Are Greenland paddles going mainstream?

I seem to do most of my paddling with my trusty basswood Greenland paddle and have done so for probably a decade now. I still get the questions from people asking 'Is that thing as good as a real paddle?'but not as often as I used to. I really don't remember what prompted me to purchase a Greenland paddle in the first place but I do remember it was from Dale Hedtke at the now defunct Boat House across from the Schmidt Brewery in St Paul. I took the thing out to Lake Calhoun and was aggravated and muttering for about 15 minutes as I attempted to figure out how to make that damn fluttering and cavitation stop. Eventually my muscles figured out the technique or maybe the paddle showed my muscles the correct technique, I'm not sure. As my skinny stick paddling progressed I slowly fell in with the riff raff that makes wooden boats, skin on frames, and carves their own Greenland sticks. At that time there was a growing group of Greenland enthusiasts but not that much general interest in the blades, a condition that seems to be changing.

Most of the kayak symposiums I've attended are offering an expanded Greenland or traditional learning path and I know a lot of folks who have either carved one or bought a Greenland stick to play with from time to time. I think that the majority of paddlers would agree the Greenland paddle is easier to roll with than the standard Euro blade. More companies are producing Greenland paddles and a number of clubs and other organizations are offering classes in carving a personal Greenland paddle. Just this last week however I became aware of a couple things that could be the tipping point for increased Greenland paddle usage. One was a review of carbon fiber blades in the October 2011 Sea Kayaker by Christopher Cunningham. The other was a post late last year by Eric Soares of the Tsunami Rangers about finally getting a Greenland stick in his hands. And loving it.

The Sea Kayaker gear review focused on three carbon fiber Greenland blades that are currently being produced commercially. I happen to know a paddle maker just west of the Reefer Creek deer camp, FivePieceRoy, that's making the things for fun. They are of commercial quality, a good thing in some ways but a bad thing if a guy happens to be sending one as a gift to his daughter in Iceland. Since it was 'obviously' a commercial paddle the authorities made her pay $250 in duty. Oh well. I have not seen the Northern Lights paddles but I like the idea of the insert that can turn it into a storm paddle. Of the three, Superior has been around the longest and Novorca is our local operation here in the Twin Cities. RonS, the owner and founder, was kind enough to throw a piece of basswood I had into his CNC machine and crank me out an Aleut blade. That blade style almost seems like a stepping stone between the Euro and the traditional Greenland paddle. I find myself using a bit of a modified wing paddle style when I use it and it is very quiet as it enters the water. I prefer wood personally because it just seems alive in my hands. It also has twice as much flex or whip as the carbon fiber, an attribute measured by Christopher Cunningham in his review. It makes me feel I get that extra snap or push at the end of the stroke. The warm feel of wood is a plus as well, and many times my paddling companions have had gloves on while I've been paddling along with my nice warm wood paddle shaft in my hands. That being said, carbon fiber is very popular and one fact is undeniable; it is amazingly light and strong. I have broken two Sitka spruce paddles, the only wood that seemingly can compete in the lightness category, so strength is an important attribute. I do hope to play with a Northern Lights three piece however, and rumor has it they will be arriving at Boreal Shores in the not too distant future. ChrisG offered to let me borrow his NL paddle, a ploy that I'm sure he hopes works as well as the time he let me borrow his NDK Explorer HV.

I was mildly amazed when I stumbled on to Eric Soares' blog post on his Greenland paddle experience. I think of rock garden play and surf battling as the domain of the gigantic Euro spoon blade and that seems to be where the Tsunami Rangers live. It sounds like it took ten years and watching John Heath, Maligiaq, Dubside, and Helen Wilson for him to finally grab one and head out onto the water. The bottom line on the experience: "Two thumbs up!". 'Fad or Future?' was the title of his post and that would seem to be the question.

All paddle styles have their pros and cons and it's fun to have more than one arrow in the quiver. It always takes me about 10 minutes to get adjusted once I go from one blade to the other but that's just part of the fun of paddling. If you haven't tried one, grab a Greenland paddle. I understand they are not contagious and can only enhance your paddling knowledge. If you really want to get your head around what the Greenland blade can do, head up to the Traditional Gathering the weekend after Labor Day. There you can rub shoulders with the riff raff I described in the first paragraph, watch Helen Wilson do her thing (and perhaps, like Eric Soares, be inspired), perhaps have a shot with Will Bigelow, and help thin out the overpopulation of styrofoam seals on Lake Carlos via harpoon. The bugs are gone and took the humidity along with them, the air is crisp, the water clear and warm, and its prime time in the Great Lakes paddling season. Don't miss it!

