Greenland Rolling with Dubside and Leon Sommé of Body Boat Blade
October 31, 2005
I spent Saturday in a Greenland rolling class in Bowman Bay by Deception Pass with Dubside and Leon Sommé from Body Boat Blade. It was a small group (3 students on Saturday, I think 6 on Sunday) and the event was not highly publicized. We had students at all levels, some starting out with only a couple rolls. I was able to hit the norsamik masikkut (forward start-forward finish norsaq roll) and tallit paarlatsillugit paateqarluni/masikkut (cross arm roll) for the first time -- YEAH! I finally hit ariaammillugu (spine roll) also, but only in Leon's Romany, not my own skin-on-frame Misterie. I was able to convince Leon that he really should try out my kayak and tuilik for a few minutes just so I could try that roll out in his kayak. That's a lot of progress in one day after weeks of trying these rolls on my own! One guy James broke his Greenland paddle. Apparently the next day Sunday Leon broke the Greenland paddle he made 15 years ago -- ouch!
Dubside has relocated to Anacortes. He's been living at Corey Freedman's place, the Skinboat School. He doesn't have a car so he hasn't been able to transport his kayak around to go paddling. There is a small pond nearby about 5-6 feet deep so he's been practicing his rolls there. The poor guy's been living a few miles away from world class paddling in the San Juan Islands and he's floating around in a pond! I think about all the droppings I saw on the workshop floor from the pet goose at the Skinboat School when I was there.
Bowman Bay was incredibly busy for the fall. I saw as many kayakers as I did when I went there during the summer -- a lot of people going through the Pass. These people would wash down their fiberglass kayaks with fresh water from their water bottles afterwards. Oh man, <em>give me a break!</em> No matter how much you try to keep it looking like new, guys, it's still just an ugly fiberglass boat! (I'm really turning in to such a wooden boat snob!)