly they know when to say no in the field and stop forward motion to prevent an injury or accident. They do this by paying attention to the work flow, water and weather conditions, other instructors and the direction of the energy in the course.

They know when they have made a mistake, admit it and make the necessary amendments.

MANY INSTRUCTORS ARE TEACHING BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE GOOD

A certificate of professional development does not ensure that holder of that document is an instructor. What decides that is the outcome, how the students respond, retain knowledge and perform, and what their future will become.

I would encourage instructors to take four classes a year, or critical assessments of their training presentations. That would cover the four seasons in a calendar year, keeping the skill and mind honed.

Have a good mentor. Ask to be in their audience.

If they give you permission, listen to them.

Give credit to your mentors. You are not special! You did not gain this knowledge on your own, you are a steward of it. Someday you may pay it forward.

Give thanks to what they invested in you, be grateful and humble. Humility is the first way to crush an edgy ego. But most importantly protect the seamanship skills that have been entrusted to you. Those go back to our ancestral times!

WILINGNESS TO LISTEN AND LEARN

We expect if from our students but we must first demand it from our instructor cadre.

‱ Know your training materials! This is the key to what your students are paying you to be in your audience.
‱ Seek peer review of presentations, documents or skills produced.
‱ Stay current with changes in the boating rescue world.

Be enthusiastic and learned about every aspect of Rescue Water Craft operations. Your position is one of authority and your coverage means you need to be ready to assist your students in succeeding.

You must be able to multi-task under pressure and still smile and enjoy the demands. You need to be good at logistics, reading the water and weather and keeping to a timed format. You are a water rescue counselor.

Do not assume everyone understand your descriptions. Define everything in terms that can help defend actions even under investigation.

Our Rescue Water Craft client lineage is based on the rotation of agency personnel, that is an average of 3 to 7 years of rollover. This means their knowledge base will be lost to the next generation and has to be fulfilled with new Coxswains. That is change and time and a significant investment for clients.

This also translates in to the Gold Standard of K38. We are on top of the training wheel because we are the most current at the helm.

Boating rules, laws and regulations are constantly being updated or changed. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is finally beginning a new trend of modernization, we have to stay in step with that. The Rescue Water Craft boat is changing EVERY SINGLE YEAR!

You need resources to lean on. Being in the digital age we tend to use the search engines for research.

However, you need hard copy books to have a readily accessible source library. For my research and knowledge base I often go to thrifts stores or search online books stores for old maritime books.

Be firm in your safety convictions and respect the role you fulfill. A strong training course is filled by a group of students who are engaged and asking questions, participating and deeply interested.

You are in a position of a sacred trust. People are depending upon your knowledge base. Their very lives rely upon it and so do the survivors they will be working on behalf in a perilous time.

Your interaction is about reputation; yours and theirs!

You students and mentors are a measure of success. Be sincerely grateful that they believe in you enough to place their valuable time, effort or invest in your capabilities.

Remember, it’s not all about you. Instructing is a sacred trust, its about what your students will do next.

__________________

Posted: September 1, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Join the Rescue Water Craft Association
and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!
Join the Rescue Water Craft Association

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.

TSE TSO

Posted on by

DECISION

TSE TSO

As Rescue Water Craft Coxswains, leaders or instructors, our goal is not to cause harm.

This means our training program needs to be inspected, reviewed and careful consideration and care used to implement the best practices. PROGRAM EVALUATION

We need to set success through the measure of producing competency and program security along with training accordingly. And we need to enforce that like mad!

What is always relative? History is relative. We tend not to learn from history until it becomes our own.

So how do we incorporate the lessons they learned? We must study and we must listen!

Let us go back in time.

It is 1934. Tyrolean climbers Aschenbrenner and Schneider make an attempt summit at Nanga Parbat in the Himalayans.

This mountain is the 9th highest on Earth.

Six Sherpas lost their lives and their names do not stand out in history.

Ego and National pride carry as high a price as that we find in the Rescue Water Craft community. Be proud of accomplishments, but first be prepared to ensure their success.

