On your six

I have your back

I recall when I was a novice paddler I would try to stay in front of a least a few paddlers in the group. My thinking was that if I went over at least someone behind me would see and hopefully come to my rescue. In the meantime, having said that, the last thing I wanted to do was go over and be a maintenance issue for the group. Luckily, I never was.

I don't know if anyone in the groups I paddled with in those early days took note of how green I was and deliberately stayed behind me. I know that now, a number of paddling years later, I usually watch for the opportunity to lag behind and provide cover where I think it might be needed or appreciated.