#124 - Martin Rickard - Greenland Calling: Respecting and Paddling Through History and Ice

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Welcome to Paddling the Blue. With each episode, we talk with guests from the

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Great Lakes and around the globe who are doing cool things related to sea kayaking.

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I'm your host, my name is John Chase, and let's get started Paddling the Blue.

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Welcome to today's episode of Paddling the Blue.

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Martin Ricard is today's guest on the show, and today we talk about his love

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for Greenland and its people, what started his passion for this beautiful land,

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and about following in the footsteps of Gino Watkins and Freddie Spencer Chapman.

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Thanks to George Shaw for helping make the connection to Martin.

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Enjoy today's episode with Martin Ricard. Hi Martin, welcome to Paddling the Blue.

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Hi John, thanks for inviting me. I feel quite honoured to be here.

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I appreciate you taking the opportunity. So we've got a lot of things to cover

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today, so let me start with this. Why paddling for you?

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Paddling for me? I think it was just something I

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was introduced to as a kid my father

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was quite outdoor focused introduced me to rock climbing and kayaking i suppose

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really actually kayaking is i i got really into kayaking when i started working

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in a an outdoor center in in england and i probably i went there primarily as a climbing instructor.

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But at the same time I was there, Nigel Dennis was there, and obviously he's

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well-known for sea kayaking. He just recently paddled around Britain.

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So I was working alongside him, and I'd kind of take him out after work and

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scare him rock climbing, and then at weekends we'd travel down to Anglesey and

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he'd scare me, sea paddling.

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I just fell into it, really. It was a good alternative.

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Sea kayaking was something we didn't at that time do at the Centre.

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We worked at and it was something that

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you could go to fresh wasn't something

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you'd been working a week on teaching a week or whatever

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so yeah and nigel obviously influenced

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quite a few of us to to take

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up sea kayaking sure that's quite a mentor to have at a young age yeah i think

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he's a bit oh he's a bit older than me but uh yeah i was just a kid 18 something

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like that i suppose we both started out as training instructors and he primarily

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went there i think to obviously.

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Learn how to run an outdoor center and then

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set his own up subsequently set his own up in future

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years so he was still in a heavy learning

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mode at that point as well yeah i think it

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was it was an exciting time really i was rubbing shoulders

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with lots of people sadly some aren't

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here anymore that's the nature of the game but a lot

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are and they've all gone on to do quite impressive

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things in in the outdoor fields that they've

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chosen as have you so we'll certainly talk

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about that here as well so do you still do any rock climbing no

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okay i might let my son drag me up a few

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routes but uh no i'm not uh not

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into climbing anymore i've had too many injuries damaged my

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back i've got two two replacement hips

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so i'm just glad to be able to do what

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i can do well in terms of what you've you've

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been able to do you've had some some pretty amazing adventures around the world

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and a big part of that has been guiding greenland so you've been guiding greenland

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trips for more than 20 years what what started the interest in greenland well

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ironically it was a canoe trip an open boat trip on the River Wye, which is in England.

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And it's quite a nice, lazy river. We used to take groups of youngsters down

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the river over a week or so.

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But one of the highlights for us is we started at a place called Hay-on-Wye,

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which is famous for secondhand bookshops.

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So at the start of the trip, we'd go into the bookshop.

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And again, we mentioned Nigel earlier, he picked up a copy of Gina Watkins'

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Last Expedition, written by Freddie Spencer Chapman.

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We read it on that trip and that sort of inspired me to one day go to Greenland

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and never thought I would,

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Eventually made it in 2000, started my obsession with Greenland in 2000.

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I was working on a school's expedition as a sort of mountain leader.

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But at the same time, there were people who I knew on that trip helping the school.

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Pete Jones from Anglesey was there as a kayak guide.

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I'd known Pete for years before that. So we kind of teamed up afterwards and

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decided that, well, why don't we have a go at paddling up to where Gina Watkins died?

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So we put a trip together to go up there a year or so later.

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So tell us about the legend of Gina Watkins.

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Well, I don't know. It's difficult to try and sum it up.

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If you read the book, it's just, and the books by Chapman, they're very easy to read.

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It really sort of puts you back

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in in the era of the 1930s and when

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you realize what these guys did with no Gore-Tex

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no GPS no satellite navigation basically you know old school hobmail boots tweed

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jackets and the such like and it's very humbling and quite inspiring and Gina

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Watkins was obviously the leader of the two expeditions that i was.

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I have researched over years and their

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mission really was to be self-sufficient live off the land by adopting inuit

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greenlandic lifestyle of hunting from kayaks while they were in greenland they

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were doing research into the weather conditions because they were sponsored by pan.

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Airlines, as was in those days.

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So it was the British Arctic Air Route Expedition. They were doing research

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to try and see the feasibility of having overland routes with hop-off spots,

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one of which was going to be on the east coast of Greenland.

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In the days when transatlantic flights, you couldn't go all the way.

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You had to obviously refuel on the way.

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So they're looking for overland routes across Greenland? Yes.

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So obviously from the States to the UK, trying to research potential landing sites for aircraft.

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Okay. So they could go basically from America, Labrador, West Coast to Greenland,

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East Coast to Greenland, Iceland, and then UK.

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Okay. When planes weren't able to do it in a one-er, we'll take for granted nowadays. Sure. Yeah.

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I was thinking you were talking for a minute there about actually driving overland

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and being able to set up routes. Sorry. That's all right.

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So, yeah. So basically, I sort of, I read a few books and got inspired to one

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day kind of visit Greenland and see the things I'd read about in the books. Yeah.

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And I contacted Nigel, actually, in probably 1999.

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And he'd just come back from Easter Island.

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He'd made a three-piece kayak that he'd taken out there and developed and sort

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of proven it was successful.

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So it was a hard-shell sea kayak in three pieces that bolted together.

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And I was keen on seeing if I could borrow it to do a trip of my own in Greenland.

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And, of course, he said, sure, that's not a problem.

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But also then he put me onto this guy a guy called Gareth Bunnell who was running

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a school expedition out there.

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Suggested I contact him with a view of seeing if I could borrow these kayaks

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or help out and within about 10 minutes of talking to Gareth I was on that trip,

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and it was life changing for me it was life changing for quite a few of the

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youngsters on the team but for me certainly,

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It was jaw-dropping coming out of the airport in Kulisuk, looking at the icebergs

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on the beach stranded there at low tide.

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And I don't know, I fell in love with the place straight away.

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And although that was supposed to be a one-off trip that was a chance in a lifetime

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to go, I've been back pretty much every year since then, really.

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So I've been lucky. Now, what's the age of the group that you were with?

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At that time they were all youngsters so they'd have been i think youngest was

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14 and the oldest was probably about 20 sort of a student that had left but

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came back to assist with the expedition and we had about 30 kids out there all

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youngsters doing a variety of things from,

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mountaineering and going up on the glacier with me doing a bit of ice climbing

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and snow holing to So then they'd rotate round, they'd be with Pete, see kayaking.

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Others would be doing some scientific work and community projects within the community.

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So was this an outgrowth of a school program or was it the outdoor center?

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This was a separate thing from where I worked with Nigel back in the 80s.

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It was an independent school from the UK and they had a big expedition every other year.

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Particular year they were going to to Greenland

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I didn't realize at the time where they

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were going when I first spoke to Gareth but it transpired

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quite soon that he'd read the Watkins books I'd read the Watkins books and we

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had a very strong mutual interest in the history of Gina Watkins and Freddie

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Spencer Chapman and and the other guys so we we were very excited to wise very

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excited to join that trip and explore the area.

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And that set the seeds for me, really, to be going back on numerous occasions since then.

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So for those who aren't familiar with Geno Watkins who are listening,

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tell us a little bit about the expedition, aside from the crude gear they had at the time.

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What was significant about the trip, and then where was that trip?

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Well, he was an explorer. He'd done quite a few things. He was in his early 20s from the UK.

