Why preserve the history of Kayaking?
So why worry about preserving the past? Why preserve the Greenland Qajaq Culture? It is my belief that history has value. Amongst the many things history can teach us are skills, values, identity, and it can provide a legacy around which communities can be sustained.
Either kill me or save me
How my relationship with the water has kept me alive.
Fall fun with the Finns
There are only a few weeks left now when the water will be fluid in Minnesota. The Fall (Autumn) represents the transition from green to brown as the leaves move through the intense colors from green to reds to golden yellow before finally falling brown and withered....
Two Taiwanese neoclassical paddling enthusiasts and a carbon stick.
I first met Chungshih Sun and Henry Po Hsiang Chang for breakfast in the lobby restaurant at Hotel Novotel at Taipei Taoyuan International Airport in November, 2014. They were not hard to spot, crossing the lobby with a Greenland paddle bag across their backs was kind...
What is Greenland kayak rolling?
Technique, sport, craft or art? Greenland kayak rolling is like writing, many people do it, each for their own reason and purpose. Each person seeks to achieve a different outcome. There is a deeply personal connection, a relationship, between the paddler and their...
Bomb proofing your roll
I help a lot of people learn how to roll their kayak. Many people come to a mentoring session and leave having completed a dozen or so rolls that they never dreamed they could do successfully. Many people come back to their next session saying their rolls vanished as...
Breaking through the glass ceiling – elbow rolling
Yesterday evening I ran a mentoring session at the cabin, helping people to develop their kayak rolling. Two other mentors, Mike and Renee, came to help. A few people showed up early, Mike being one of them. Mike and I don’t get enough time to play together so I leapt...
Anders Thygesen – A Portrait of Paddling Passion
Two years ago my world changed for the better; I met Anders Thygsesn at the Delmarva Paddler's Retreat. It is not often that I meet someone who so profoundly moved me through their words and actions. Externally he is a tall lanky man, with wavy hair, dashing good...
Akuilisaq, Aaqatit and Avataaq – the three A’s of Greenlandic kayaking
To many people simply paddling with a skinny stick is sufficient to consider themselves a traditional paddler, however as you dig deeper into the Inuit qajaq culture you will discover a wealth of alternative gear to use in your kayak that can enhance your exploration...
Saying good bye to Chris
Chris died last year. His passing was inevitable, stupid words I suppose, each of us will pass, yet Chris passed too soon for me. Yes I grieved when I heard the news from my father. In the moment I think I grieved more for the feelings I imagined within my...
The Rebirth of a Tradition – The Launch of Brooks Paddle Gear
25 years ago, give or take a few, kayaking was nearly extinct in Greenland. It was not only the Inuit’s skills afloat that were being lost, but the ancient art of making paddle gear, equipment like the seal skin tuilik, the avataq and the akuilisaq had all but...
Your most intimate paddling relationship?
Do you fall in love with paddles? I do. I must confess though I am a paddle philanderer. My passion for paddles continues to grow, each time I meet a new paddle I imagine how it will feel slicing though the water, I get giddy anticipating what it can teach me. Each...