[Paddlewise] Re.: reindeer speed in water and re.: paddle length

Caribou swimming speed, Caribou Eskimo kayak speed (and modern flatwater
sprint kayak speed) are roughly comparable at the top end -- well over 5 mph
and approaching 6 mph.  Caribou are a lot more manouverable than caribou
Eskimo kayaks and flatwater sprint kayaks, and lancing a caribou can not be
done while maintaining a sprint, so as far as hunting caribou from kayaks
goes, it is not a matter of racing the caribou, but rather of people and
inukhuit cairns on shore herding the caribou from shore toward the water,
and then a group of kayakers herding the swimming caribou so that the
caribou get close enough for a couple of kayakers to lance them in the
water, while people on shore to use bows and arrows to shoot caribou that
make it to shore.  The crossing places where hunts were conducted from
Caribou Eskimo kayaks tended to be at either the heads or outlets of sizable
lakes, such as the Baker, Schultz, Aberdeen, and Beverly, or at river
broadenings on the Kazan and Thelon -- for a list of traditional hunt
crossings (including the aboriginal names), have a boo at note 24 to Chapter
V of Eugene Y. Arima's "A Contextual Study of the Caribou Eskimo Kayak."

According to Arima, paddles used for these extremely fast caribou Eskimo
kayaks varied greatly in length, but an intermediate length would be
approximately 10 feet long, with 2 foot blades of about 4 inches in width,
and a square shaft of about 1.5 or 2 inches in thickness with narrowings of
the shaft for hand placement about 15 inches apart.  And drip rings --
mustn't forget the drip rings.  Arima described the forward stroke as "The
blades were held at a slight angle from the perpendicular," and then went on
to describe bracing.  Although the Caribou Eskimo kayak and the modern
flatwater sprint racing kayak are substantially similar in hull shape, and
both are intended for sprinting rather than paddling over a distance, I do
not know why there is such a difference in paddle blade length and width.  I
expect that the longer and narrower Caribou Eskimo kayak blade is a result
of the advantages of a longer blade when bracing an extremely tippy boat
while at the same time lancing  a caribou, over the speed offered by a more
vertical stroke using shorter blade/shaft combination.  I also expect that
the blade dimensions might be a result of the materials at hand, for spruce
tend to be skinny in the Caribou Eskimo area, however, there are anomalies
in the Thelon area where trees have diameters large enough to make blades
wider than 4 inches.  (See Kevin Timoney's "Tree and Tundra Cover Anomalies
in the Subarctic Forest-Tundra of Northwestern Canada" for a survey of
diameters of trees.) 

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net
[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net] On Behalf Of Gary J. MacDonald
Sent: July-19-09 3:28 PM
Cc: 'Paddlewise'
Subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Paddle length

Maybe the caribou swimming speed is mixed up with speed of a caribou
crossing 
shallow water.  In water 12-18 inches deep you cannot run very well, and
have to 
paddle--but I bet a caribou can run like crazy.  And in varying depths he
will 
just run/swim as required to escape the hunter.

GaryJ
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