Latest News
On Training: Efficiency and Friction
During any long session or race, most of each stroke converts cleanly into forward motion. A small fraction gets diverted into correction, stabilization, and adjustment. Some of that cost comes from outside: the ocean pushes, the boat responds, and effort goes toward holding a line and keeping the hull settled underneath [...]
On Racing: Finishing Strong
Finishing well has little to do with who is most tired. Everyone is tired. What separates paddlers at the end of a race is not how much they have left, but how clearly they can still act with what remains. The finish is rarely a single effort. It is a sequence [...]
Stability in the Boat-Do you need more?
By Wesley Echols I have paddled a wide range of skis over the years from advanced to beginner in all types of conditions. Below are some helpful hints on becoming more stable in your ski. Boat Choice: think about the conditions that you will be paddling in the 75% of the [...]
On Racing: Expecting the Unexpected
The forecast you checked the night before is completely different when you wake up. The wind has increased, the swell period has changed, and there's a conversation happening near the water's edge about which direction the gusts are going to come from and when. Of course, nobody really knows, at least [...]
On Downwinding: Reading Lines
The line appears before the decision to take it is fully formed. A shift in the water texture, maybe forty meters ahead, something about the way a long roller is organizing at an angle to the dominant swell, and the bow is already moving in that direction. A few strokes in [...]
On Training: Chain of Fools
The stroke catches and the boat runs. There is a feeling to it, a brief firmness in the water that holds long enough for the body to push through, and the boat moves with more economy than it did on the stroke before. Paddlers sometimes describe a boat as "running" on [...]
Surfski Reviews
Looking for an ocean ski? Check out the surfski comparison chart!
New Stellar SR
Last Sunday Tim, Bob and myself launched from Bay Voyage Inn, Jamestown, Rhode Island. We are suited up in our Kokatat Goretex Paddling Suits with a light weight base layer, mukluks, pogies, spare hat, gloves, gels, water, gps w/heart rate, phone, video camera,camera and leashes. Air temps were almost 50 [...]
New 2016 Stellar SEL 2G Surf Ski-12 year Quest is Over!
My surfski career started out much like my kayak career. In the early 1990's I bought my first boat, a new plastic P & H Capella that served me well for a year. Then I wanted something lighter and faster and progressed to a 55 lb Nigel Dennis Greenlander Pro [...]
Mako 6 Fiberglass Review – by Wesley Echols
The glass Mako 6 comes in at 37 pounds. The weight difference between the glass version and the carbon version is substantial. The glass version, like most other same model skis in different layups, handles similarly but the heavier layups tend to dampen the overall feeling of the ski. So [...]
Think Evo 3 Ultimate Surfski Review
Think about it! I did my first review of the original Evo review in 2009, my review of the Think Evo 2 back in June, 2014 which you can see at the end of this review. 2009 Evo Review In 2017 the Think Evo 3, (Length: 20′ 6″ (625 cm), [...]
Stellar S18S 2G Review is Coming!
Dave Thomas of Stellar Kayaks and Surfskis paddling the new S18S 2G on the Sakonnet. Dave dropped off the Stellar S18S 2G surfski for me to review. I have a lot of paddling to do with surfski reviews stacking up! I love it! Fall/winter is actually a better [...]