[Paddlewise] FW: Santa Cruz observation

>>
I really don't quite understand why whitewater paddlers use
feathered paddles at all.  Someone once suggested that when
whitewater kayaking started out  that the boats and paddles were
adapted from sea kayaks (since they'd been around a lot longer).
>>

I've read that whitewater paddles are feathered because of strong
winds encountered in narrow whitewater canyons in the early days
of whitewater kayaking, but I don't how true this is. Traditional
sea kayaking paddles, whether Greenland style or those with wider
blades, are almost all unfeathered -- I say "almost" because one
or two 30-degree feathered Greenland paddles have been documented,
but they were certainly not the norm.

On a somewhat related matter, on Wednesday I finally received from
England a copy of the 1934 edition of _Watkins' Last Voyage_. As
far as I know, this is the only edition with plates, and since my
copy was once part of the the collection of the Nottingham City
Library, I wonder if Frank Goodman didn't at one time read it!

The book, by F. Spencer Chapman, is the account of the second
British Arctic Air Route Expedition in Greenland in 1932. During
the first expedition, led by the charismatic Gino Watkins, most of
the members of the expedition learned to kayak, roll, and hunt from
the Greenlanders in kayaks specially made for them. As far as I
know, they were the first British to learn to roll, and possibly
the first Europeans to be taught to roll by Greenlanders. (Eddie
Pawlata has earlier taught himself to roll from written descriptions
by Nansen and others.) All used native-style kayaks, kayak clothing,
paddles, and hunting implements. There are several plates showing
kayaks, equipment, and rolling in the book about the first expedition,
_Northern Lights_ and two plates in _Watkins' Last Expedition_,
including one of the author in his kayak.

Gino Watkins died in a kayak accident while hunting solo soon after
arriving on the second expedition. He was the best kayaker on the
expedition, and Chapman recounts how, when they paddled out to meet
a French ship at Angmagssalik, the French motioned for Watkins to roll,
thinking he was a native. Watkins did so, and then amazed them by
speaking fluent French. The expedition members also met Knud Rasmussen,
who was filming "Palos Brudefaerd" at the time (the female star of the
film appears in one of the plates), helped rescue a "flying family"
from America when their plane crash-landed, and were buzzed by Charles
and Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Of special interest in _Watkins' Last Expedition_ is a chapter titled
"Chiefly about Kayaking" in which the author describes his hunting
equipment and several kayaking trips, including one in which he was in
his kayak for 24 hours in large seas that at times required almost
constant bracing. He was traveling with a party of Greenlanders, and
took breaks and refreshment by rafting up with the umiak in the group,
but by the time they reached their destination, he was unable to stand,
and would fall asleep at the slightest lapse of attention. It was on
the second expedition that Chapman learned to do a hand roll. The paddle
Chapman used (to return to the thread topic) was a typical narrow,
unfeathered, East Greenland paddle with bone tips and edges.

In Volume III of _The Little Kayak Book_, available from John Winters,
John Brand has survey drawings of several of the kayaks and some of
the other gear, including one paddle, used by the expedition members.

Chuck Holst

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