Since the North Carolina Challenge, I have been using a Greenland paddle in my workouts.  Some fast EC and NCC paddlers have used them, so I have been looking at videos and trying to acquire the art.  I have used Werner carbon bent shafts for cruising and whitewater paddling, and I have been using an Epic wing for workouts for the past year.  I have fooled around on the lake with the Greenland paddle at the camp where I teach in the summer, so I am comfortable with rolling with it.

A couple of days ago I went out on Time Ford Lake toward the end of a frontal passage.  It was 37 degrees and the wind was blowing at 15-20 with gusts to the high 20s.  The lake was streaky with whitecaps and 1-2 foot waves.  Occasionally rain squally came through.

I was buttoned up in mid-weight capalene topped by a fleece and a NRS sea kayaking rain jacket.  I had neoprene pogies on my hands.

I paddled out against the wind.  I didn’t deploy the GPS, but I figure I was going about 2 mph against the wind and waves, with an occasional gust stopping me.  Coming back I surfed the waves and flew along, having to paddle hard to get any purchase on the water.

The wind never yanked at the paddle as it would the wing or the Werner touring blade.  I was always comfortable with the bite and angle of the blade.

Conclusion: I am going to at least take along a Greenland blade on WaterTribe challenges.