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He was very much into living off the land and doing trips where he was as self-sufficient

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as possible to obviously save expenditure.

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And this particular trip was in 1930-31.

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They sailed on a boat called the Quest, which was also quite famous from the story of Shackleton.

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And they used the quest to take them to the east

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coast of Greenland with all their kit there was

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I think 13 expedition members they based

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themselves just south of Amazlik or Tasilak as it's now called just south of

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Amazlik Island a place called Natavi and they had a prefabricated wooden hut

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that had obviously been built in a bit like an Ikea hut which they,

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erected once they landed and they set up

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a base basically for over a

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year so they could go up onto the

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Greenland ice gap establish a tented

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base site up there and record on a daily basis weather conditions so that they

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would be able to send this stuff to Pan Am with a view of the feasibility of

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whether it was possible to regularly fly the planes that they had in that era,

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over the Greenland ice cap,

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with a view of establishing this transatlantic air route. So they moved in,

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established their camp.

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Gina was very keen on getting his team trained up.

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So they all had kayaks purposely built for them by the locals.

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The idea behind that was so they could actually use them to hunt seals and feed

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their dogs, which they used on the ice cap to pull the sleds.

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Obviously any seals they caught also would be for

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for their own food they hadn't

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taken a huge amount of dry stores and it

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was very much a case of living off the land as locals

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did and you mentioned they used boats that were

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built by the locals so did freddie i'm

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sorry gino and his team have much kayak experience

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prior i think before they went

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to greenland they would have had if any it would

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have been very limited they didn't from my knowledge

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they didn't get boats built until they arrived in Greenland

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on the first expedition and then it

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was a case of being taught by the locals how to

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roll and hunt I think

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Gino was quite proficient at that chaplain

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obviously was good as well and I

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think that they were the main two Gino predominantly

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though who were hunting to try and bring

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in seals for the expedition members food

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supplies and freddy spencer chapman tell

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me about him well it's interesting because the book

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is called the book i first read was watkins last expedition and when you start

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reading about him you think well actually watkins was the figurehead of this

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these expeditions but in many ways i think it was freddy spencer chapman who

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was Gino's right-hand man, so to speak.

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Obviously, the biographer, too, of the two expeditions, the 1930 and 1931-32 expedition in 1932.

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So his story of Greenland was cut short.

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Chapman's was obviously extended. He became a very well-known figure in the

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Second World War, the war hero in Malaya.

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In the jungles they're training resistance people and chapman's

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yeah the more you read the more you realize that chapman

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was a very solid equal in

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personality and skill to to watkins

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it's fascinating because how things take

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a route and you think oh

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that's a coincidence but sometimes things

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are so bizarre that you think well actually that can't be just

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coincidence there's more to it than that i'll give you an example i

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was in i used to live in shetland for many years and i

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was taking a youngster who i worked with running alternative

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programs for him out with school and i decided to

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introduce him to see kayaking he was fairly enthusiastic we

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went down to the local club night at the

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swimming pool which was unusual for

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me because i didn't really get involved too much in in in

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the pool nights but on this occasion because of

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this youngster I was working with I decided.

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It would be appropriate to to go down to

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the pool so I'm stood on the pool side first evening

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people are being sort of divided off into

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different groups and there were four or five

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ladies there feeling obviously a bit self-conscious

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hadn't been adopted by one of the coaches at that point I've and I just said

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right I need four volunteers or five volunteers whatever it was and just went

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you you you you and you pointing and said right off you go if you go and join

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my colleague in the corner of the pool there up in the deep end.

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We'll um we'll get started and one of the ladies was quite anxious about going in the deep end.

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It transpired that talking to her that she'd had quite an adventurous in her

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earlier years she was Her family was quite adventurous, and it had all sorts

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of interesting expeditions and things.

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And we got talking, and I wasn't thinking at all about Greenland.

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Anyway, I can't go to two. Her father-in-law was Freddie Spencer Chapman.

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And of all the people to meet on the side of a pool, by chance,

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like that, Freddie Spencer Chapman's daughter-in-law, Sarah,

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there by chance, working with this lad in the pool.

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She was in Shetland by chance for a month, just doing some supply work as a osteopath.

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And yeah, it was most bizarre. So that was very fascinating to talk to her.

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And she said, well, you know more about my family than I do,

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which isn't true, obviously.

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But it was great. So we built quite a good, strong relationship and connection

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through father-in-laws or my interest in her family, I suppose. And what Freddie did.

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I'm hoping that perhaps in the future to get her son out, Stephen.

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Because that would be tremendous to be able to assist Freddie's grandson in

00:17:29.863 --> 00:17:35.663
visiting the two base camps that he was at in the 30s with Gina Watkins.

00:17:36.183 --> 00:17:38.763
That is a fascinating connection, how that happens.

00:17:39.583 --> 00:17:44.263
Yeah, I think it's something a little bit more sometimes than just coincidence.

00:17:45.143 --> 00:17:50.883
Something guides you sometimes. Something. So tell me about your experience

00:17:50.883 --> 00:17:52.883
in Greenland outside of that first trip.

00:17:53.863 --> 00:17:56.623
Well i i've kind of been obsessed by it it's

00:17:56.623 --> 00:17:59.543
just such an amazing place to paddle yeah the

00:17:59.543 --> 00:18:02.543
the wildlife's amazing the scenery is incredible

00:18:02.543 --> 00:18:05.423
you've got alpine type peaks sticking

00:18:05.423 --> 00:18:08.183
up out of the water they're not that high they're

00:18:08.183 --> 00:18:11.183
probably about 4 000 feet but they look like

00:18:11.183 --> 00:18:13.843
huge alpine peaks in which where the

00:18:13.843 --> 00:18:16.883
valleys have been flooded there's an

00:18:16.883 --> 00:18:20.223
awful lot of sea ice freezes and the

00:18:20.223 --> 00:18:23.803
local people are traveling around a lot from snow machines

00:18:23.803 --> 00:18:27.303
now and dog sleds but the ice

00:18:27.303 --> 00:18:32.903
it's the ice that people go for and you know huge icebergs the size of a shopping

00:18:32.903 --> 00:18:36.723
mile when that's the bit above the water there's eight times that i've amped

00:18:36.723 --> 00:18:44.183
down to something the size of a shoebox in size and then obviously sea ice during

00:18:44.183 --> 00:18:45.863
the winter it freezes maybe a couple.

00:18:46.033 --> 00:18:48.953
Meters thick huge big flat pans

00:18:48.953 --> 00:18:52.293
of ice it's all moving around very dynamic

00:18:52.293 --> 00:18:56.073
situation environment to be paddling in and

00:18:56.073 --> 00:19:00.273
quite challenging very rewarding on

00:19:00.273 --> 00:19:04.313
a clear sunny day or even a misty murky

00:19:04.313 --> 00:19:07.293
day with the clag down and fog in

00:19:07.293 --> 00:19:10.393
it's very atmospheric very very

00:19:10.393 --> 00:19:16.033
exciting i love it and the other thing is not just the it's not just the paddling

00:19:16.033 --> 00:19:22.153
it's the people their history is very you can almost feel their history because

00:19:22.153 --> 00:19:28.993
they've gone from the Greenlandic people now on the east coast have gone from living in turf houses.

00:19:30.833 --> 00:19:37.513
And turf house remains with wooden buildings constructed inside them so they've

00:19:37.513 --> 00:19:41.353
gone from that in the late 1920s,

00:19:42.153 --> 00:19:46.993
And certainly during the time of Gina Watkins, a lot of people would have been

00:19:46.993 --> 00:19:48.973
living in traditional turf houses.

00:19:49.333 --> 00:19:55.813
They've gone from that to modern housing, satellite TV, mobile phones,

00:19:56.753 --> 00:19:59.313
Gore-Tex, everything that we have.

00:19:59.453 --> 00:20:06.093
And obviously they aspire to have what really is for a lot of people,

00:20:06.333 --> 00:20:08.393
a lack of employment and income.