Seamanship

In the comments section of the previous post about the kayak group that attempted to paddle to the mainland sea caves under what had been roughly 24 hours of small craft warnings, kykr13 points out that while there were a dozen comments on the stupidity of the paddlers there were none on the stupidity of the 39' powerboat that apparently just ran into the Ashland harbor breakwall. Both required a response by federal agencies but apparently the powerboat screwup did not raise the ire of the public like the kayaker screwup did. Methinks that if there were a black box recorder on boats, most boating accidents in Wisconsin might occur after the phrase, "Hey, hold my beer and watch this!". Both incidents beg the real question however. If you buy a kayak, are you a kayaker? If you own a big 39' cruiser are you a boater? And if you have a sailboat in a slip in Bayfield are you a sailor? My answer to the question would have to be an unequivocal 'hell no'.

I gave up motorcycling a few years ago when I realized that my 'slightly modified' 1986 Gold Wing Interstate simply insisted on going too fast for my personal safety. I realized this after getting a speeding ticket for going 77 in a 55mph zone. I was actually pretty happy because when I sensed the State Trooper I jammed on both brakes and managed to get down to 77 from 115mph before he triggered the radar lock. At that point I had 30 years of street bike experience. This was during the peak of the Harley 'get on the waiting list' craze. We used to look down at what we called the 20/20 riders, guys that had $20,000 and 20 miles of motorcycle riding experience under their belts. Those guys owned motorcycles but they were not 'bikers' in any sense of the word. There are plenty of people using the water that are in that same position. The VOR and I went sailing last night with my buddy Jonesy and his lovely spouse. He is a sailor and has been for years. A person never needs to wonder if we are coming about, his angles are precise, he knows the waters, and if there is a terminology slip up he will let you immediately know that there are no ropes on a sailboat. He also knows the rules of the water inside and out, crucial on busy Lake Minnetonka, where everything from vintage Chris Craft and the restored steam streetcar ferry Minnehaha to stand up paddlers and jet skis can be found.

The stakes on Lake Superior are exponentially higher than on an inland lake like Minnetonka. Seamanship on Gitchee Gumee involves knowledge of right of way rules, navigation by map, compass and watch as well as the gps, local knowledge of the area of the lake you are on, a keen weather eye, and a strong and honest sense of your ability and the strengths and weaknesses of the craft you are piloting. This whole mix of skills and awareness are what make up seamanship. Seamanship also requires a rather large dose of common sense. While you may legally have the right of way over the Paul R Tregurtha, exercising that right of way would be the act of a suicidal idiot. There are those that might say that having all your sails up as the thunderstorm approaches or heading to the mainland caves with 3'-5 footers and 20-30 knot winds would fall into the same category. So would trying to catch that last lake trout while trolling several miles offshore as the east wind is howling and the front approaches from the west.

Is one stupider than the other? I think not. Egalitarian stupidity encompasses all of the scenarios above. Part of the seamanship thing is an awareness of the other craft on the water and their strengths and weaknesses. Judging speed and angle of approach so you can decide whether to safely pass in front of or wait to pass behind the Island Queen is a good skill to have. Awareness of wind direction and when sailboats are likely to tack is another. If you are in a power boat and a reasonable distance from kayakers do you slow down? (My answer: No. The wake of a boat that is planed out is much less than the wake generated by a boat plowing along at low speed). This watercraft cross training can be surveyed by taking a Power Squadron course, which is a great idea no matter what gets you out on the water. The bottom line is that we are all on the water and we all need to get smarter. In a lot of cases much, much smarter. Read Silbs fine post on seamanship and also Professor Lichen's on when the 'kayaking light' went on. Think about whether the people you are sharing the water with perceive you as a kayaker, sailor, boater or whether, like the 20/20 motorcyclists, just a yokel who happens to have enough money to own the watercraft they are piloting. It is a very crucial distinction for you, the other people on the lake, and the people that may have to risk their lives to save your dumb ass when you get in over your head. Actively pursue getting better at your chosen watersport and at being more aware of your water environment. Everyone benefits.

Poor judgement at the sea caves. Again

I've written a number of posts on the decision to paddle or not to paddle and on the conditions around the mainland sea caves in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. It is well known that two paddlers died in very similar incidents there over the past few years, so well known that a group of federal and state entities and volunteer groups rounded up the money to install a real time wave observation station that's linked under the Lake Superior resources on the right of this very blog post. There is also a large sign at the top of the stairs warning of the conditions that can and frequently do occur in the Meyers Beach and mainland sea caves area. In a nutshell, there seems to be plenty of printed and online information out there plus the ace in the hole: there is a ranger stationed at the launch advising people on conditions at the time they are launching. I think former Vikings coach Denny Green framed the underlying problem best however. When asked what he thought of the criticism of his underachieving football team on the sports talk radio stations he replied,'The beauty of this country is that anyone can state their opinion. The other beauty of it is that I don't have to listen to it'. Unfortunately this is the attitude with some of the paddlers leaving for the caves. It is usually the guys (and I emphasize 'guys' here) in the 10' rec boats with cutoffs, Tshirts, and no spray skirt. This time was different however. It was 10 paddlers on a guided trip with longtime Bayfield outfitter Trek & Trail.

