> One of the articles I provided a link to mentions this "slip".
> Pardon my ignorance but I don't know what this term refers to. Care to
> explain or link to an explanation?

Like Mark said, it is the paddle moving through the water. Zero slip is essentially impossible.

> That makes sense. I was thinking more about the fact that with a sliding
> stroke a lot of the paddle is taken out of the wind and buried in the
> water. Also, where I paddle there are a lot of sudden gusts coming from
> different angles. The Euro paddle seems to get caught like a kite and want
> to jerk out of my hands.

The sliding stroke is not hard, but in the long run it grows tiresome - all that moving your hands. As long as you don't insist on moving your hands all the way to the end of your paddle it is easier with a "modern" paddle where the shaft is the same size over the whole length.

> Thanks for your response. Humour me a bit, though. If I shorten the shaft
> on a Euro paddle, make the blades thicker and out of wood, give it a
> better grip, use the low stroke... wait a minute, I've got a Greenland
> paddle.

If you take a greenland paddle give it an efficient blade, give it a longer shaft with a shorter blade, you get the modern paddle.

> Just bugging ya'. Seriously, though, there must be some real disadvantages
> to the Greenland paddle if most experienced people prefer the Euro style.
> I'm curious what they are.

The modern or Euro style paddles are more efficient for speed and more effective for manuvering, so for racing and whitewater they work better. The average paddler may not need these advantages. The loss of efficiency is not a big deal for the average paddler. The lower stress on the body from a greenland paddle makes up for the loss of efficiency and gives many people longer range. You could get the same advantage with a good modern paddle but then you miss out on the mysticism/mythology.