'in water' assistance and more - the good, bad and the ugly

we all know volunteers are a godsend and a blessing... However, I am certain we have had a few 'in water' instructions ranging from the essential, the punitive and the indifferent. A great buddy kayaking for me once mistakenly guided me into an emergent sandbar... I had actually been swimming a much better transect when he instructed me to swim to the right - subsequently, I had to circumnavigate the sandbar. A volunteer kayaker instructed me to swim to my left, and I stopped to explain my transect... I explained I was swimming to the tall wall of the dam - he did find this transect acceptable. Later on this same swim on Inks Lake in the Texas Hill Country, this volunteer was helpful in navigating to a buoy lying directly between me and the sun. I once had a male peer - very proximate to my age - marking participants at an open water swim near San Antonio... I have forgotten what he wrote on me in addition to my race numbers, however, I didn't think it was very cute... give me his forehead and a sharpie for 5 seconds! I have had some great kayakers and met many volunteers that were both indispensable and great people - on a few ocassions, having a sense of humor is helpful both for the swimmer and volunteers. To all the race organizers and volunteers, thanks from the bottom of our tiny little hearts