00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:15.440
To obviously chase that dream of having the things that we have.

00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:19.180
But the history, the history of the local people, their culture,

00:20:19.600 --> 00:20:26.980
their ability to using very skillfully made but very basic hunting tools in

00:20:26.980 --> 00:20:30.360
the days of Watkins and Chapman in the 30s,

00:20:30.440 --> 00:20:39.060
and the friendliness and outward going attitude to us coming in is very gratifying.

00:20:39.060 --> 00:20:44.780
And I think that's partly perhaps because I was told once that,

00:20:45.280 --> 00:20:50.660
Martin, you must tell your people they are not tourists, they are kayakers.

00:20:51.260 --> 00:20:57.880
And to have that from a local hunter is quite rewarding.

00:20:58.840 --> 00:21:03.340
Tell us about the reception that the local people have had towards your groups.

00:21:03.920 --> 00:21:07.320
It's always been very positive, I think, because we're kayaking.

00:21:08.780 --> 00:21:14.140
They acknowledge the fact that they always say welcome to our country,

00:21:14.360 --> 00:21:16.900
welcome to Greenland they're very proud of,

00:21:17.520 --> 00:21:22.800
where they are in their history and culture and to see people putting the effort

00:21:22.800 --> 00:21:28.300
in that we do to palady well I'm not on working but the people who come with

00:21:28.300 --> 00:21:32.400
me they're leave from work, they're on holiday they can afford to,

00:21:33.100 --> 00:21:38.940
take leave and come so that's kind of It's kind of hard in Greenland.

00:21:39.800 --> 00:21:46.080
Any people who visit who are tourists are obviously in a much better financial

00:21:46.080 --> 00:21:52.440
position than a lot of the people in East Greenland who do struggle a bit and

00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:55.100
don't have the opportunities that we have.

00:21:56.060 --> 00:22:01.360
In what ways has tourism changed Greenland? I think it is changing Greenland.

00:22:01.940 --> 00:22:05.420
I think in many ways tourism is there...

00:22:06.856 --> 00:22:10.076
If they can manage it and there's there's a

00:22:10.076 --> 00:22:13.076
difficulty there but it will bring

00:22:13.076 --> 00:22:16.596
in income and it will provide work for for

00:22:16.596 --> 00:22:19.736
locals it is now and in

00:22:19.736 --> 00:22:23.096
many ways it needs to be met it needs to be managed sympathetically

00:22:23.096 --> 00:22:26.836
so that more local people are

00:22:26.836 --> 00:22:30.196
given the opportunity to get involved

00:22:30.196 --> 00:22:33.376
in tourism at a meaningful level so as

00:22:33.376 --> 00:22:38.756
guides and i know several people out there at the moment who are helping facilitate

00:22:38.756 --> 00:22:44.436
this where i am but so in the winter for example there's a lot of local hunters

00:22:44.436 --> 00:22:52.556
who are now working as dog sled drivers as guides for expeditions or tour operators,

00:22:53.616 --> 00:22:56.916
and in the summer there's a lot of boat drivers again

00:22:56.916 --> 00:23:00.596
hunters who are driving boats to take visitors

00:23:00.596 --> 00:23:03.396
to various areas whether it's even just a

00:23:03.396 --> 00:23:07.616
photographic tour to go and see icebergs or whether it's a a tour to go and

00:23:07.616 --> 00:23:13.616
visit a historic site or a different settlement so that's so that's in encouraging

00:23:13.616 --> 00:23:21.476
the locals to get involved what we need to do is try and help develop the local.

00:23:22.076 --> 00:23:25.756
Young young men well not

00:23:25.756 --> 00:23:29.056
exclusively young men but culturally for them kayaking was

00:23:29.056 --> 00:23:32.456
the male dominated activity and

00:23:32.456 --> 00:23:36.056
the women would have other responsibilities within

00:23:36.056 --> 00:23:38.976
the home but the men would be the hunters with

00:23:38.976 --> 00:23:42.576
the kayaks so to encourage local kayak

00:23:42.576 --> 00:23:45.396
guides and develop that is something

00:23:45.396 --> 00:23:48.156
I'm keen to do I have done some of it in

00:23:48.156 --> 00:23:51.316
the past I've run workshops for locals teaching

00:23:51.316 --> 00:23:54.216
them kayaking skills which is a bit ironic

00:23:54.216 --> 00:23:57.396
and I helped establish the kayak

00:23:57.396 --> 00:24:02.376
club been to sea like back in 2000 which was at the time of this school expedition

00:24:02.376 --> 00:24:08.256
one of their aims was to work with the local school children or they weren't

00:24:08.256 --> 00:24:13.536
really children they were more youth older older pupils from school and we established

00:24:13.536 --> 00:24:15.216
a kayak club at the end of that.

00:24:15.736 --> 00:24:19.296
And then for many years pete and i would go

00:24:19.296 --> 00:24:22.696
back as part of our trip time

00:24:22.696 --> 00:24:25.896
frame when we were on expeditions there and we

00:24:25.896 --> 00:24:29.296
would help develop that by running safety

00:24:29.296 --> 00:24:32.376
courses rolling clinics and things

00:24:32.376 --> 00:24:40.456
so to further develop that would be something i would well i am developing are

00:24:40.456 --> 00:24:46.136
you seeing more operators engage the local population and involve them in their

00:24:46.136 --> 00:24:51.636
their operations to Tosilak has a population of about 3,000 people, tops.

00:24:52.716 --> 00:24:59.876
And it encompasses five, the main settlement of Tosilak and five other smaller

00:24:59.876 --> 00:25:00.896
satellite communities.

00:25:02.751 --> 00:25:08.251
And the communa, which is like the town council, manages an area the size of

00:25:08.251 --> 00:25:11.871
Great Britain, and it only has 3,000 people in it.

00:25:12.251 --> 00:25:16.531
So there's a lot of scope, and there's a lot of wilderness for us to explore

00:25:16.531 --> 00:25:20.011
as kayakers, and also for those that are mountaineers.

00:25:21.151 --> 00:25:25.511
But there's quite a lot of scope for tourism, sympathetic tourism.

00:25:25.511 --> 00:25:30.131
And there's several danish

00:25:30.131 --> 00:25:32.831
tour operators in the

00:25:32.831 --> 00:25:36.371
area i work with my kayak trips who are

00:25:36.371 --> 00:25:39.351
again developing things with the locals

00:25:39.351 --> 00:25:42.151
local greenlandic people going out

00:25:42.151 --> 00:25:44.911
of their way really to to train them and give

00:25:44.911 --> 00:25:47.671
them quality skills so they can

00:25:47.671 --> 00:25:51.631
then be effective and interact with visitors

00:25:51.631 --> 00:25:55.271
tourists and and do

00:25:55.271 --> 00:25:58.671
the best really to to promote the area how has

00:25:58.671 --> 00:26:01.651
climate change affected Greenland I think generally

00:26:01.651 --> 00:26:05.011
climate change has affected the

00:26:05.011 --> 00:26:08.091
seasons so the winter is ending

00:26:08.091 --> 00:26:11.731
later spring is later summer's later

00:26:11.731 --> 00:26:15.651
summer seems to be shorter and then

00:26:15.651 --> 00:26:19.271
you get a shorter summer and the stormy season comes

00:26:19.271 --> 00:26:22.691
in sooner and then the winter is late

00:26:22.691 --> 00:26:25.911
in coming and i think for them i'm

00:26:25.911 --> 00:26:28.871
not an expert at it but from what i've gleaned from

00:26:28.871 --> 00:26:34.891
talking to local greenlandic people the the winters are harsh sorry the winters

00:26:34.891 --> 00:26:42.831
are harder for them because they're not as reliably cold so the sea isn't freezing

00:26:42.831 --> 00:26:46.351
as much as it used to for as long as it used to.

00:26:47.051 --> 00:26:51.851
When I say as much as it used to, so the ice isn't getting as thick as it used to.

00:26:53.431 --> 00:26:59.391
So it's difficult for them to get out in the winter on the ice with the dogs hunting.

