The first thing you notice at an unfamiliar venue is the water: how it flows, how the wind sets up, how the waves stack, whether there's chop on top of swell or just one or the other. You start reading conditions before you put your boat in. You start reading [...]
There are paddlers in the launch area you've never raced before. Names you've seen in results from the other coast, or heard mentioned by someone who trains differently, in water you've never paddled. They're rigging boats thirty feet away. This is the part of Nationals that has no equivalent at [...]
Editors Note: 2026 Nationals is hosted in collaboration with the Blackburn Challenge. Register today at capeannrowingclub.com! Every edition of Nationals is a distinct test, shaped by its own water, its own wind, its own current. No two competitions are the same, even at the same venue. One year the wind [...]
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. [...]
