Pacing in ocean racing is often reduced to a number: heart rate, power, speed. These metrics are useful in training, but they tell only part of the story once the race begins. On race day, pacing is less about maintaining a steady output and more about deciding when to spend [...]
Once the race settles, very few paddlers are truly alone. Packs form quickly—sometimes by intention, sometimes by accident—and they become the dominant force shaping effort, speed, and outcome. Understanding how packs work is one of the most important racecraft skills, and one of the least formally taught. A pack is [...]
Most races are decided long before the first buoy or the first run. They begin in the final minutes before the start, when paddlers are already spending physical, mental, and emotional energy, whether they realize it or not. The start line is not a pause before the race. It is [...]
Many athletes think racing is mainly about physical fitness. They train harder, go longer, and arrive at the start line believing the strongest engine will win. Of course, sometimes it does. But more often than not, it doesn’t. Ocean racing, especially in surfskis, rewards the complete operator: people who have [...]
THINK SURFSKI USA·FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2020·READING TIME: 7 MINUTES Surfski racing is a dynamic sport, beloved by many of its participants for the opportunity to test their skills as an ocean paddler – which could be described as an art form when done at a high level. Wind and waves [...]