00:26:59.731 --> 00:27:07.431
A lot of people still use dog sleds there to take tourists out and also for

00:27:07.431 --> 00:27:09.011
their own mode of transport.

00:27:09.291 --> 00:27:11.691
Dogs don't break down like a snow machine will.

00:27:13.365 --> 00:27:19.965
Snowmachines are obviously very popular too. And then the summer season is less predictable.

00:27:19.965 --> 00:27:25.145
When I started going there 20 years ago, you could guarantee having six,

00:27:25.265 --> 00:27:30.985
eight weeks with basically wall-to-wall sunshine, very little rain,

00:27:31.505 --> 00:27:35.825
very stable, settled conditions for kayaking. Absolutely perfect.

00:27:36.525 --> 00:27:42.925
Now it's becoming wetter, windier, less predictable, more storms coming in.

00:27:43.365 --> 00:27:49.125
We had, we've had several storms called peteracs, which are generated on the

00:27:49.125 --> 00:27:55.245
Greenland ice cap and come off the ice and it's an offshore wind of sort of

00:27:55.245 --> 00:27:57.585
gale force, storm force magnitude.

00:27:58.145 --> 00:28:02.385
They were something that generally you would only get in the winter or maybe

00:28:02.385 --> 00:28:09.785
once in the summer if you were lucky to experience it or unlucky, however you view it.

00:28:10.585 --> 00:28:16.905
Last year there were two and on the year before i think there was again two

00:28:16.905 --> 00:28:22.285
during the summer when i was there and that's that's you know an indication

00:28:22.285 --> 00:28:23.265
that things are changing.

00:28:24.085 --> 00:28:26.925
Also we had a situation a few years back where we

00:28:26.925 --> 00:28:31.025
were paddling along and there was a huge roar rumble

00:28:31.025 --> 00:28:34.025
as we came around the corner of this

00:28:34.025 --> 00:28:37.345
headland you could see where a hanging glacier had

00:28:37.345 --> 00:28:40.745
collapsed and had basically the

00:28:40.745 --> 00:28:44.005
whole thing had fallen into come cascading down

00:28:44.005 --> 00:28:48.285
the mountainside and fallen into the sea fortunately we weren't there at the

00:28:48.285 --> 00:28:54.725
time but that was ice that had been in that mountain valley hanging there for

00:28:54.725 --> 00:29:00.845
thousands of years and gradually it melted sufficiently for it to become detached

00:29:00.845 --> 00:29:03.705
and that will never grow back It's gone forever.

00:29:04.245 --> 00:29:09.565
So that was very visible for me, an indication of how things are changing.

00:29:10.545 --> 00:29:14.745
That's got to make your guiding more challenging. It can do.

00:29:15.025 --> 00:29:21.105
I think the mere fact that the conditions are less predictable makes things more challenging.

00:29:21.325 --> 00:29:27.165
There's either more ice or we end up in a situation where the ice goes quickly

00:29:27.165 --> 00:29:31.245
and then we're exposed to sort of conditions you would expect.

00:29:32.720 --> 00:29:37.720
In Scotland, where I live, where the coastline is open to ocean swell.

00:29:38.260 --> 00:29:41.360
And normally the ice, if you have a lot of pack ice going out to sea,

00:29:41.520 --> 00:29:49.160
maybe in the old days you'd have 20, 25 miles of sea ice dampening down the swell.

00:29:49.640 --> 00:29:53.500
So if you were inshore of that sea ice, it was flak arm.

00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:59.620
And when that goes, then it makes conditions harder for guiding,

00:29:59.620 --> 00:30:04.440
but also harder for the locals getting about because they're relying on boats.

00:30:05.900 --> 00:30:11.460
Again, obviously the sea conditions affect them, particularly at Tisilac on

00:30:11.460 --> 00:30:14.600
Amazlik Island where the entrance to the harbour is quite exposed.

00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.280
Is it mostly subsistence level living and farming or is there other industry

00:30:19.280 --> 00:30:20.220
there other than tourism?

00:30:20.640 --> 00:30:24.440
Well, there's no farming. I guess I was thinking fishing maybe.

00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:29.100
Yeah, there's fishing and that's something that's quite encouraging that's on

00:30:29.100 --> 00:30:34.440
the up. So there's a little place we go to, which is one of my favorite places. It's called Kumute.

00:30:34.620 --> 00:30:37.640
It's a satellite settlement from Tasilak.

00:30:38.040 --> 00:30:43.620
They have quite active fish processing plant there.

00:30:43.820 --> 00:30:47.980
It's privately owned, but locals are encouraged to go and fish,

00:30:48.260 --> 00:30:54.580
bring in their catch, and it's frozen and processed and shipped out of Greenland.

00:30:54.580 --> 00:31:01.160
So that's a good source of income for locals with a boat who can obviously provide

00:31:01.160 --> 00:31:02.340
for their family by fishing.

00:31:03.760 --> 00:31:09.080
Tasilak doesn't quite have that. It's a bigger settlement.

00:31:09.800 --> 00:31:16.620
Perhaps the good things and bad things of human population are more noticeable in Tasilak.

00:31:17.380 --> 00:31:20.620
There's a lot of people who have a lot of money.

00:31:20.620 --> 00:31:23.780
And like anywhere else there's also people who don't have

00:31:23.780 --> 00:31:27.420
any so it's it's

00:31:27.420 --> 00:31:33.680
reliant more i think on tourism but a lot of the benefits of tourism into sealac

00:31:33.680 --> 00:31:40.700
possibly are just for the benefit of those that are in a position to organize

00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:46.080
it there's less trickle down benefit to to the guys on the streets from tourism.

00:31:47.320 --> 00:31:52.700
There's quite a good network of artisan craftspeople.

00:31:52.860 --> 00:31:58.360
They're very skillful carvers, something that could perhaps be developed more.

00:31:59.460 --> 00:32:08.140
And there's obviously service industry and that type of employment in the shop, working on the harbour.

00:32:10.053 --> 00:32:14.673
There's not a lot of employment unless you're employed by the commune, the council.

00:32:15.213 --> 00:32:19.113
There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of tourism. I'm sorry,

00:32:19.533 --> 00:32:28.093
not tourism, about employment unless you can tap into the people who provide

00:32:28.093 --> 00:32:30.313
facilities for tourists.

00:32:30.993 --> 00:32:34.373
Are cruise ships and that sort of thing coming there as well?

00:32:34.693 --> 00:32:36.993
Cruise ships have started to arrive.

00:32:37.633 --> 00:32:41.213
I do really question that. Yeah.

00:32:41.433 --> 00:32:45.713
The benefit of that, a cruise ship often arrives.

00:32:46.553 --> 00:32:50.533
Got to be a bit careful what I say now because I do work in Antarctica on an

00:32:50.533 --> 00:32:53.413
expedition cruise ship. That's slightly different in the winter.

00:32:53.653 --> 00:32:59.713
But in Greenland, the most productive cruise ship event was in the winter.

00:32:59.993 --> 00:33:03.053
It was a nice breaking cruise ship, French, I believe.

00:33:03.053 --> 00:33:06.213
And it came in drove in into the

00:33:06.213 --> 00:33:09.553
harbor cracked its way through the ice and stopped

00:33:09.553 --> 00:33:12.373
and then what was great a friend of

00:33:12.373 --> 00:33:15.793
mine lena with some other guys she had

00:33:15.793 --> 00:33:21.753
organized a lot of the local hunters to facilitate activities for the cruise

00:33:21.753 --> 00:33:28.773
ship so basically they they pulled up to where the steps came down picked up

00:33:28.773 --> 00:33:33.513
people put them on dog sleds took them off on day tours same as snow machines,

00:33:33.813 --> 00:33:35.013
took people off ice fishing.

00:33:36.353 --> 00:33:37.473
Tour of the village.

00:33:38.053 --> 00:33:41.213
And it was very well done. And there was a lot of benefit.

