A fellow member of Sebago Canoe Club and I were relaxing and watching the water blow by, as the wind was doing about 30 knots in Paerdegat [pronounced pa de gat] Inlet. A couple of young women we did not know came by, having let themselves onto the grounds with a key.
They asked for an assist bringing a canoe down to the water. When we asked them whether they know what they were doing, they told us that they were skilled canoeists and were the guests of another member, with his permission to use the facilities.
We shrugged our shoulders, made sure they were wearing their PFD's and walked away. As soon as they were off the dock, they were in trouble.
Duncan and I got out a couple of boats and towlines and went to get them. We caught up with them about half a mile later, after they had managed to bring themselves into the lee of a streambank.
After we got a line on their canoe, we started back to the club into the teeth of the wind. They did not even assist by paddling to take some of the weight off the tow.
When we got back, we found that the member who gave them the key was not authorized to have guests, as he was not a qualified "senior" member. The two women had been out in canoes a couple of times and thought they know everything about canoeing. They had recently joined the American Canoe Association, again enhancing their self image as skilled canoeists.
After escorting them off the property, we wrote up a report which got the member's privileges and his membership removed for lack of judgement.