Description
This article is from the Sea
Kayaking FAQ, by Todd Leigh with numerous contributions by
others.
56 Was kayak hunting dangerous?
Very dangerous.
Some times a wounded animal wound attack the kayak. Walrus and whales
were especially dangerous when injured. Some times a walrus would
attack a kayak even if the kayak was not hunting it. Sometimes the
harpoon line would tangle and upset the kayak.
It is important to remember these people had no thermal protection
against the cold waters when they wet exited since there was no
equivalent to the wetsuit or drysuit (although in Greenland there was
an equivalent to the modern drysuit but that was only used by Umiak
crews hunting whales). The water temperature they paddled in could be
as low as 27 degrees F since saltwater has a lower freezing point than
freshwater. Glaciers helped to lower the water temperature by calving
icebergs into the water. To wet exit the boat was considered suicide
by many groups. Also, there was no equivalent to the modern PFD.
In South Greenland in 1888 there were 162 deaths. 90 were males and 24
of the males died while kayaking. In 1889, there were 272 deaths. 152
were male and 24 died while kayaking. The population consisted of 5614
of which there were 2591 males.
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