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September, 2006
Raft guidelines four
By Scott Phair
Alan Haley is Maine's first whitewater guide. This is the conclusion of the interview I conducted with Alan in June.
What was the Guide Training program like in the early days?
"Actually, there really wasn't any program until we established the Guide Training School in '83 or '84. For the first seven or eight years we'd just take the trainees down a few times and let them get comfortable and then turn them loose. We didn't have much of a clue about what we were doing. Once we started the Guide School we would take them down seven or eight times a day then have different programs in the evening, much like they do it today."
What did you have to do to get your guide's license?
"Nothing. Maine Guides had always gotten their license, which included your hunting and fishing license, from a local warden. The warden probably knew you and if he had confidence in you he'd sign your papers and you'd get your license. We got our guide licenses because we thought it would be good advertising that we were all Registered Maine Guides. Charlie Marshall was the local warden up there and I went to see him. He asked me 10 questions and I answered them. He explained the burden that I'd take on and that I'd be responsible for the safety of the people. He said 'you can't be a kid anymore'. The white water guide's license didn't come along until 1982.
What advice would you give aspiring guides today?
"You need to keep in mind what it was like for you the first time you came down that wild river. Your job is to provide that same thing, day in, day out, year after year, for everybody that gets into your boat. That's what you have to be into. If I get called up on Judgment Day and the good Lord says, 'what do we know about your life on earth?' I'll say 'well, I was a Kennebec Boatman'. There are not many more prideful things you can say than that."
Moving on to a new topic, I ran into an old, but interesting phenomenon when I was working some late spring trips on the Penobscot this year. What level do you run the Gorge and the Cribwork? The level was around 3,500 cfs for several weeks. And, as a related issue, who makes that final decision? Here are some of the elements in that process as I see it.
There is no "industry standard" that is universally accepted. Is 3,200 cfs OK when you have three 12-13 year-olds as part of your crew? Or how about six EMT's (25-30 year olds) at 3,600 cfs. You begin to see the problem. What are the wishes of the outfitter who wants a safe, exciting trip for all the customers? How about the trip leader, who typically has the most current, on-site information? Do customers get to chime in on their desires? Does the experience of the guides weigh in as a factor? Someone has to say we run the Gorge and Crib, or not.
What I found most remarkable was the way that many of the trip leaders asked the other trip leaders what their companies would be doing. It was my sense that if one company said, "We're going for it!" many other companies would have followed their lead. Personally, I am a fan of the trip leader making the call. Only she or he has the best picture of all the factors. That being said, I have a deep respect for every outfitter that risks so much with every trip down the river. I think that guides occasionally forget that without the outfitters, there would be no whitewater industry, at least as we know it.
I'd like to finish this month's ramblings with some kudos to the new generation of guides I've had the great pleasure to work with in the last several months. I'm seeing well-trained, thoughtful and conscientious young men and women working to ensure that the customers they are responsible for have the kind of experience that brings them back for more. Equally as exciting to me are the number of these guides that can be found back on the river, "playing" after the work day is done. Nothing to me is a better indicator of a good guide than someone who just wants to be on the river, working or playing. And think of how great it is that the line between working and playing in our business is so blurred! We have one of the most desired jobs on the planet (with the possible exception of when it's really wet and cold). My appreciation for that fact grows each time I do another river trip.
The real beginning of the tourism industry in Maine…
In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazzno comes upon a band of Abenakis at the mouth of the Kennebec River. "The Indians raised such a clamor with whoops, yells, raucous laughter and shouts that no attempt at communication could be made. The Europeans left with derisive laughter in their ears and the sight of Abenaki braves turning their backs and exhibiting bare rear ends to show what they thought of the white men." (Mary R. Calvert, Dawn Over the Kennebec Twin Cities Printery, 1983)
Just a reminder, if you'd like to look at my portal, you can go to http://www.portaportal.com/ then type guidelines in the guest access box. This site is growing all the time.
Until next time, "never give up…"
Scott Phair is an educational administrator and has been a professional white water raft guide for the last 24 years. He can be reached at scottphair@adelphia.net.
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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