> The reason for calling the techniques in question "Greenland" seems > primarily to be marketing driven. The idea that you are learning the very > same techniques used by the original kayakers has a lot of appeal. The Something that bothers me here... Calling something that is to be taught to recreational kayak tourers, to look at birds, campout, or whatnot, "Greenland" seems just bizarre. The heart of a "Greenland" style is to be able to spear a seal and bring it back home, on a kayak, exposed to bad wind conditions and spectacularly cold water. Now what exactly is a recreational non-harvesting kayaker supposed to do with these skills? Now maybe in Texas, where we have 100-300lb gar, that are huntable from a kayak using a spear/harpoon rig, this might make sense. But somehow, I don't picture the ACA teaching and certifying people on how to spear, fight, and return to camp with a dangerous 100lb+ animal. Texas record Alligator gar, from the Nueces river, 302 lbs, 90" long. And big gar, 5'+ are common all along the coastal plain. > people who want to teach those techniques know that. Classes in > "Greenland" technique will sell well. Being certified in Greenland > technique gives the impression that you are as good a paddler as an Inuit. If you aren't as good a hunter as an Inuit, then why bother learning skills optimized for hunting like the Inuit? > Now imagine you are a native greenlander and you hear someone is proposing > a scheme to make money based on your reputation and they are leaving you > completely out of the loop. I think you would feel a little put-out. I'd love to learn how to do the drag-me trick from a real Greenlander. Imagine the amount of show stopping drag you could put on a 150lb gar that you have just speared by tipping the boat on its side perpendicular to the run of the fish. Then when the fish lets up or turns, being able to roll back up to continue the fight and subdue the fish. Imagine the looks of awe and terror as you drag your 7ft long prize behind your kayak on the way back to the put it. THAT is something to learn. How you diddle your paddle back and forth seems to trivialize the tradition... At least in my grumpy opinion. Richard Walker Houston, TX http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Jul 08 1999 - 09:59:10 PDT
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:30:10 PDT