Tse Tso is a saying ‘Long Life’ and Pasang Picture Sherpa saved his life through the determination of this mindset during a snowstorm. He was at high altitude when abandoned by his employers to fend for himself with 2 of his fellow Porters.

This action meant certain death on the mountain. He had a choice to make. Give up and surrender to fate or to take action. The problem he faced was he was not taught to lead and was not equipped to do so.

He decided at that moment to take the lead and endure into the unknown.

Let us not forget the hard lessons of all pioneers, survivors and the dead.

This is where ‘lessons learned’ comes into play and how we often ignored the warning signs. We could extract thousands of these incidents that any of us could determine our best route forward.

DO NOT DUPLICATE

The need for support staff was critical to success in mountaineering at this level. How we as humans treated one another then was reciprocal for the history of those times.

However, for us in 2019 we can revisit and learn from this tragedy. A significant cultural detraction was the ‘Sahibs’ did not train their ‘Porters’ to be climbers. They did not outfit them with appropriate climbing gear or enough caloric intake.

There was a disconnect between the two groups and the porters (Sherpas) suffered greatly for this.

Aschenbrenne and Schneider abandoned 3 Sherpas on a descent leaving them and speeding off on skis. Pasang Picture realized he would have to take the lead to bring down Nima Dorje and Pinzo Norbu to basecamp IV.

This was not exclusive to the German group in the formative years of climbing the Himalayas; many nations have gone to the Himalayans not respecting the capabilities of the Sherpas as climbers but simple carriers of equipment for logistical support. Budget with many events has placed safety in the back row for decades.

What is the parallel for today?

Do not think that your mechanic is not important to your RWC program. They are on that boat with you! If you are not able to tell effectively your mechanic what the problems are how can they make an efficient assessment and repair?

In 2019 for climbing change is championed from Nepalese climber Nirmal Purja, and partners Mingma David Sherpa and Gesman Tamang summited Everest of Project Possible:

PROJECT POSSIBLE

Sherpas have climbed the Himalayas more than any other group in the world, but have lain mainly in the shadows of mountaineering history. Project Possible broke that barrier and shattered it.

Change is a struggle. We are not our great grandparents and we do not live in those times. We are in a time of great prosperity and reduction of poverty worldwide. We have opportunity and luxury. Anyone can be great if they put their mind to it and follow suit.

We have opportunity, ability to travel, and the incredible asset of using the internet to learn faster, unite with new Rescue Water Craft partners, use translation services to communicate and share content and inspiration.

We are witness to the rapid increase of a unique small power craft that I set out to revolutionize training worldwide. I did not know this alone. Thousands of people are the impetus of this success. The internet is making that happen for all of us. The obscurity of anonymity has passed.

I myself believe I am a guide for others as a Subject Matter Expert in the Personal Water Craft community. I am the voice for those who are behind the scenes, in our past history and guiding you to take the lead now and in the future.

I could have all the answers in the room, but if a water rescue mob doesn’t want that, we could revert back to a tragedy like the one in 1934 or any known Rescue Water Craft fatality.

Why is this? Not listening to the lessons learned of our forefathers and foremothers who pioneered the RWC capacity and averted disaster. We are still alive, striving for Tse Tso, nobody dies.

ONE IS NONE

In the early years of the 1970’s to the 80’s the Personal Water Craft water safety crew coined a few terms I will share with you:

1. A Moment for Safety will Save a Lifetime of Regret – ‘Brian Bendix’
2. Nobody Dies – USJSBA/IJSBA Course Marshals – ‘Brad Southworth, Ronny Kling, Steve Strickland, Willy’

These men paid attention and were not concerned about safety, they planned for it with strategy. They had much less then you do today for assets. You may not have been born in 1974, so learn to respect those who handed the baton into your lane.

The 1934 expedition is where Ang Tsering Sherpa and Pasang Painter Sherpa became mountaineers and were no longer just Porters. They became lifesavers.

