Wednesday nights are the best for me.

If I see a boat drifting into my lane, I would try to stay in the center and wave/point to the boat to signal the safety boat, if they hadn't already noticed. If the boat continued to drift I would change my line or stop my boat if it became dangerous. If the dragon head were to fall off before the race, I would signal my drummer to raise her hand and raise mine as well. Then wait for the safety boat to retrieve the head and remount. If it falls off during the race, and we can continue safely, we would finish the race. If a boat is not giving way, when they should, I would go wide and hopefully pass them on the straight away. We would file a protest if it significantly affected our race outcome.

I agree that knowing and practicing the various calls ahead of time is critical. I think it is also important to practice lining up (back paddling, drawing, quick/delayed starts, etc). No surprises on race day. I agree it is important that the paddlers know who will be making calls before, during and after a race. However, I do believe that less is more when it comes to commands from the steer. I have often told a "new" team of paddlers, that they will hear very little from me in the back, but when I make a command, they must react. Avoid any chance for confusion or lack of trust.

As has been said, steers who hang back at the start making everyone wait is very frustrating. Steers who don't give way when they should by blocking the inside lane on a 2k turn or straight away. I'm always grateful to a local steer who gives advise about various conditions an out of town steer wouldn't be aware of.

The SDs own a small boat. We don't use it as often as we should because people don't like how tippy it is. The back steer deck is also convex which hurts my feet! Lately I've been steering barefoot which helps. I've got to practice more turns.