Häppy rolling day
Today is the 4th of July. Henceforth it shall be named the Häppy Rolling Day.
Why, I hear you ask for yourself? Well, we are a bunch of people from different nations, here on Greenland for the same cause. To have fun and do our best. It just happens to be a holiday for some nation or the other. Independence. Suck on that word for a while and imagine Greenland and the way it's been treated in politics as of late. Then think of how many times the very same politicians have mentioned the friendly, free, (pretty) independent people of Greenland.
It Is What It Is
I think the mentality here in Greenland is top notch for competitions. It is what it is. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they need a workaround. Today I waited for 8 hours to perform my rolls. It was freezing to wait outside in the small Nuuk old harbour for that long. And finally when rolling, the waves were bouncing off the dock, which was distracting to say the least, even dizzying. I did not perform my very best. But so what? Others experienced the same thing. Water and air temperature were around 5 degrees today. Not a problem, just a challenge.
I saw a young local dude shaking spasmodically after his performance. Asked him if he was ok. He smiled and said, "no problem, it was fun," and gave me the (bare) thumbs up.
That's the Spirit
If you're ever so slightly into kayaking and/or rolling, which you probably are if you are reading this, keep that spirit up. Spread the love. Never exchange it for more competitiveness.
I guess the Olympic Games were like this some time very long ago.
The Walrus Pull
The Walrus Pull was a blast, I think for everyone. I did not see many people make the full length, which kind of is the point of the whole exercise. So what is a Walrus Pull? Well, you thread a rope on your Norsaq (harpoon throwing stick), stick the Norsaq between your lines behind the cockpit, lead the line under the kayak and let 5 men pull you as hard as they can for 10 meters. You are supposed to control your body position and kayak, without entering an uncontrolled capsize. Something like that. Hence the [ˈwɔːlrəs pʊl]. Or better yet, the Nusutsinneq kinngunani iluarisamut as the locals call it.
By the way, Jon David from Norway paddled upside down 36 meters, pusilluni paarneq. Why upside down? Because you can, of course.
Not Quite the Real Thing
Us foreigners are allowed to wear neoprene gloves, a warm neoprene Tuilik (kayak jacket), and generally use modern materials for our gear. We are not the real thing, but close. The fact we can do this or that many points in Greenland Rolling back home in lukewarm water does not reflect the difficulty of doing the same in classic gear and freezing temperatures.
In Greenland, the whole point is keeping up the tradition of your homegrown kayaks and equipment. To see who is the fastest kayaker, best rope gymnast, harpoon thrower and roller. In short, who can compete with ancient seal hunters, who risked their lives to keep their families alive.
Right now, the tuiliks and gloves need to be made of seal skin. Kayaks, on the other hand, can have a fabric cover and polyurethane sealant paint. Paddles are made of wood but can be laminated so they don't break. It's practical, more or less.
On that note, I broke my second paddle this week and am now convinced they were transport damaged on the flight. They were in the same bag. However, the right pieces broke and putting together one part of each, there still is one whole paddle after two broke and Murphy's law seems to not be present on Greenland right now. Ha!
Meanwhile
The incredibly friendly and laid back Norwegian, Jon David Jenssen, scored what was probably the highest score ever. He clearly won the ropes (will factcheck but points were 740+). At the "short" distance race of 3.700m you could almost not even see his competitors when he crossed the goal line in his own built long Igyak. In today's rolling he hit what may be the top (foreigner) score of all times. We will see at the prize ceremony.
Dude says he is here for the fun, to meet people and soak up the atmosphere. Maybe you should too when competing (anything) next time ;)