00:33:43.235 --> 00:33:52.275
Financially and also sort of in their pride for the locals having facilitated

00:33:52.275 --> 00:33:53.795
the cruise ship in that way.

00:33:54.615 --> 00:33:58.055
I do know people that they were all invited at the end of each day,

00:33:58.215 --> 00:34:01.855
having done activities with the guests on the cruise ship, they were all invited

00:34:01.855 --> 00:34:09.235
up to the restaurant to have a meal with the people, with the guests and the crew on the ship.

00:34:09.415 --> 00:34:15.015
So I think that was very positive for everybody and gave a good representation

00:34:15.015 --> 00:34:18.095
of you know the culture and the,

00:34:18.595 --> 00:34:23.655
community of to see that but it's when they come in in the summer and they just

00:34:23.655 --> 00:34:29.375
sort of get off wander around take photos and don't contribute in any way to

00:34:29.375 --> 00:34:35.035
the economy that it's that's that's the issue isn't it all the time yeah yeah

00:34:35.035 --> 00:34:38.255
you can you can do it right or you can do it wrong and And obviously,

00:34:38.435 --> 00:34:42.815
you can either be a participant and engage with the community,

00:34:42.815 --> 00:34:45.355
or you can effectively use the community.

00:34:45.595 --> 00:34:51.135
And it sounds like the first one became much more of a participant and engage with the community.

00:34:51.355 --> 00:34:54.375
And I think hopefully that's a friend of mine, Lena.

00:34:55.175 --> 00:35:02.855
She runs a tourist company, a small little company in Tasilak.

00:35:02.855 --> 00:35:10.835
Basically taking small groups of people and giving them the real experience of what it was like to.

00:35:12.051 --> 00:35:18.551
Go hunting and go off on the inland ice cap and so she's she's running sort of more cultural,

00:35:19.271 --> 00:35:25.671
tourism than the sort of tourists that would come in on a hotel tour great and

00:35:25.671 --> 00:35:29.371
and hopefully that will continue i think perhaps there'll be other cruise ships

00:35:29.371 --> 00:35:34.131
coming in the winter from the success of the the one she helped develop the

00:35:34.131 --> 00:35:38.371
other year so it shifts gears just a little bit so So logistics.

00:35:38.731 --> 00:35:42.891
Tell me about logistics of being able to both get there and then be able to

00:35:42.891 --> 00:35:45.111
manage a trip while there.

00:35:46.251 --> 00:35:49.251
Okay, cool. So for me, it's quite easy.

00:35:49.451 --> 00:35:55.671
We fly to Iceland, Keflavik, the international airport, and then they have now

00:35:55.671 --> 00:36:00.251
flights going straight from there to Kullasuk on the east coast.

00:36:00.891 --> 00:36:04.811
There's only two airports on the east coast of green and one at kulasuk and

00:36:04.811 --> 00:36:06.871
another at itokotomi which i

00:36:06.871 --> 00:36:11.611
challenge you to say took me years to get the pronunciation of that right.

00:36:13.051 --> 00:36:16.291
So you arrive in kulasuk and you

00:36:16.291 --> 00:36:19.911
then need to get a helicopter or a boat a

00:36:19.911 --> 00:36:22.871
hunter with a boat or a water taxi run

00:36:22.871 --> 00:36:26.111
by a tour company to take

00:36:26.111 --> 00:36:29.291
you to the main settlement or any of the satellite settlements that

00:36:29.291 --> 00:36:32.791
you're planning on visiting all the

00:36:32.791 --> 00:36:35.791
food and everything that we buy in

00:36:35.791 --> 00:36:38.671
greenland when we arrive for our kayak

00:36:38.671 --> 00:36:43.011
trips has to obviously come from denmark remember

00:36:43.011 --> 00:36:45.871
early on there would be i think maybe two

00:36:45.871 --> 00:36:49.791
ships a year supply ships but we're

00:36:49.791 --> 00:36:53.711
again we you we mentioned climate change the the

00:36:53.711 --> 00:36:56.591
ice is making life or the lack of ice is making life a

00:36:56.591 --> 00:36:59.911
little easier so they're they're getting much more of

00:36:59.911 --> 00:37:02.851
a service now from all walk with the

00:37:02.851 --> 00:37:06.011
uh the container ships so they

00:37:06.011 --> 00:37:10.371
might have you know 10 10 ships a year now so that's

00:37:10.371 --> 00:37:15.711
that's from our point of view easy and then if if from a kayak point of view

00:37:15.711 --> 00:37:21.311
we basically arrive gear up i've got all my stuff stored in a couple of shipping

00:37:21.311 --> 00:37:26.911
containers and we'll allocate boats to people issue kit and then,

00:37:27.731 --> 00:37:32.131
frantic pack because we want to get out on trip as quickly as possible some

00:37:32.131 --> 00:37:37.711
people will have nipped down the shop to top up on food supplies they need some

00:37:37.711 --> 00:37:40.251
people will bring out all the food they need with them.

00:37:41.579 --> 00:37:46.559
Especially if they've got sort of some dietary requirements that are more difficult

00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:48.599
to cater for, buying food locally.

00:37:49.159 --> 00:37:54.159
And then we'll be away on trip, moving every day for 10 days,

00:37:55.039 --> 00:37:58.999
10-day trip, 11-day trip, tremendous campsites.

00:37:59.519 --> 00:38:05.579
We tend to stop quite often at historical sites where there's turf houses, an old settlement.

00:38:06.099 --> 00:38:09.479
It's always fascinating just to sort of sit there and imagine what it would

00:38:09.479 --> 00:38:13.179
have been like to have lived there 100, to 200, 300 years ago.

00:38:15.279 --> 00:38:22.479
And there's always graves, old houses, not houses as such, but remains of turf

00:38:22.479 --> 00:38:25.839
houses of interest to have a little look around.

00:38:26.719 --> 00:38:30.699
And then, you know, they're usually a good place where there's a breeze to keep

00:38:30.699 --> 00:38:33.619
the flies off. Mosquitoes can be a bit of a pain.

00:38:34.719 --> 00:38:39.219
A lot of these old settlements are also in areas where the view is not just

00:38:39.219 --> 00:38:43.739
good for keeping flies off, But good to see if there was any game out there,

00:38:43.899 --> 00:38:48.039
seals, whales, that they would be actively hunting back in the day.

00:38:48.599 --> 00:38:51.899
Also, people visiting. The neighbors come in from another settlement,

00:38:51.899 --> 00:38:54.679
you know, a few miles down the coast.

00:38:56.019 --> 00:38:59.919
So, yeah. And then we just move on every day.

00:39:00.499 --> 00:39:05.079
Try and explore as much as we can, given the conditions that we've got.

00:39:05.799 --> 00:39:10.499
And how many trips do you lead there? well i started off sort of running a couple

00:39:10.499 --> 00:39:17.799
of trips a year this coming year i've got four trips that have been sufficiently

00:39:17.799 --> 00:39:22.339
subscribed to to to run make them worthwhile running,

00:39:23.559 --> 00:39:27.239
it's a short season that's the thing so we're

00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:31.079
looking at really july and august are

00:39:31.079 --> 00:39:39.619
the times for sea kayaking and any anything in september is a little less reliable

00:39:39.619 --> 00:39:44.619
because the weather's changing you do get tremendous northern lights starting

00:39:44.619 --> 00:39:47.459
to show in september so it's always,

00:39:48.319 --> 00:39:54.019
kind of tantalizing to try and stay on a bit longer and hopefully see and see

00:39:54.019 --> 00:39:59.099
them and that's quite an event for folk who've joined me and then early in the

00:39:59.099 --> 00:40:05.739
year june's a bit early now seems to a bit early for trips and even July this coming year I've put,

00:40:06.519 --> 00:40:09.579
the trips back a bit until early July.

00:40:11.557 --> 00:40:15.717
But then, of course, the advantage is we want to be paddling amongst the ice

00:40:15.717 --> 00:40:22.237
and experience that, but we don't want so much ice that it means we can't really get anywhere.