Ask yourself this: How would you manage the death of your Crew while you were navigating on the water? What would you do next?

The names of the dead Sherpas are not mentioned in history like the leads and nations who funded those climbs.

The Germans did not share the details of what happened those 7 days of survival on the mountain. The Sherpa voices were private and reserved, their version reserved in the faded distance.

Many climbers died from decisions that were made before they stepped foot on the mountain. The same parallel happens in the Rescue Water Craft community. Some of this was economic, poor planning, bad weather or an incomplete team.

Likewise, Coxswains and Crew have died because their training was not secure for safety. How would you value their sacrifice?

The storm they encountered on Nanga Parbat that began on July 7, 1934 at the Silver Saddle shares with us valuable lessons of leadership, organization, training and what training produces; safety.

The vetting system of a Rescue Water Craft team is critical. The knowledge base and equipment must be reliant and the equipment ready for the field.

Many Rescue Water Craft programs have insufficient equipment and are ill prepared to succeed in 2019. Even though we began our Rescue Water Craft outreach in 1974 in the USA.

I have witnessed Rescue Water Craft programs where the Crew Members are treated as a second-class citizen. Sometimes they are referred to as ‘rescue swimmers’ but in our maritime culture they are Crew members. This is dangerous.

Why is it dangerous you may wonder? If a Rescue Water Craft Coxswain is injured, knocked off the RWC or has died, the Crew person must take their position and do so with competence.

And during the struggle they may need to recover or rescue their teammate or survivors in the water and finish the recovery to the end point of transfer.

Crew must possess the same skills and knowledge base as the Coxswain. This is a close quarter boat for persons on board, everyone is part of the stability or instability of the craft underway to some extent.

Those not in the lead may not give credit to those in the flanks.

1. Prepare an effective vetting program for all participants, ensure their physical and mental strength is adequate
2. Monitor Weather and water conditions underway
3. Prepare properly Personal Protective Equipment
4. Inspect and maintain the vessel according to the manufacturer specifications
5. Train like your life and others depend upon it
6. Assess and remedy any necessary corrections that are discovered
7. Investigate mishaps and revise training or program management immediately
8. Clearly define your area of operation, seasonally, daily or with disasters in mind. Set limits.
9. Proper budget needed to maintain a marine unit

A Rescue Water Craft is a boat. It is not a cheap excuse to rescue or a shortcut.

It is not an inexpensive boat. It is a high-performance craft that requires proper funds, professional maintenance (monthly and annual) necessary to maintain a sufficient program for each craft.

If you or your organization is not treating your RWC program like a boat marine unit, close it down immediately. Do not proceed! Get off the boat and restructure your maritime program.

That mountain is waiting for the storm to show you where your problems are and it may very well take life. At that point you cannot afford the program you should have put in place before tragedy strikes.

My friend Lee Selman sent me this book ‘Tigers of the Snow’, written by Jonathan Neale.

The perspective of culture, lifesaving and information is a must read.

You will discover how the narrative of truth can become a Long Life (Tse Tso), or lead to certain death by personal volition.

We choose. Choose this book and gain insight into training, communication, planning and strategy and why it must be purposeful:

TIGERS OF THE SNOW

While you are at it, look up the history of the Sherpas and their contributions. We honor those pioneers and preserve their history. All lifesavers are unique souls who would give their life for others. This crosses all disciplines and mediums, earth, sky or water.

Things are getting better. People are humbling themselves to address the problems they have occurred. These assessments are working. Encourage one another to continue to foster developing our Rescue Water Craft culture.

Do not remain silent when a mishap occurs, dig in, expose the problems and save the life of yourself or a teammate.

That is the answer.

__________________

Posted: August 13, 2019

Content Creator of Rescue Water Craft and Personal Water Craft boating international education standards: Shawn Alladio is the world’s foremost authority and leading subject matter expert. She cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

__________

Have any questions? Join the Rescue Water Craft Association
and discover what your community is doing to modernize standards, safety and reduce liability!
Join the Rescue Water Craft Association

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.