East Greenland - A Seakayak Expedition with Martin Rickard

East Greenland is probably the one destination to be travelled by sea kayak.
It is the home of the kayak, but also home of immensely huge icebergs, polar bears, whales, other tremendous wildlife and incredibly kind people.
I had the opportunity to travel to East Greenland with an amazing group of passionate paddlers, guided by Martin Rickard and George Shaw.
Martin has roughly 20 years of experience guiding in this dynamic and raw environment. We managed to navigate during long crossings in thick fog, around insanely large ice bergs, reached one of Gino Watkins' basecamp from the British Arctic Air Route Expedition in the 1930s and to stay away from polar bears, finding sleep in 24h of sunlight.
Follow us on this incredible journey!
Tom, Martin and George
Tom Vetterl Adventure Film Making:
www.tomvetterl.com
Martin Rickard:
www.greenlandkayakexpeditions.com
George Shaw:
www.seakayakingisleofman.com

[@robertkerner4833]

Excellent story telling and first class cinematography. Thank you for your editing too. So many kayaking films are just one continuous shot from the bow or the PFD, Love how you integrated the interviews.

[@TomVetterl]

Hi Robert! Thanks a lot for your feedback! I’m really glad you like it :)

[@ItIsYourMom]

Looks amazing - beautiful (and cold!)!

[@TomVetterl]

Thanks mate!

[@perezfranco]

When you look at the footage shown in 0m45s, it's amazing how the quality of video has improved since the year 2000.

[@TomVetterl]

Crazy how grainy the black and white films were was back in 2000 😛

[@woofna1948]

Drones - the cinematographer's friend. You used the footage superbly, Tom. As for the swimmer, someone is very well acclimated to cold water. I also found the comment about Martin's competent but relaxed leadership informative. Experienced wilderness travelers know the importance of having a cohesive group, and the leader really does set the tone. Thanks for a lovely look at your expedition.

[@TomVetterl]

Hey thanks a lot for your kind words, highly appreciated. I'm glad you like the film :)

[@woofna1948]

@@TomVetterl You're welcome, Tom. I do some video editing myself and it gives me a very deep appreciation for both the difficulty, artistry, and effort involved in making a first-class film. Five Stars, well-earned. 💫💫💫💫💫

[@texassportzman]

What an adventure and lifetime experience. Thx for sharing

[@TomVetterl]

Glad you like it :)

[@Buckethead1705]

FANTASTIC !!!! Unbelievable!!!!!

[@TomVetterl]

Hey thanks! Glad you liked it :)

[@prignitz-outdoor]

Grüße euch. Eine schöne Tour, danke fürs mitnehmen.👍 Ich war auch schon einige Male mit dem Kajak in Grönland 🇬🇱. Grüße von Prignitz Outdoor.

[@TomVetterl]

Cool, das freut mich :) Wo in Grönland warst du unterwegs?

[@richardbest6588]

Beautiful film... It gives a real feel of the place, and a sense of the relaxed atmosphere within the group, unless the tensions were edited out! 😉 I've padded in West Greenland, where the landscape feels much more benign than East Greenland looks in your film... and hardly any bears to worry about!

[@TomVetterl]

Hey Richard! Thank you, glad you like it... Haha, na the atmosphere has in fact been really great, the team had an awesome chemistry from the start, though most of us haven't met before. Where in West Greenland have you been?

[@donsicaro8648]

Thank you!!

[@TomVetterl]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching :)

[@levit8]

I like the textures you shoot, look foward to meeting up in September when im over your way

[@TomVetterl]

Thanks Andre, appreciated! Absolutely, let me know when you know what time you're in the area!

[@RyanKangoshi]

Stunning video Tom. I'd love to do an expedition like this one day. Thanks for sharing x

[@TomVetterl]

Hey thanks Ryan, glad you liked it! Go for it! It doesn't have to be Greenland, there are so many beautiful kayak expedition opportunities out there!

[@legolaslaslego5675]

👍❤ super schön gemacht! tolle Aufnahmen

[@TomVetterl]

Danke 😘

[@bjornjansen5266]

Great film and adventure Tom! Quite a unique experience but I’d wonder how I’d sleep in a tent knowing there polar bears around.. 😅

[@TomVetterl]

Thanks Bjorn! Haha, you definitely just get tired enough to fall asleep :D

[@claudiorosa419]

Uuuaaauuuu!!!

[@TomVetterl]

Hope you liked it :)

[@renojaloleyui7099]

Amazing footage! Please make a video about the gear you´ve used

[@TomVetterl]

Hey there! Thanks for your feedback :) What are you most interested in, camera gear or expedition gear?

[@foxhoundful]

Expedition gear.

[@PARABOLA1966]

​@@TomVetterl HI there everything, including cameras, kayaks, gear, etc. Thank you for the upload. I've done quite a bit of kayaking, down in Patagonia, Tierra Del Fuego...

[@TheSevrath]

12:55 what were you shooting at? wildlife?

[@TomVetterl]

Hey there! No absolutely not, they were just test shots into the air. No animals were harmed :)

[@marie-floreblondelot6636]

Bonjour. où est ce au Groenland est?

[@TomVetterl]

Hello :) It is close to Tassiilaq!

[@marie-floreblondelot6636]

Merci! Quels sont les risques de voir des ours?

[@TomVetterl]

Depends, there is a night watch, so there’s always one team member awake looking for bears. If a bear approaches the camp site, everybody gets up and makes noise. Warning shots might be fired into the sky, so the bear gets scared away.

[@marie-floreblondelot6636]

@@TomVetterl ok merci Nous partons l'été 2023 dans le fjord de Sermilik après 2 expériences à l'ouest en baie de Disko dont une de 3 semaines en autonomie. Nous ne pourrons pas faire de surveillance la nuit car nous sommes juste un couple avec un kayak gonflable et il faut bien dormir un peu. Je crois qu'il faudra une clôture électrique, qu'en pensez vous?

[@richardbest6588]

​@@marie-floreblondelot6636 I have kayaked in West Greenland, but also in arctic Canada where bears are a concern. Being just 2 people in Canada we took firearms and set a perimeter alarm every night. You can now get motion sensor alarms to guard a camp and alert you. But I would definitely take a gun...

[@keithmoriyama5421]

Interesting... a Greenland expedition by a group of highly experienced and skilled kayakers and none of them is using a Greenland paddle.

[@TomVetterl]

I used one, you should look a little closer :P

[@askotamme]

@@TomVetterl at 3:24 🙂

[@askotamme]

and when guys roll, one does it with stick, at about 10.30

[@martindenk8185]

Tom, nächstes mal gehst Du mit mir auf Expedtion und nicht auf Kaffeefahrt mit Martin 🙂...

[@TomVetterl]

Challenge accepted :D

[@martindenk8185]

Mit meinen Clips dauert's noch a bisserl - bin aktuell an meiner Multimedia am werkeln, auch der Blog kostete mehr Zeit als erwartet...

[@TomVetterl]

Bin auf jeden Fall gespannt!

[@tetouanwadlaw2008]

super adventur

[@TomVetterl]

Thanks mate!