00:40:22.237 --> 00:40:26.717
And we've had that happen to us where we've arrived and the coast has been so

00:40:26.717 --> 00:40:33.617
chock-a-block with sea ice that's drifted in that it's been impossible to really do anything.

00:40:34.077 --> 00:40:38.857
So it's a case of managing and kind of predicting what conditions will be like.

00:40:39.797 --> 00:40:42.677
I'm always checking online to see

00:40:42.677 --> 00:40:45.497
what the satellite images of the sea ice

00:40:45.497 --> 00:40:48.957
are which is very useful tool to

00:40:48.957 --> 00:40:53.777
uh to make use of you can actually see individual icebergs moving around from

00:40:53.777 --> 00:40:57.977
one day to another right if it's if it's clearing up which kind of shows you

00:40:57.977 --> 00:41:00.257
how big they are i paddled one

00:41:00.257 --> 00:41:06.137
round one the other year that was over a kilometer long and that had been,

00:41:06.917 --> 00:41:13.957
spawned, I suppose, is the word born from a big glacier in Sermolick Field called Helheim.

00:41:15.017 --> 00:41:16.797
Sorry, Helheim Glacier.

00:41:17.177 --> 00:41:19.917
And this iceberg had been produced up there.

00:41:20.517 --> 00:41:26.057
And it was absolutely huge. You just couldn't imagine it unless you saw it.

00:41:26.117 --> 00:41:28.997
You just wouldn't think it would be possible to get anything as big as that.

00:41:29.337 --> 00:41:33.497
So this 1k iceberg cracked off the glacier. Yeah.

00:41:34.117 --> 00:41:38.377
Yeah. Wow. Sorry, it was a kilometer to paddle around it. Okay. Yeah.

00:41:38.917 --> 00:41:44.677
It was absolutely huge. Yeah, yeah. You mentioned bugs. So what are the bugs like?

00:41:45.457 --> 00:41:48.957
Well, I'm kind of a bit immune to them now. They don't like the taste of my

00:41:48.957 --> 00:41:50.697
blood. They're not too bad.

00:41:51.237 --> 00:41:54.157
They're not as anyone who's been in the west coast of Scotland and experienced

00:41:54.157 --> 00:41:59.177
our midges there. They were near as bad as that. And I lived in Ontario for quite a while.

00:41:59.497 --> 00:42:04.697
And the black flies there in June and the mosquitoes were much, much worse.

00:42:05.077 --> 00:42:10.037
So if there's a breeze, the mosquitoes are unable to fly.

00:42:11.257 --> 00:42:16.737
So they're not too bad, really. But that's what there is, mosquitoes and black flies in August.

00:42:17.377 --> 00:42:21.437
But as soon as the frosts come or a bit of wind comes, or the temperature drops

00:42:21.437 --> 00:42:23.537
in the evening, then they're gone. Okay.

00:42:24.317 --> 00:42:27.977
And then to mention temperature, what are the temperatures like there generally

00:42:27.977 --> 00:42:30.097
in the July, August time that you're there?

00:42:30.477 --> 00:42:34.377
Yeah, well, I tend to go for the nice weather and come back with a lovely suntan

00:42:34.377 --> 00:42:38.237
from the wrist down and the neck up because we're obviously wearing dry suits.

00:42:39.217 --> 00:42:43.717
Yeah, so during the day it can be, if there's no breeze, it can be really quite warm.

00:42:45.857 --> 00:42:50.917
High 18, well, high 18s, I suppose, 18 degrees, see? Yeah.

00:42:52.077 --> 00:42:55.117
For us, that's pretty – living on the west coast of Scotland,

00:42:55.297 --> 00:42:59.657
it's warmer. I go for better weather there than here. Okay.

00:43:00.637 --> 00:43:04.957
But, of course, we're wearing dry suits and thermals. If there's a breeze,

00:43:05.337 --> 00:43:08.377
any breeze at all, it's super chilled because it's coming off the sea,

00:43:08.537 --> 00:43:12.297
off the ice, and it can feel quite chilly on the water.

00:43:13.117 --> 00:43:15.937
Yeah, that's still a lot warmer than I think a lot of people would have expected,

00:43:16.057 --> 00:43:19.317
though. Yeah. Oh, yeah, people say, oh, it's too cold. I can't go.

00:43:19.457 --> 00:43:20.417
And you say, well, no, it's fine.

00:43:21.537 --> 00:43:26.997
It's not that cold, unless the weather's bad. And then, well,

00:43:27.057 --> 00:43:28.257
you'd expect it to be cold.

00:43:28.637 --> 00:43:34.217
And if it's very still at night, then you get quite a bit of fresh water,

00:43:34.457 --> 00:43:37.217
melt water, from the ice on top of the sea.

00:43:37.617 --> 00:43:44.357
On many occasions, we've had that thin veneer ice first thing in the morning.

00:43:44.357 --> 00:43:47.157
It's so still you paddle away from

00:43:47.157 --> 00:43:50.397
the campsite and you're crunching through little

00:43:50.397 --> 00:43:54.157
little pans or pans of this thin ice so

00:43:54.157 --> 00:43:57.097
obviously gets cold enough at night to uh

00:43:57.097 --> 00:44:03.857
for that to freeze but we tend to use like a good three season sleeping bag

00:44:03.857 --> 00:44:09.537
good tents that's pretty important out there to have a good four season mountain

00:44:09.537 --> 00:44:14.997
tent because when the weather's bad the best of tents can get Destroyed.

00:44:16.626 --> 00:44:21.006
It's a big place and when we're out there, there's no help. You're on your own.

00:44:21.246 --> 00:44:25.246
So if the weather comes in and you have to hunker down for two or three days,

00:44:25.906 --> 00:44:31.866
which is rare, but it has happened, then you're on your own and you've got to

00:44:31.866 --> 00:44:34.586
be able to look after yourself or the group has to look after itself.

00:44:34.606 --> 00:44:37.046
That's what it's all about, working in a team on these trips.

00:44:38.046 --> 00:44:40.786
If you have a tent, get blown away. I've heard of

00:44:40.786 --> 00:44:43.686
some groups that have lost a tent and then the whole trip's

00:44:43.686 --> 00:44:46.486
ruined because they've got to bail out

00:44:46.486 --> 00:44:49.406
and get rescued and if the weather's bad

00:44:49.406 --> 00:44:52.226
enough to rip your tents down then it's going to be a

00:44:52.226 --> 00:44:54.966
bit questionable as to whether you'd be able to get

00:44:54.966 --> 00:44:57.726
your local contacts in with boats to

00:44:57.726 --> 00:45:00.666
help you anyway yeah well live tell

00:45:00.666 --> 00:45:03.686
me about the well live oh it's amazing

00:45:03.686 --> 00:45:06.766
whales humpback whales that's

00:45:06.766 --> 00:45:09.466
the thing there's not a lot of like on

00:45:09.466 --> 00:45:12.926
the west coast of scotland or shetland where i've lived before and still

00:45:12.926 --> 00:45:15.846
run trips the seals the seal populations there are

00:45:15.846 --> 00:45:18.526
huge but on the east coast of

00:45:18.526 --> 00:45:21.706
greenland you rarely see any seals and

00:45:21.706 --> 00:45:24.766
i think they've either been over hunted

00:45:24.766 --> 00:45:31.166
or they live further out at sea on the fringe the margins of the sea ice and

00:45:31.166 --> 00:45:37.726
the ocean or it's perhaps the wrong time of year for us to see the seals when

00:45:37.726 --> 00:45:42.566
we have seen them we've seen packs of sort of 30 40 greenlandic seals, all porpoising.

00:45:43.706 --> 00:45:47.786
It's quite spectacular. But the main thing for us is humpback whales.

00:45:48.786 --> 00:45:53.486
And we've had, well, this past summer we were out there and we did take a bit

00:45:53.486 --> 00:45:57.006
of time to hang around to get that perfect shot.

