RE: [Paddlewise] storm seas long paddles staying upright

I disagree, Chuck. 

First, a standard-legth Greenland paddle is more versatile and permits a
higher cadence than a 9- to 10-foot paddle. Especially when you use it with
the sliding stroke, it is very easy to extend a standard paddle for a strong
brace, effectively turning a 7-foot paddle into a 9- or 10-foot paddle.
Compare Nanook's paddle stroke in "Nanook of the North" to that of the
paddlers in the Amassilik district of Greenland in "Palo's Wedding." Nanook
looks downright clumsy compared to the Greenlanders. And note that Amassilik
is on the east coast of Greenland, not on the southwest coast. I think that
paddles in both districts averaged about the same length.

Second, most Greenlanders were not good rollers. IIRC, only about a quarter
to a third of Greenland seal-catchers bothered to learn to roll, so rolling
ability was probably not a factor in their choice of paddle length.

Personally, I use about a 7-foot Greenland paddle for paddling and rolling.
I've never felt the need for anything longer.

"Palo's Wedding" which was filmed in 1931 by Knud Rasmussen, has many scenes
that show the sliding stroke in action, and one that shows the paddle
extended for a turn.

Chuck Holst


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net
[mailto:owner-paddlewise_at_paddlewise.net] On Behalf Of skimmer
Sent: Thursday, July 08, 2010 8:48 PM
To: PaddleWise_at_paddlewise.net
Subject: [Paddlewise] storm seas long paddles staying upright

I have used long (9 ft) paddles for more than 25 years. In my opinion, the
southwest Greenland Inuit paddlers are able to use short paddles because of
their skill at rolling. Absent that skill, they would be using long paddles
(up to 10 ft) along with all of the other native paddlers of the eastern
arctic.

<snip>

 

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