™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ At the Mystic gathering, Perry met a kindred spirit in Turner
Wilson, a residential architect who picked up a Greenland paddle before ever touching a Euro blade. Seven years ago, the pair started Kayak Ways, a traditional paddling and boat building school now based in Brownfield, Maine. With his ZZ Top beard and glacier blue eyes, paddling a can- vas skin on wood frame kayak he built in Kayak Ways’ restored 150-year-old barn, Wilson has the look of a man whose values and methods lie outside the mainstream. “The rest and repose of Greenland-style is very different from splashing around with a Euro blade,” Wilson says. “It’s a deep connection with the water.” How the skills are passed on is also different, there’s no formal
certification system. Wilson says that most Greenland-style in- structors “just fall into teaching because people come up and ask, ‘how’d you do that?’ ” He calls this traditional dispersal of knowl- edge “spreading the Green virus.” This summer, as with the past two, Perry and Wilson are taking their teachings on the road, living out of a tent and their paddling gear-crammed Chevy Silverado while touring between Greenland- style events, workshops and guided trips. Each year, the Green vi-
rus seems to spread further. Last summer, they filmed an instruc- tional DVD, This is the Roll, with acclaimed filmmaker Justine Curgenven, shooting in B.C., Italy and the UK. This year, they hit Australia and will tour across the U.S. and Canada. The virus is also evolving new strains. “Five years ago, no one could do forward finishing rolls, no one
toured, they just parked and went out to work on a list of rolls,” says Wilson, adding that today’s traditional paddling scene is more diversified. Still, the enigmatic roll remains an undeniable draw to the skin-
ny blade. Even if you only have an hour, even if it’s 20 below zero outside, even if you don’t have access to a kayak or water, in fact— you can still work on your Greenland rolls in pool sessions or with rope gymnastics in your basement. So where does traditional paddling go from here? “Paddling
Greenland-style is about discovery,” says Wilson. “It will continue to grow in fascinating, incredible and complicated ways.” —Virginia Marshall
™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™
www.adventurekayakmag.com 37
PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
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