00:45:58.153 --> 00:46:02.573
Without any exaggeration, you've had a whale come up 15 feet from the front

00:46:02.573 --> 00:46:07.853
of your kayak, completely aware that we're there. We're just sitting there bobbing.

00:46:08.373 --> 00:46:13.453
We're not chasing it. We're chasing the optimum photograph, but we're not obviously

00:46:13.453 --> 00:46:16.073
following the whale. We're just watching.

00:46:16.333 --> 00:46:17.493
They know where we are.

00:46:17.833 --> 00:46:22.373
They're pretty clever, and they just ignore us and avoid us.

00:46:23.353 --> 00:46:31.333
Tremendous pictures. and also just seeing them bubble net and then spy hop where

00:46:31.333 --> 00:46:35.873
they'll come up and sort of almost tread water like we would and they're looking at you,

00:46:36.793 --> 00:46:41.273
and then calling to one another and hear them underwater calling.

00:46:42.293 --> 00:46:49.973
Don't get many instances of them broaching like you see on trips in Alaska but

00:46:49.973 --> 00:46:53.253
we've had them certainly tail flapping,

00:46:54.313 --> 00:46:57.493
the dorsal the fin the side fin flapping that.

00:46:58.893 --> 00:47:03.093
Yeah do you find they're pretty curious I think they're,

00:47:04.153 --> 00:47:07.853
they're not hunted the humpback whales aren't hunted in Greenland,

00:47:08.633 --> 00:47:12.533
talk about hunting actually discuss that but

00:47:12.533 --> 00:47:15.933
the smaller well fin whales are minke

00:47:15.933 --> 00:47:22.953
whales whether minke or fin it's always debatable but they hunt those but again

00:47:22.953 --> 00:47:29.633
and I think it's a real bonus for tourism that they don't hunt back whales and

00:47:29.633 --> 00:47:33.373
that gives them a good opportunity to run whale watch tours.

00:47:36.697 --> 00:47:42.237
It's Wales. There's not really much else in the way of wildlife other than the

00:47:42.237 --> 00:47:44.677
Arctic fox and polar bears.

00:47:45.137 --> 00:47:49.597
And there is a chance of seeing polar bears on the East Coast of Greenland because

00:47:49.597 --> 00:47:54.857
they follow the pack ice down in the spring or in the winter they come, it's frozen.

00:47:55.177 --> 00:47:58.357
And then as the ice breaks up and moves down the coast,

00:47:58.617 --> 00:48:02.477
they'll stay with that ice hunting seals until the

00:48:02.477 --> 00:48:10.197
ice all goes and then invariably it's kind of disappears south of Tasilak and

00:48:10.197 --> 00:48:16.157
then you know there's a slim chance then where bears will be around in the summer

00:48:16.157 --> 00:48:22.277
because they've walked inland because the ice is gone and they're making their way back up north.

00:48:22.577 --> 00:48:24.717
So you find polar bears much more of a rarity?

00:48:25.637 --> 00:48:30.097
They are they are rare in to see like which is actually the reason one of the

00:48:30.097 --> 00:48:36.397
reasons i chose it's a tremendous place to run trips like i do it's got a huge variety of places to go,

00:48:37.337 --> 00:48:42.377
historic sites and a lot of interest so it's ideal to take people who've not been there before.

00:48:43.437 --> 00:48:50.697
But also i chose it specifically because the chances of having polar bear encounters

00:48:50.697 --> 00:48:54.997
is a lot less than if we were further north at Itokotormi,

00:48:55.717 --> 00:48:58.037
where I've done some trips before.

00:48:58.837 --> 00:49:03.737
Bears are very, well, not like Svalbard, but there's thousands of bears in Svalbard,

00:49:03.897 --> 00:49:08.857
but there are more bears in further north at Itokotormi than Tosilek.

00:49:10.097 --> 00:49:17.057
Tosilek has more to offer and less bear threat or risk of bears than further north. So that's great.

00:49:19.277 --> 00:49:24.037
It's tremendous to see one. but you want to see it when it's kind of walking

00:49:24.037 --> 00:49:25.817
away from you rather than to you.

00:49:27.497 --> 00:49:32.557
What's the most, what would you say would be the scariest part of guiding in Greenland?

00:49:33.037 --> 00:49:38.137
When the, when the ice is moving very quickly, that's scary,

00:49:38.137 --> 00:49:40.677
but it's all a case of managing that.

00:49:40.877 --> 00:49:43.517
And I've been doing it now so long.

00:49:43.737 --> 00:49:45.877
I'm not at all blase about it.

00:49:46.137 --> 00:49:51.617
If anything, I get more and more cautious because every time you go,

00:49:51.797 --> 00:49:55.257
it makes you realize, well, it doesn't take prisoners.

00:49:56.217 --> 00:50:00.677
There's no one out here to help you. And in a blink of an eye,

00:50:01.097 --> 00:50:02.437
things could change very quickly.

00:50:02.697 --> 00:50:09.177
So if anything, I've become more cautious because it's very easy to get caught

00:50:09.177 --> 00:50:13.737
out with the ice, and you just have to avoid those situations,

00:50:14.097 --> 00:50:17.377
you know, perhaps early on you would learn your lessons.

00:50:18.823 --> 00:50:23.623
Not the hard way, but you'd have to learn them yourself. So,

00:50:23.623 --> 00:50:27.663
you know, ice that I would naively paddle into,

00:50:28.243 --> 00:50:33.883
me and Pete and Phil would paddle into years ago and get away with it because

00:50:33.883 --> 00:50:36.323
it was just the three of us and I wasn't working,

00:50:37.383 --> 00:50:42.463
then we don't go into environments like that now because it's just too risky

00:50:42.463 --> 00:50:47.263
with a group of eight, albeit very experienced clients, but eight clients.

00:50:47.263 --> 00:50:50.263
It's very it's very easy to get split up

00:50:50.263 --> 00:50:53.383
in moving ice and to lose somebody

00:50:53.383 --> 00:50:56.743
not lose them but get separated from

00:50:56.743 --> 00:51:00.203
them and for them not to be able to easily relocate with

00:51:00.203 --> 00:51:03.583
you because the ice is moving around and that's

00:51:03.583 --> 00:51:07.243
what would obviously be very scary for them and just

00:51:07.243 --> 00:51:10.163
too stressful for me to to put myself

00:51:10.163 --> 00:51:17.243
in that position or risk nowadays for paddling in those conditions and the other

00:51:17.243 --> 00:51:21.803
side the most rewarding aspect yeah it's just just sharing the place with people

00:51:21.803 --> 00:51:29.643
really i think when from we've had a good trip and they've just been left gobsmacked by the the ice,

00:51:30.723 --> 00:51:37.863
icebergs and the sort of magnitude of it all having a really good whale encounter

00:51:37.863 --> 00:51:43.723
close up as we talked about before it's just that um it's just that big smile

00:51:43.723 --> 00:51:46.263
on someone's face and the laugh or whatever.

00:51:48.396 --> 00:51:51.896
Reaction they get to what they're to what they're doing and and

00:51:51.896 --> 00:51:55.696
on and on a more personal level i suppose for

00:51:55.696 --> 00:51:58.896
me i i certainly go back to greenland or

00:51:58.896 --> 00:52:05.296
to to sealac rather than venturing to to new places because of the connection

00:52:05.296 --> 00:52:11.576
i've got with some of the local people there that's important for me as always

00:52:11.576 --> 00:52:16.536
it's the people that make the difference yeah i think yeah yeah i'd agree how

00:52:16.536 --> 00:52:17.676
How can listeners connect with you?

00:52:18.016 --> 00:52:20.936
Well, I have a website, which is for my little business.

00:52:23.156 --> 00:52:26.696
It's GreenlandKaikexpeditions.com. And the other thing to do,

00:52:26.936 --> 00:52:31.156
probably easier, is just to type in my name, Martin Rickard.

