What the best way to learn to camp sea kayaking ? A week at the most ,on
lake erie. Year around camping , winter (maybe) .

Drew Cutter wrote:
What the best way to learn to camp sea kayaking ? A week at the most ,on
lake erie. Year around camping , winter (maybe) .

Get some dry bags, pack your camping gear in them, shove 'em in your
boat and do an overnight trip. Repeat a few times until you've got your
gear needs and packing scheme worked out, then do your longer trip(s).

Brain ,

Looking at buying Greenland style paddle . How different are the paddle
strokes and roll with the Greenland paddle ?

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
What the best way to learn to camp sea kayaking ? A week at the most
,on lake erie. Year around camping , winter (maybe) .

Get some dry bags, pack your camping gear in them, shove 'em in your
boat and do an overnight trip. Repeat a few times until you've got your
gear needs and packing scheme worked out, then do your longer trip(s).

One thing at a time.
I am not a great Greenland paddle fan but they certainly have a place.
For the camping I would do a couple of short camping hikes first where
you won't be so isolated should you forget something. When you have
your ducks in a row and you know you have the right gear and a
knowledge of how it works then you get dry bags and stuff it into a sea
kayak and off you go.
My winter kayak camping is restricted to a serious day paddle with all
the gear to camp followed by a night in a B & B or hotel.
In summer you can normally get off with kit omissions and not be any
the worse for it all.
I have some fabulous winter camping photos.
We were out once and had a major dump of snow that we never realy
noticed. When finished camping we found out that the city was shut
down, roads blocked and we were very lucky our shuttle vehicles were
all large 4X4's This was a long time ago and predates SUV's as we know
them.
If you have access to the outside world from your planned camping sites
you should be fine. We never have that here.
Alex

I'm considering Lake Fontaine (sp?) on the N.C , TN border . Then work
my way up to island on lake Erie.

wrote:
One thing at a time.
I am not a great Greenland paddle fan but they certainly have a place.
For the camping I would do a couple of short camping hikes first where
you won't be so isolated should you forget something. When you have
your ducks in a row and you know you have the right gear and a
knowledge of how it works then you get dry bags and stuff it into a sea
kayak and off you go.
My winter kayak camping is restricted to a serious day paddle with all
the gear to camp followed by a night in a B & B or hotel.
In summer you can normally get off with kit omissions and not be any
the worse for it all.
I have some fabulous winter camping photos.
We were out once and had a major dump of snow that we never realy
noticed. When finished camping we found out that the city was shut
down, roads blocked and we were very lucky our shuttle vehicles were
all large 4X4's This was a long time ago and predates SUV's as we know
them.
If you have access to the outside world from your planned camping sites
you should be fine. We never have that here.
Alex

On 28 Jan 2006 15:00:11 GMT, Drew Cutter wrote:

I'm considering Lake Fontaine (sp?) on the N.C , TN border . Then work
my way up to island on lake Erie.

Fontana Lake? That's a good way to get over to some nice camping in GSMNP.
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com

Drew Cutter wrote:
I'm considering Lake Fontaine (sp?) on the N.C , TN border . Then work
my way up to island on lake Erie.

Remember that Fontana is a winter draw down lake for Flood Control, so
you generally have to work your way over some mud to get to the
campsites. However, the north side of Fontana is in the GSMNP and there
are some nice sites that are boat in only.

Larry

Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

Looking at buying Greenland style paddle . How different are the paddle
strokes and roll with the Greenland paddle ?

The stroke is quite different, though it may not be obvious. You don't
reach as far forward (~ mid-calf) at the start, power is applied more
gradually and the paddle exits well past the hip. The upper hand is push
diagonally across the deck and down. As with a Euro paddle, the height
of the stroke varies with how hard you're paddling. The harder you're
going, the more vertical the stroke becomes.

The canted stroke is a more advanced stroke used by most Greenland
paddlers. The upper edge of the blade is canted forward at the catch.
This causes the blade to bury very quickly and increases its bite on the
water during the stroke. It takes some getting use to, but it's very
effective.

As for making the transition, it depends on what you're using now. If
you're using a feathered paddle, there's a certain amount of
"un-learning" involved, since there is no control hand with a GP.

Rolling with a GP is so easy that it almost seems like cheating.

Brain ,

Where can i get lessons or books on perfecting the Greenland style of
paddling. I know someone who is just finishing up a wooden sea kayak.
Sounds like he was interested in purchasing Greenland paddle. Did find
an article in latest kayak/canoe magazine.

Brian Nystrom wrote:
Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

Looking at buying Greenland style paddle . How different are the
paddle strokes and roll with the Greenland paddle ?

The stroke is quite different, though it may not be obvious. You don't
reach as far forward (~ mid-calf) at the start, power is applied more
gradually and the paddle exits well past the hip. The upper hand is push
diagonally across the deck and down. As with a Euro paddle, the height
of the stroke varies with how hard you're paddling. The harder you're
going, the more vertical the stroke becomes.

The canted stroke is a more advanced stroke used by most Greenland
paddlers. The upper edge of the blade is canted forward at the catch.
This causes the blade to bury very quickly and increases its bite on the
water during the stroke. It takes some getting use to, but it's very
effective.

As for making the transition, it depends on what you're using now. If
you're using a feathered paddle, there's a certain amount of
"un-learning" involved, since there is no control hand with a GP.

Rolling with a GP is so easy that it almost seems like cheating.

Drew Cutter wrote:
Brain ,

Where can i get lessons or books on perfecting the Greenland style of
paddling. I know someone who is just finishing up a wooden sea kayak.
Sounds like he was interested in purchasing Greenland paddle. Did find
an article in latest kayak/canoe magazine.

The best resource for GP information is the Qajaq USA website:
www.qajaqusa.org. There are written descriptions and video clips that
should show you all you need to know.