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#21
04-26-2012, 11:44 AM
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Tapcho
Excellent model and display! It looks very real as I have seen the kayaks and stands in person. However, I don't recall the shield on the bow of the ones I saw. It brought back a number of memories for me. When I was stationed at Thule AB, Greenland, I escorted a National Geographic journalist to the village of Qaanaaq, north of the base. The journalist wanted to cover the first whale hunt of the season, which is a big community celebration. We flew in via a Huey and arrived just as the hunt began. I let the journalist do his thing and as usual, stayed in the background out of the way. After the first whale (Narwhal) was brought in, things got really fun. I was offered, and accepted, a chunk of fat, and then our interpreter said we were being offered a chance on the water in a kayak. I was provided with a pair of polar bear pants, and still wearing my military issue parka, got in a kayak and paddled out with the NatGeo guy in his own kayak and several Inuit hunters. The kayak is very stable in calm waters. I have no idea how it handles in rough water, as the bay we were in was rather secluded. I was able to get fairly close to several narwhals. After spending somewhere around eight hours in Qaanaaq, we boarded the helicopter and returned to the base. It was definitely a day I would never forget. Your model brought back those fond memories, including the greasy taste of narwhal fat.  By the way, the village of Qaanaaq didn't exist until sometime in the early '50s. When the US and Danish governments settled on the site for Thule AB, the nearby village of Dundas was relocated to an unsettled area on the shore of a fjord north of the base. The relocated people named the village Qaanaaq. I used to know what the word meant in Greenlandic, but have long forgotten.
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Ashrunner "If you don't know what a lahar is, don't get in its way!" My Designs -- My Photography 
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#22
04-26-2012, 12:05 PM
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What a wonderful story Ashrunner! It must have been a very special moment and dear memory to charish. Thanks for sharing it here. You mentioned the shield/screen/sail in the bow. According to my references it ws used in seal hunting as a sort of a camoufulage for shooting/harpoon throwing. From the low eye level of the seal it must have looked like a piece of ice was floating towards until bang. There were many types of these and many ways to attach them to a kayak. And those were used only when hunting. I attached some pictures to explain.
Tappi
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#23
04-27-2012, 05:06 AM
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Tappi, this is a wonderful model. This simple subject has really come to life do to your craftsmanship and attention to detail.
Jeff
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#24
04-27-2012, 07:43 AM
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Thanks Jeff, I'm glad you enjoyed it too. Since I didn't have to tackle that much with the vessel itself I could do something extra to go with. I think I'll stick with the subject ''everyman's workboats around the world'' for a while. ;-)
Tappi
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#25
04-27-2012, 08:02 AM
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I read your comments on the judge at a modeling show saying that the blue rope would not stick out like that,.. but to tell you the truth I actually see it do that,.. with the salt water crusted rope that washes up on the shore from logging boats or fishhing boats and drying on the beach all day,.. that stuff gets rock hard!
thank you fro a great model and memories of growing up on the west coast in the pacific northwest!,..(where everyone seems to have a kayak! LOL)
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#26
04-27-2012, 11:49 AM
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Thanks for the information.
__________________
Ashrunner "If you don't know what a lahar is, don't get in its way!" My Designs -- My Photography
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#27
04-27-2012, 01:21 PM
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Hi HMCS and thanks for your comment. Now I can justify the stiff rope if the judges pick on that! Good to hear also that this set-up dug up some memories - great thrill to a modeler if his work does that. Nortwest made me think of one of my dreams - to build a model of Amundsen's Gjøa. I acquired couple of years ago blueprints from a museum to do that but the idea hasn't progressed further so far.
Ashrunner, it just might be that it was not a season for seal hunting when you were there. I've been googling what Qaanaaq might be in English but I've had no luck with that. I''ll post a note if I can crack that one. BTW - your nick and signature made me curious, have you experienced one, I mean a lahar?  Tappi
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#29
04-27-2012, 02:34 PM
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#30
04-28-2012, 01:08 PM
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Regrading the lahar, sort of. I spent some time doing search and rescue following the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Some of the areas we searched were covered with lahar material...but mostly pyroclastic material.Then in 1991, I was at Clark AB when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. Prior to the main event eruption, there was lahar material flowing down the rivers on the north, south and west sides of the base. I remember standing on the bank of the Abacon River (I believe that was the name of the river) while material was flowing by. It was so loud, I could barely hear the colonel when he told us to saddle up. After the main eruption, lahar material breached the walls of the base, and flowed a couple of miles to the base shopping area. The commissary was destroyed and new cars at the car lot were tossed around and stacked on each other. As the rainy season began, heavy rains in the area of Mt. Pinatubo caused lahars to flow down the Bambam River (again, I believe that was name of the river). The Filipinos called it "Big Water." The flows took out several bridges and the banks were undercut for several hundred feet on both sides, destroying buildings, including a hospital, as they collapsed into the river. It was a strange time, but for me, an exciting one, as I was able to experience another eruption.
__________________
Ashrunner "If you don't know what a lahar is, don't get in its way!" My Designs -- My Photography
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