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How do I hold a Greenland Paddle?
Since Greenland Paddles are all symmetrical they don’t have a powerface or an upper edge, meaning you can’t hold it upside down.
Form an “O” with your thumb and forefinger around the loom and slide them out until you’re stopped at the inside of the paddle’s shoulder, then rest your hand in a neutral position on the blade. By doing this, the shape of the loom allows the upper edge of the blade to tilt forward. It might feel a bit counter-intuitive at first, but this canted blade position is the starting point of your forward stroke. As you rotate through the forward stroke you can use your pinky finger to fine-tune the blade angle to prevent the blade from fluttering.
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Tell me about paddling Greenland-style.
We recommend that you take a lesson and/or hook up with local stick paddlers to get some instruction. At the end of the day, when it feels effortless – the blade is slicing quietly through the water without that flutter you’re likely to experience for the first couple of strokes and you’re moving along smoothly – your paddle is telling you that you’re doing it right.
It’s quite technical but this article contains a lot of information about paddling a Greenland Paddle.
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Do I have to learn to roll my kayak if I get a stick?
It’s absolutely legitimate to have a Greenland Paddle and to use it for paddling only, or to even have it just on the deck as a spare, if you must. So, no, you don’t have to, but we can’t promise that you won’t end up wanting to give Greenland rolling a try.
We like to think that Greenland Paddles, with their buoyancy and forgiveness when it comes to blade angle on the water, can help paddlers expand their technical skill set. Improving sweep and draw strokes, achieving reliable bracing skills… It was definitely a slippery slope for us at Machaon Wood Creations.