#1 in Surfski News and Reviews2025-12-31T20:30:22-05:00

  • On Downwinding: You’re Not Surfing

    Most paddlers learn to think about downwind paddling in terms of waves.  You catch a wave, you ride the wave, and you look for the next wave.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  That model works well enough [...]

  • On Training: Stress and Adaptation

    Nothing in training happens without stress.  In the absence of a stressor, our system remains exactly as it is.  But stress alone is not improvement, and in an ocean environment, misunderstanding that difference is one [...]

  • On Racing: Starting Right

    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 [...]

  • Blackburn Challenge to host 2026 National Championships

    The American Canoe Association has selected the Cape Ann Rowing Club's Blackburn Challenge as the host venue for the 2026 USA Canoe Ocean Racing National Championships, placing one of America’s most iconic open-water races at [...]

  • USA Surfski Paddlers @ 2025 ICF COR World Championships

    The 2025 ICF Canoe Ocean Racing (COR) World Championships were held in Durban, South Africa this past October.  Worlds is the pinnacle international competition for surfski paddlers all over the world, in addition to World Cups [...]

Latest News

USCA Nationals: Gut Check

The USCA Nationals offer an opportunity for flatwater canoeists and kayakers to set aside their differences for four days to compete in harmony at a shared venue.  All races are within group, of course - there's a limit to how much comingling can be tolerated.  Like the better circuses, the Nationals [...]

Battle of the Bay: O’ertaken

Once again, the Battle of the Bay fell within the mandatory blog blackout period following the Gorge Downwind Champs.  However, I'm assured that the Committee often turns a blind eye to brief race summaries provided that they "portray surfski paddlers in a positive light" and avoid ancillary alliteration.  Hardly seems worth writing anything [...]

Gorge Downwind Champs: Running Wild

Usually when I write a race report, I find myself having to... let's say "embroider"... the story to keep it interesting.  After all, it's mostly the same 25 people finishing in roughly the same order.  Sure, you never know exactly what kind of wackiness you'll get from Jan or exactly how [...]

2018 Blackburn Challenge

Another Year, Another "Good Blackburn" The racing goal for the past 16 years has been to have a "Good Blackburn". The Blackburn is a different kind of race than the other races we do in New England. First of all, it is long: 19.5 miles give or take a few tenths [...]

2018 USCA National Championships 9-12 August 2018

2018 USCA National Championships 9-12 August 2018 Onondaga Lake Park, Liverpool NY From 9-12 of August all roads for racing paddlers in the Northeast lead to Onondaga Lake Park just north of Syracuse, New York. In 2016 the United States Canoe Association (USCA) held its annual championships on the Connecticut River [...]

2018 Lighthouse to Lighthouse, Sept 15, 2018

Get Registered! by Mark Ceconi Come one, come all on Saturday, September 15th, 2018, to one of the most iconic races on the Northeast circuit, the venerable Lighthouse to Lighthouse Race (or “L2L,” as it’s known to the cool kids on the block), in Norwalk, CT. Proceeds benefit the Achilles International [...]

find your next boat

Surfski Classifieds

Find your perfect boat today!

Ocean Skis

Racing Skis

FlatWater K1

share the passion

Surfski Reviews

Looking for an ocean ski? Check out the surfski comparison chart!

Go to Top