[Paddlewise] Inuit

Regarding being sewn into the boat, when Maligiac first came to 
the US to show his skills, he brought a genuine skinboat with him 
and a proper tuilick/anorak. The Anorak (made from gut?) reached 
to about his ankles when standing next to his boat.

His cockpit rim had four bone segments attached to it on the 
outside (in place of our standard cockpit rim). The bottom edge of 
the anorak had a thong around it. In the boat, Maligiac tied the 
thong tight around the cockpit rim with the intent that the bottom 
edge would not come loose from the cockpit rim. This is their 
reality! There is no swimming home from a lost boat off the 
Greenland coast. The petrussan (sp?) maneuver allows a paddler 
to partially exit the cockpit of a capsized kayak and rise head and 
shoulders to the surface next to the cockpit- lower trunk still in 
boat. 

The unusual length of the anorak kept the paddler from being 
directly exposed to the cold water, offered the possibility of re-entry 
and roll, or assisted re-entry and roll with help of a fellow paddler. 

This approach seems better than "swimming for it" and merely 
requires the paddler to have truly mastered rolling.

Chuck Sutherland 
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