Padilla, from Alaska to round out the instructor team. I’m looking forward to meeting the famous Greenlander, but I almost lose my chance after he manages to miss his flight in Anchorage and is forced to connect through Phoenix and Buffalo. Thanks to some heroic, over- the-phone guidance from Roberts, Padil- la somehow arrives in time for Saturday morning classes. Padilla is at once worldy and disarm-
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ingly naïve. At lunch—over a plate of fries, watermelon and ketchup mopped up with white bread—he tells me about the delicious pizzas and tiny coffees in Italy, the peculiar toilets in the Land of the Ris- ing Sun (he’s been to Japan five times) and his Japanese students’ affinity for consum- ing huge quantities of beer just before a rolling lesson. Later, at a rope gymnastics demonstration, the champion cracks jokes with the crowd when the ropes pinch in sensitive places. Ontario Greenland Camp students
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benefit from Roberts and Hayes’ meticu- lous organization, Padilla’s spontaneous instruction style and Perry and Wilson’s carefully crafted progressions. “The qual- ity of the instruction is incredibly high,” says Roberts, “Cheri and Turner can get anyone rolling.”
By the end of the weekend, of the
roughly 50 percent of participants who have never rolled before, most are devel- oping a reliable standard Greenland roll. The more advanced students are storm, shotgun, norsaq and hand rolling. On Sunday afternoon, I squeeze into one
of Wilson’s skin-on-frame kayaks. It’s my first real foray in a hand-built Greenland kayak, and the difference is astonishing. Within minutes, I am able to perform rolls and braces that have eluded me for years. Hayes says it’s this rapid progression and sense of achievement that gets kayak- ers hooked on Greenland paddling—and Greenland Camp. She and Roberts are ex- pecting up to 80 participants this year, with many arriving from the northeastern states. “It inspires paddlers to develop more
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advanced skills and it’s just a lot of fun,” says Hayes. “Plus, the camp has promised real coffee this year!” No word yet on re- painting the cabins.™
Trip Planner ONTARIO GREENLAND CAMP
The instructor roster at this year’s camp includes Cheri Perry, Turner Wilson and stick ninja, Dubside, to name a few.
Why Dig When You Can Glide?
www.gullwingpaddles.com 42 ADVENTURE KAYAK | EARLY SUMMER 2012
WHEN: September 6–9, 2012 WHERE: Camp Tamarack, Bracebridge, Ontario LEARN MORE:
www.ontariogreenlandcamp.com
PHOTO: VIRGINIA MARSHALL
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