Check out the story in the Ashland Current for the basic facts of the story. Waves 2-3' and building and a ranger on the scene discouraging the party from launching were facts that are not in dispute. We don't know the skill level of the customers, what NOAA was saying on the radio, or how experienced the guides were but from my perspective the whole scenario just does not smell good. Typically experienced paddlers don't pay for the privilege of a guided day trip to the sea caves, they just saddle up and head out. This means the group were advanced beginners at best. If the guides were truly experienced and had that hard won 'local knowledge', they would know that with a west wind the bluebird, sun bathing weather on Meyers Beach at the launch would turn into those 2-3 footers once they got out past the wind shadow of Mawikwe Point. They also would know that those same 2-3 footers, maybe nice swells out past the point, or more likely building waves with the wind blowing the tops off them, would turn into a disorganized mess once they hit the sheer walls of the caves and bounced back out into the lake, clapotis/reflection wave conditions that would extend at least 300 yards out from the caves. There is a image, taken by the RTWOS camera during a September storm of a reflection induced eleven foot high square wave off the caves.

On guided trips the clients tend to trust the guides judgement because that's why they purchased the guided trip in the first place. They want to see the cool sights, learn a bit about the sport, and do so in a safe and controlled manner. It sounds like that trust was misplaced in this case. A similar incident involving a guided girl scout group from another state and a rapidly developing thunderstorm occurred a couple years ago but it was apparent that the 'guides' were from an inland environment and had minimal experience on the big lake. Not the case this time around. Reading the comments on the linked article and the one before it when the story came out are interesting. "Why should the taxpayers shoulder the burden of rescuing people that supposed professionals placed in danger?". "We should blame the guide service this time. Lives at risk is unacceptable. Suspend their license and fine them". " The clients did the responsible thing and paid to be taken out to the sea caves by professionals probably becuase they wanted a safer experience than going out alone. We can't put all of the blame the clients for being stupid or inexperienced. We CAN blame the guide service". "People who require rescue services out there should be billed for their stupidity". My personal favorite.....not!........"I think the government should take over the guide service like they did GM. Then everything would be better. Those private companies just take too many risks to make a buck".

Bill em for the rescue, fine em, stupid clients, etc. I'm sure this is not the end of this story, there will be more coming out in the next few weeks. Park officials are meeting with the owner of Trek & Trail today. It would be an interesting discussion to hear. I personally had an experience with the company back in 1997, when it was under a different owner, that had me questioning their decision making process but that's another post. I was in the same position as the eight clients were in this incident, an unconscious incompetent in the Lake Superior kayaking world, trusting the judgement and experience of the people I'd hired to make me better. It didn't quite turn out that way and it sounds like this trip didn't either. The attitude of the locals is summed up in this one last comment on the news story. "Dear kayaking tourists, thank you for bringing your tourist dollars into our area but please stop putting our locals at risk with your cocky attitudes towards Lake Superior". In this case the comment needs to be directed squarely at the two guides and perhaps the 'corporate culture' of the Bayfield tour outfitter. It will be both interesting and instructive as this thing plays out.

Food and paddling

My elusive, globe trotting friend, the BessemerConvivialist, has been scarce on the water this year. Last night in a multitasking coup de grace, she managed to combine a bit of kayaking with her service on the board of the Youth Farm & Market Project. At a fundraising auction for the organization she offered a guided paddle trip with instruction, lovely appetizers, and wine on the water for two. The folks that won the bid asked if they could bring another couple and 'double down' on the bid. The BC jumped on that like a hawk on a field mouse and the deal was done. The problem was she only had one extra boat.

Enter the ManFromSnowyLegs, BemidjiIntelOfficer, the VoiceOfReason, and me. The SKOAC trailer was rounded up, along with paddles, life jackets, and other gear. The MFSL dropped off the trailer at our joint with two boats and we added two more, a couple on the roof, and headed for Cedar Lake. We unloaded just as the four auction winners, Ron, Paula, Ed, and Lisa showed up. Some quick instruction, sans spray skirts, and we were on the flat water of the Minneapolis city chain of lakes.

