One of the real benefits of greenland paddles is the ability to paddle long distances with minimum strain. To test this out, the Fat Paddler used a greenland paddle on the Hawkesbury Canoe Classic, a 111km marathon paddle held at night in NSW, Australia.
Surprisingly, out of 600 competitors in this event, only 2 (including the Fat Paddler) were using Greenland paddles. And even more surprising was the fact that so many of the competitive paddlers (ie flat-water racers) didn’t even know what sort of paddle it was, or its background, or indeed seemingly any of the history of their sport. Some competitors even suggested that doing it with a Greenland paddle was a way of making the event even more difficult, obviously oblivious to the benefits of a GP over longer distances.
Of course, as the speedsters started to tire at about the 35km mark, there was a certain look of dismay as the paddler with his funny-looking stick and steady pace started to overtake them. First one, then ten, then twenty, as the benefits of the stick became apparent.
Of course that’s not to say that the Greenland paddle erradicated fatigue. But another benefit of the stick is that you can use it to paddle in different ways, resting muscle groups as needed. It was helpful to use a low-angled stroke for several kms, then switch to a slow sliding stroke for several kilometres, to even gripping the paddle like a canoe paddle for several kilometres! Each change in style used new muscle groups and rested those getting sore, meaning fewer rest stops and more continued paddling.
Fat Paddler finished the event in 18 hours, 2 minutes and 31 seconds, definitely a slow time and towards the back of the field, although as he puts it, it’s far tougher to push 130kg through the water then the light weight racers 70-80kgs! But there were a good 75-odd paddlers who weren’t able to finish, and it would have been be interesting to see if changing paddles would have made a difference for these paddlers.
In the end, did the Fat paddler feel it helped his Hawkesbury campaign? “I’d have never made it without it!” was the quick response. Another big thumbs up for our beloved stick!
