Thursday, 04 December 2008
Main Menu
Home
Coaching Corner
Destinations
Equipment Reviews
Galleries
General Articles
Handy Hints
Historical Sites
Links
Literature
Seamanship
Two Minutes With
Amazon Bookstore
Pic of the Week
Calendar
Sea Paddler Blog
Search

Two Minutes with...Kamp Absalonsen

We met Kamp at the La Reve Arctique in Tregastel, Brittany last weekend. During the weekend, he delivered talks and coached rolling techniques - Greenlandic style. A great character.

We met Kamp at the La Reve Arctique in Tregastel, Brittany last weekend. During the weekend, he delivered talks and coached rolling techniques - Greenlandic style. A great character. Kamp is a bit over 50! He was the only one left to use a kayak in Sissimiut where he was born. Sissimiut is around 350 Km south of Illusiat in Disko Bay. He arrived in Illusiat 20 years ago and reintroduced the kayak where not many people practised it.
He is currently the vice president of the Greenlandic Qajaq Association and the senior primary judge of competitions organised by that organisation. Kamp is a hunter, who likes the meat of the whale and his preference is the beluga. He is the proud owner of 20 Greenladic dogs.

  1. How did you get into paddling? When I was 8 or 9 years old I paddled a Greenlandic Hunter's Kayak.
  2. What type of kayak do you paddle? A Greenlandic kayak, made by myself. I could teach you to build one.
  3. What is your favourite paddling area? Anywhere in Greenland.
  4. What is your day job? Electricity supplier
  5. Who would you say has had the most influence on your paddling development? No one. I taught myself.
  6. Who do you think has done the most to develop modern sea kayaking? John Heath, Greg Stammer and Freya Hoffmeister
  7. If you were paddling a double sea kayak who would you want in the front seat and why? A beautiful French woman!
  8. What is the best or most memorable paddle that you have undertaken? Very difficult for me to answer - hunting in Greenland. It doesn't matter where, as long as I'm on the sea.
  9. What is your favourite stroke? None in particular - any Greenlandic stroke.
  10. If you were to offer one piece of advice to newcomers to the sport what would it be? I would asked them if they had kayaked before and if not I'd give them a more stable kayak.
  11. How do you see the sport developing in the next 10 years? This is a difficult question. Kayaking was disappearing in Central Greenland. The Kayak association was started in 1984. Now there are between 14,000 and 15,000 members out of a population of 55,000. It is getting better for the kayak as we don't want to see the kayak in the museum. We want to see it on the water! In 1956 I was the only kayaker in Sissimiut as people didn't hunt from kayak's anymore.
  12. What is your major frustration with the sport? When Europeans say 'boat' for a kayak - A kayak is a kayak!
  13. What music would be the soundtrack to your paddling life? anything by Peter Enoksen or Jim Reeves
  14. Do you belong to a Club and what is your involvement? I'm vice President of the Greenlandic Qajaq Association. I'm an ordinary member of the Illusiat kayak club. I restarted the club in 1994.
  15. Have you ever had an embarrassing moment. Something afterwards that you can smile about but wished hadn’t happened. I won't say - It's about an European!
  16. Do you have any regrets – something that you had wished you had done but now can’t see yourself doing? No regrets at all.
  17. Why do you think we are interviewing you today? I don't know
 
www.seapaddler.co.uk