What is an avataq?

What it really is

A rolling aid? A training float? Sort of. Not really. The avataq (or avataaq) is the Inuit kayak hunter's float, and it was serious gear for seal hunting up in the Arctic.

It was usually made from the whole skin of a small seal, blown up like a balloon. It was tied to the harpoon line, which lay neatly coiled on the foredeck.

Kayak hunting 101

Harpoon goes in, the line runs out, and the avataq goes overboard with it so the seal doesn't drag the kayak along. Now the seal has a big balloon on its back. It can't dive deep, and it gets tired fast hauling that thing around. The hunter paddles up close and finishes the job.

If the avataq got stuck on deck, though, the seal pulled you over instead. Hence rolling practice with the float still attached. It's plan B, and it had to work.

Why it mattered

Up there the avataq meant food or no food. Seal hunting looks harsh with modern eyes, but that's how Inuit families ate, and the hunters had to be very, very good at it. A kayak with an avataq on deck is a few thousand years of figuring that out.

Modern practice

We Greenland rolling nerds use the avataq for training and competitions. Smaller paddlers I know lovingly call it "The Horror Bag". If you're light, the avataq floats almost as much as you weigh, and rolling with it gets really hard. Your standard Greenland roll has to be absolutely nailed or you're swimming. So finally a sport where a little extra around the middle pays off. You're welcome :)

First try

Tip: if you can't come up on one side, try the other. It's often way easier, don't ask me why. You train a powerful roll and quick thinking upside down, and you'll need both out there in our beautiful but sometimes rough world.

//Tibor