Greenland Style

The following was originally written for the newsletter of Bromley canoe club in the UK, by way of offering an explanation for my antics with strange bits of wood at the weekly swimming pool sessions. It is submitted here in the hope of providing a brief overview of Greenland paddling to complement previous contributions on the subject.

The traditional kayaking of the Greenland Inuit arose from a former lifestyle based on hunting sea-mammals. Many techniques were rescued from oblivion in the 1980s, by an awakening interest on the part of Greenlanders in their kayaking heritage. Manasse Mathaeussen was a prominent figure in this revival; still the best kayaker in Greenland when he reached his seventies, he was able to pass on his skills by teaching and performing the extensive repertoire of manoeuvres.

Kayaks were widely used in the Arctic, in Siberia, Alaska and Canada, but in Greenland a particularly high level of expertise was reached in rolling. This seems likely to have been due to a combination of the type of kayaks, local conditions, and hunting practises. Bailing out after a capsize in Northern latitudes wasn't an option, owing to the nippy nature of the water. Given the technology available, an excursion by kayak into the hostile environment of the sea was on a par with an astronaut taking a spacewalk. Greenlanders built narrow, relatively unstable kayaks. Glaciers calving icebergs (school geography?) could cause massive waves, and in addition an effective but risky method of hunting was employed. Not unique to Greenland, this involved a harpoon thrown with the aid of a throwing stick for extra leverage and power. The detachable harpoon head was attached by a long line to a float, which was to tire the prey and stop it sinking. The hazards of hunting by kayak were serious - in the early 20th century, before the activity began to decline dramatically, some 20% of all deaths in South Greenland were attributed to kayaking accidents. Undesirable scenarios included becoming entangled in the line, suffering a broken back from the force of a fleeing animal or being attacked by a retaliating one.

The reliable and efficient standard Greenland roll is similar to the Pawlata. As stated in the BCU handbook, (the old one anyway) the first European credited with a roll was the Austrian of that name in 1927. He had worked out a method after reading reports from explorers and anthropologists who had visited Greenland. British members of the air route expeditions to East Greenland in the early 1930s learnt rolling and "eskimo" rescues directly from the locals, though the leader, Henry George (Gino) Watkins, disappeared while seal hunting alone. His abandoned kayak was recovered, and is now kept at the Royal Geographical Society in London; it was on loan to the National Maritime Museum last year.

The popular reverse sweep roll helps keep water out of the cockpit when the kayaker is wearing the Greenland equivalent of a spraydeck, as opposed to a full kayak jacket sealed around the face and wrists.* This uses a low brace sweep, unlike the Steyr. A favourite of accomplished rollers is the "storm" roll, equivalent to the screw roll, with a forward-leaning recovery and the paddle levered against the boat. There is a crossed-arm variant of this which is trickier, not surprisingly.

Many of the rolls developed were useful in the event of entanglement or injury, and some of the more contorted varieties, e.g. with the paddle behind the back along the spine, are good practise for the basic rolls as they encourage correct use of the upper body. On a personal note, I am happy to report that so far nothing anatomically important has come adrift. The general principle is the same as for other types of paddling, i.e. to use torso rotation rather than extend the arms backwards into a dislocation position.

In the event of a lost paddle, other items kept on the deck could be used to regain an upright position, such as the float or the throwing stick. Rolls without such equipment were also known. Various types of hand rolls are performed at the annual kayaking competition in Greenland, using the same actions as the throwing stick rolls. For the competitively inclined, thirty capsize manoeuvres are included in the championship. Sculling on the side, on the chest, and the standard roll each gain two points per side, while the "straight-jacket" no-hands roll earns eleven a side.

Not all the known rolls etc. are tested in the competition. The "balance" brace, the paddler lying back in the water, allows for rest on a journey when coming ashore is not practicable. Trying this in a pool session enables one to relax into a prolonged state of therapeutic meditation while clogging up the deep end and annoying everybody else.

Traditional skin-on-frame Greenland boats have a low decks behind the cockpit and also in front of it (the paddler sits with straight legs). This facilitates both backward- and forward-leaning recoveries. Especially low volume boats are made for the rolling events. Back in West Wickham, the pool rotobats work fairly well, except for their nasty habit of attacking my paddle with sticking-out boltheads. The "throwing stick" is a simplified replica only and is almost completely harmless.

So why the funny paddle? The narrow blade reduced the sound of water dripping from the paddle when sneaking up on seals. Being also unfeathered and buoyant, it can be readily used as a stabilizing outrigger for a Greenland kayak by sliding one end under the deck straps. There are more general advantages. The paddle can be gripped comfortably anywhere along its length making extended strokes easy and secure. Orientating the blade for rolling when under water is straightforward and rolls on either side are exactly the same. It doesn't present a large and high surface area for a side wind to catch, and there isn't the potential for tenosynovitis that can accompany the usual modern instrument. I find a Greenland paddle easier on the old musculo-skeletal system generally.

"Storm" paddles with very short looms were used in areas prone to high winds (and they're also handy for the swimming pool). This design has a minimum of upper blade exposed to the air when the lower one is fully immersed, and requires the use of a sliding stroke where the top hand moves up to hold the blade rather than the loom. Standard length paddles are typically held with the thumbs and forefingers round the loom, other fingers on the roots of the blades.

In forward paddling, some of the techniques needed to use Greenland paddles to best advantage conflict with conventional wisdom and may appear to defy the laws of physics. For example trunk rotation is less obvious and the stroke is a long one, accelerating towards the exit which is well behind the hip. A canted blade where the top edge is slightly forward of the lower improves the grip on the water, and a boat with a low foredeck helps the abdominal muscles to be put to work. Speed is comparable with that achieved using conventional paddles.

Unlike their contemporary counterparts, Greenland paddles - and the various ways of using them - evolved over a considerable period of time. I would suggest that they have their applications today and are certainly worth considering by the sea paddler.

A far as a suitable boat, the closer the approximation to a traditional Greenland type the better, on the whole, but a Greenland-style kayak certainly isn't essential. This is just as well in my case, since objections have been raised to a very reasonable plan to build one in the living room.

Sources of further information are the U.S. "Sea Kayaker" magazine - see the back issues section - and the Greenland Kayak Association website at http://www.qajaqusa.org

* The British Museum currently (March 2002) has a website tour of Greenland kayaking clothing, start at http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/compass

Andrew Bien

with acknowledgements to John Heath and Greg Stamer