A raft guide is a trained professional capable of leading commercial
while water rafting
Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...
trips. Most raft guides are employed by commercial outfitters who run either multi or single day trips.
Training
Typically first year raft guides are required to undergo a training program often run by the company or a professional guide training school before beginning to guide commercial trips. This training utilizes classroom and on-river experience to train students in
rigging
Rigging comprises the system of ropes, cables and chains, which support a sailing ship or sail boat's masts—''standing rigging'', including shrouds and stays—and which adjust the position of the vessel's sails and spars to which they are ...
and maneuvering
vessels
Vessel(s) or The Vessel may refer to:
Biology
*Blood vessel, a part of the circulatory system and function to transport blood throughout the body
*Lymphatic vessel, a thin walled, valved structure that carries lymph
*Vessel element, a narrow wat ...
; river flow and hazards;
scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...
and running rapids; and river rescue and emergency procedures. Trainees are generally required to have a minimum of Basic
First Aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
and
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
certifications. Professional river guides often have additional advanced certifications such as
International Rafting Federation
The International Rafting Federation (IRF) is the official umbrella International Sports Federation for national rafting organizations worldwide, and administers all aspects of rafting sport worldwide. The World Rafting Championships (WRC) the Eur ...
-GTE,
Wilderness First Aid
A wilderness medical emergency is a medical emergency that takes place in a wilderness or remote setting affinitive care (hospital, clinic, etc.). Such an emergency can require specialized skills, treatment techniques, and knowledge in order to m ...
,
Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness first responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote locations. They are part of a wide variety of wilderness medical providers who deal with medical emergencies that occur in wilderness settings ...
,
Swift Water Rescue
Swift water rescue (also called "white water rescue") is a subset of technical rescue dealing in white water river conditions. Due to the added pressure of moving water, swift water rescue involves the use of specially trained personnel, ropes an ...
, White Water Rescue or
Emergency Medical Technician
An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...
. River rafting is an adventure sport in which expeditions are taken down rivers. Raft guides are also usually required to obtain a food handlers license, as preparing food is a large component of being a guide.
Training may include such skills as:
* Teamwork and leadership skills
* Safety on the river - hand signals
* Boating gear and equipment
* Commercial river operations
* Customer service - safety talks and guide "chatter"
* Whitewater paddling techniques
* River etiquette guidelines
* Problems, emergencies, advanced river rescues
* Knots and riggings
* Natural and the local history of the river
* Meal Preparation
Description
A typical raft guide is usually in his or her twenties, but can range in age from late teens to late sixties. The majority of raft guides are seasonal employees and work during the spring and summer months when rivers are flowing at their best levels. However during the seasonal winter months, some raft guides will continue to work by traveling to countries with warmer climates where commercial rafting exists.
A raft guide's primary job is to
navigate
Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...
an inflatable raft with passengers (crew) down a river in a safe and enjoyable manner. This requires that they continually assess and manage risks during the trip. A skilled raft guide is able to recognize river features and understand their effects on a raft, and what is required to navigate among or around these features with passengers. On rapids where the potential risk of injury is high, it is the guides responsibility to keep the raft from overturning (flipping) or passengers from falling overboard.
An important part of the job is delivering the "Safety Talk". Before a trip, raft guides brief customers on potential hazards they may face on the water. Every raft guide has their own delivery style. Some safety talks include a lot of corny jokes (summer teeth) and others explain the dangers of the river in detail (foot entrapment). Most rookie guides will listen to veteran guides' talks and take bits and pieces of each to create their own. A good safety talk should cover equipment (PFD, paddle, helmet), how to self-rescue in event of a swim, how to pull people back into the boat, and learning hand signals. Guides will also go over what to do in the event of a flip, wrap, or strainer. These three main hazards are very important to know in order to stay safe. Safety talks can also include discussions such as "Leave No Trace", and plants and animals to watch out for.
Types of guiding
Oar Guiding is where the guide maneuvers the raft with oars from either the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
or middle of the
raft
A raft is any flat structure for support or transportation over water. It is usually of basic design, characterized by the absence of a hull. Rafts are usually kept afloat by using any combination of buoyant materials such as wood, sealed barrel ...
. On multi-day trips it is common to have a center oar rig where clients do not paddle, and where gear is stored. Guides oar guiding will use techniques such as 'walking the oars' through flat sections or 'holding a star' when stern rigged through large waves. Oar Guides generally have more control over their raft than paddle guides, but oar rigged rafts are dangerous when flipping and hard to re-right making them less versatile in big water rafting. Oar boats are often rigged to carry all of the gear for a trip. Oars are typically made of wood, but sometimes plastic.
Paddle Guiding is the most common type of high adventure guiding where the guide sits in the stern of the boat with a one bladed guide stick (paddle). Using draws, prys, the guide can influence the direction of the boat, along with using different paddling commands for their crew. Paddle guiding is the most fun form of rafting. Guests usually enjoy paddle guiding the most as they feel like they really have control over what is going on in the boat.
Bow Guiding is where two guides are in the boat, one in the
stern
The stern is the back or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Ori ...
and one in the
bow. This can be done in a stern rigged boat, or a raft where both guides are paddle guiding. It is usually only done over short stretches of whitewater that require a lot of maneuvering for safe passage. Bow guides use techniques such as 'spearing' through large waves, and bow draws to quickly change the direction of the boat. Unlike stern guides the bow guide will never pry with their paddle, instead they will change the orientation of their hands to maintain a power grip in both directions.
Compensation
Guide compensation can vary a great deal by type and length of the trip. In North America guides are typically paid by the day. They are also known to receive gratuities from their clients and the summation of a trip.
References
External links
Salary.Com Dream Job: White Water Raft GuideInformation and Resources for Raft Guides
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raft Guide
Jobs Jobs may refer to:
* Job, an activity that people do for regular income gain
People
* Steve Jobs (1955–2011), co-founder and former CEO of Apple Inc
** Steve Jobs (disambiguation)
* Laurene Powell Jobs (born 1963), widow of Steve Jobs
* Lisa ...
Rafting
Guides