Editors Note: 2026 Nationals is hosted in collaboration with the Blackburn Challenge. Register today at capeannrowingclub.com! The first boats arrive before the light changes. Trailers in the parking area, hulls upright, paddles still banded together. A few athletes are already on the beach, not warming up, just watching the water. [...]
Rudders are often talked about in absolute terms. Bigger is safer. Smaller is faster. One setup is “correct,” another is a compromise. Downwind paddling tends to unravel that kind of thinking. In moving water, rudder choice is less about correctness and more about which tradeoffs you are willing to make [...]
Performance in the ocean is not defined by how things look when everything is working. It is defined by how long they continue to work as conditions change. When performance falls apart in an ocean race, it rarely feels gradual. It feels like receding surf. One moment the boat is [...]
Boat choice is often discussed as a matter of identity. Paddlers describe themselves as being “in” a certain ski, or moving “up” to another, as if progression were linear and permanent. Downwind conditions tend to dismantle that idea quickly. The boat that feels perfect one day can feel demanding or [...]
No two races present the same problem. Course length and conditions matter, but the character of the field often matters more. Strategy that works perfectly in one race can fail completely in another, not because the paddler raced poorly, but because the context changed. Large fields create compression. Starts are [...]