Youth farm is part of a growing initiative to showcase locally grown food. City kids are shown that carrots are not little finger shaped, uniform things in a plastic bag at the grocery store. They need to be planted, weeded, tended, and harvested. They learn that performing this work, mainly outdoors, is kinda fun. A big lesson of the program teaches them that this 'homegrown' food is not only tasty and healthful, but that people will give them money for it! One of my skinny stick buddies, FrogtownTony, and his wife FTownPatty, are involved in getting a program of that type off the ground in their St Paul neighborhood. The VOR, who will shortly be feeding 11,000 kids a day in the South Washington School District, is actively involved in a farm to school program. Locally grown produce is purchased and showcased on the school menus for that month. September is 'beet month' with a couple recipes from the outstanding Duluth Grill. More importantly, local chefs are buying the produce as the local food movement gains critical mass. This evening there is another fund raiser for Youth Farm at Brasa Minneapolis. Brasa used to be a nice, quiet place in a converted Midas Muffler shop in NE Mpls. Then things happened like a couple feature on the Food Network and a bunch of people in New York City deciding that the chef/owner Alex Roberts should get something called the James Beard Award. Now, to misquote Yogi Berra, "Nobody goes there any more, its too crowded". But if you go there tonite Chef Alex will whip up some wonderful chow, you can listen to some live music, and support Youth Farm, all in one fell swoop.

Back on Cedar Lake, we paddled through the channels to Lake of the Isles, took a quick lap around the west end of Isles, and then back to Cedar. We rafted up, hauled out the wine and horz doovers, and watched a spectacular sunset. Our guests, who lived near the lake and spent lots of time walking and biking around it, marveled at the view from the water and the new perspective that it offered. As Ed said, "We could be in the BWCA if not for the lights". We paddled back when the sunset show was over, said our goodbyes, and loaded up. It was as they say, a good night on the water.

Launching kayaks at Red Cliff

If my increasingly flawed memory serves me correctly, the very first time I visited the Apostle Islands was when I was a high school sophomore. It was a family trip with my youngest sister's god parents and we used a combination of tents and a couple Ford Econoline vans for the sleeping arrangements. That same Econoline, pictured below circa 1977 or so, was used throughout my college years as a road trip machine, cheap camper, and general party bus. Note the lovely curtains and attractive paneling screwed into the door panels. On that very first trip we camped the first night at the Red Cliff campground, which was and is run by the Red Cliff band of Lake Superior Chippewa. When the casino craze hit a few years back the tribe put up a modest casino and the campground and marina stayed pretty much the same as it was those many decades ago when I made my first visit. That is not the case these days though, as the Legendary Waters Casino opened for business last weekend.

During most of the construction kayakers could not launch from the marina. The pessimistic side of me feared that we might never launch there again as the fancy new casino dominated the former campground area. The whole point of the casino is to make money and the perception in the area is that kayakers show up with twenty bucks in their pockets and one pair of underwear and neither gets changed during the entire visit. It is not an unfounded observation. I am very happy to report that paddlers can now launch from the marina and pay a modest launch and parking fee. Pay at the new casino and park in the lot across the street at the old casino. I would also suggest that we frugal paddlers support the tribe in their endeavor. You don't have to double down at the blackjack table or put a weeks pay on the come line at the craps table but at least have a nice greasy burger or some fresh whitefish at the new digs. Pack that stinkin' MSR Whisperlite stove away for when you are on the island, suck it up, sit down at a table in what is sure to be a dining room with a spectacular view of Basswood Island, and spend a couple bucks on a fine meal. Heck, a person could even stay at their hotel the first night in town rather than making that night crossing to Oak or Basswood.

It seems like the vast majority of Apostles trips that I've done over the years have originated at the Red Cliff Marina. It's a great launch site, aims directly at the heart of the archipelago, and is perfectly sheltered from all directions. Bayfield adds 3 miles both ways and pretty much adds an hour to your trip on both ends as well as parking nightmares. Little Sand Bay is an excellent launch and location but its tough nailing that first night reservation on York or Sand, a critical thing if a person want to start with a short paddle at dusk after driving up after work. I daresay there is a lot more to do that is within striking distance if paddlers are staying at Red Cliff campground than there is at the Town of Russell facility at LSB. Right now the launching beach is minimal due to the orange netting that keeps construction runoff out of the bay but that will be gone soon. We should be happy that the Red Cliff band has seen fit to accommodate we kayakers at their new facility, especially since other marina owners in the area look at us as undesirable riff raff. Spend a couple bucks at the new facility, tell the folks that you interact with how grateful you are that we are allowed to launch there, and thank them for their support of our sport over the years. Just be sure to never take a hit on 17 or put your money on '8 the hard way' at the crap table.