00:52:31.556 --> 00:52:38.156
So if you typed into Google Martin Rickard Greenland, that would come up fairly quick with me.

00:52:38.956 --> 00:52:42.756
I'm also on one of Nigel Dennis' expedition centers.

00:52:42.756 --> 00:52:45.596
So if anyone's familiar with sea kayak

00:52:45.596 --> 00:52:48.456
in uk and sort of follows nigel then on

00:52:48.456 --> 00:52:53.316
his website there's links to me and what i do all right we'll make sure you

00:52:53.316 --> 00:52:58.176
include that in the show notes both to the uh the website and to the expedition

00:52:58.176 --> 00:53:01.936
center out of curiosity when you're in greenland do you use a greenland paddle

00:53:01.936 --> 00:53:07.996
or a euro paddle well i must admit i use a celtic paddle which is uh,

00:53:08.956 --> 00:53:12.416
something part of nigel's company it's what

00:53:12.416 --> 00:53:15.436
i'm used to i did actually all last summer i

00:53:15.436 --> 00:53:19.216
used a greenland paddle because aesthetically if

00:53:19.216 --> 00:53:23.956
you're going to use a greenland paddle that's the place to use it and i

00:53:23.956 --> 00:53:28.236
did it i do enjoy it yeah i enjoy the rolling with it and everything and out

00:53:28.236 --> 00:53:35.576
in it just feels right to use a paddle i had a nice paddle lent to me by east

00:53:35.576 --> 00:53:43.156
pole paddles which was very good aesthetically it was wood and it just was perfect and.

00:53:44.219 --> 00:53:46.859
I guess I'm an old dog and it's hard to teach me new tricks.

00:53:47.019 --> 00:53:51.439
So I just stick to my Euroblade. I can, I feel bomb proof with that. All right.

00:53:52.459 --> 00:53:56.539
One last question for you, Merton. Who else would you like to hear as a future

00:53:56.539 --> 00:53:57.599
guest on Paddling the Blue?

00:53:58.119 --> 00:54:03.179
Well, I did know this question was going to come up. I think there's a lot of

00:54:03.179 --> 00:54:04.379
history in sea kayaking.

00:54:04.799 --> 00:54:09.719
And I think someone who would definitely be able to, or would certainly be of

00:54:09.719 --> 00:54:13.179
interest to your listeners is a guy called Sam Cook.

00:54:13.179 --> 00:54:18.019
He was involved right in the early days of developing gear with frank goodman

00:54:18.019 --> 00:54:21.299
valley kayaks sea kayaks it was

00:54:21.299 --> 00:54:26.459
the same sort of time nigel paddle around britain in late 70s early 80s,

00:54:27.279 --> 00:54:32.359
and and i know sam did a lot of development of equipment helped design the nord cap.

00:54:33.739 --> 00:54:39.279
Hatches bulkheads all that sort of stuff pumps paddle gears radex for the trip

00:54:39.279 --> 00:54:45.399
he did early on when they paddled around Spalbard and Nord Cap as a training

00:54:45.399 --> 00:54:47.839
trip for Spalbard, which is how the boat got its name.

00:54:48.619 --> 00:54:53.199
So if I can help you track down Sam Cooke, then I think he's forgotten more

00:54:53.199 --> 00:54:56.579
about expedition sea kayaking than most people will ever know.

00:54:56.679 --> 00:54:59.379
So he will be great to listen to.

00:55:00.199 --> 00:55:04.179
Super. Sounds like a fascinating interview. I know Sam's name has come up once

00:55:04.179 --> 00:55:08.539
or twice in conversations and I'll look forward to working with you for that opportunity.

00:55:08.539 --> 00:55:12.219
And you've mentioned Nigel a few times as well I mean we'll have to see if we

00:55:12.219 --> 00:55:17.759
can get Nigel back on the show and for a part two to hear about some more of his experience,

00:55:18.279 --> 00:55:23.259
I think I sat in with great interest and listened to Nigel's podcast with you

00:55:23.259 --> 00:55:26.379
and chuckled on numerous occasions thinking,

00:55:26.919 --> 00:55:28.959
well there's more to that story than he's telling,

00:55:29.579 --> 00:55:31.319
so I think it would be good value

00:55:31.319 --> 00:55:36.579
to get Nigel back and see what else he's prepared to divulge to you Yeah.

00:55:37.859 --> 00:55:41.679
All right. Well, this has been fantastic, Martin. Thank you very much for the opportunity.

00:55:41.839 --> 00:55:46.379
It's been wonderful learning about Greenland, learning about Geno Watkins and

00:55:46.379 --> 00:55:51.559
Freddie Spencer Chapman and their connections. I'll have to pick up a copy of the book.

00:55:51.679 --> 00:55:55.159
I'll have to look around and see if I can find Watkins' Last Expedition by Freddie

00:55:55.159 --> 00:55:58.299
Spencer Chapman and learn more from that perspective.

00:55:58.739 --> 00:56:01.039
All right. Well, thanks very much for the opportunity.

00:56:01.779 --> 00:56:04.479
Hope it's of interest to all those folk out there listening.

00:56:04.819 --> 00:56:06.659
Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you.

00:56:08.156 --> 00:56:11.956
You want to be a stronger and more efficient paddler, Power to the Paddle is

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packed with fitness guidance and complete descriptions along with photos of

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more than 50 exercises to improve your abilities and enjoy your time on the water.

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The concept and exercises in this book have helped me become a better paddler

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and they can make a difference for you too.

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The exercises in the book can help you reduce tension in your shoulders and

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low back, use the power of your torso to create leverage and use less energy with each stroke,

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use force generated from your lower body to make your paddling strokes more

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efficient, have the endurance to handle long days in the boat,

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drive through the toughest waves or whitewater,

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protect your body against common paddling injuries, and while you're at it,

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And who wouldn't mind that? So visit paddlingexercises.com to get the book and companion DVD.

00:56:53.636 --> 00:56:58.396
I really appreciate Martin's ethic as a paddler rather than a tourist and creating

00:56:58.396 --> 00:57:01.416
a strong, positive engagement with people in Greenland.

00:57:01.556 --> 00:57:05.336
If you're interested in the history of kayak expeditions and making a real connection

00:57:05.336 --> 00:57:08.676
with locals, as well as learning more about Gino Watkins and Freddie Spencer

00:57:08.676 --> 00:57:10.516
Chapman, Martin is your guide.

00:57:10.656 --> 00:57:14.996
He's done a great amount of research on their expeditions and could be fascinating.

00:57:15.336 --> 00:57:21.016
Visit the show notes for this episode, number 124 at www.paddlingtheblue.com

00:57:21.016 --> 00:57:24.136
slash 124 for more information and to connect with Martin.

00:57:24.396 --> 00:57:27.236
And you'll also find all past episodes and their show notes,

00:57:27.396 --> 00:57:29.136
as well as links to our great partners.

00:57:29.656 --> 00:57:33.036
Thanks again, as always, to our partners at OnlineSeaKyaking.com for extending

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that special offer to you.

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Visit OnlineSeaKyaking.com, enter the code PTBpodcast to check out,

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and get 10% off just for being a member of the Paddling the Blue community.

00:57:42.456 --> 00:57:45.576
Until next time, thanks again for listening, and I look forward to bringing

00:57:45.576 --> 00:57:47.616
you the next episode of Paddling the Blue.

00:57:48.116 --> 00:57:51.636
Thank you for listening to Paddling the Blue. You can subscribe to Paddling

00:57:51.636 --> 00:57:56.936
the Blue on Apple Music, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

00:57:56.936 --> 00:58:00.896
Please take the time to leave us a five-star review on apple music we truly

00:58:00.896 --> 00:58:04.596
appreciate the support and you can find the show notes for this episode and

00:58:04.596 --> 00:58:09.236
other episodes along with replays of past episodes contact information and more

00:58:09.236 --> 00:58:12.276
at paddlingtheblue.com until next time.

00:58:12.400 --> 00:58:20.612
Music.