Latest News
On Downwinding: Preparing for Wind, Without Wind
Not every downwind season begins with downwind conditions. In many places, spring offers fragments rather than full runs: partial wind, confused chop, short fetch, or days that never quite organize. It is easy to treat these sessions as placeholders, something to get through until “real” downwinding arrives. In practice, they are [...]
On Equipment: Leashes
"I'm a good swimmer, I'll be fine." The boat is five feet away, then ten, then fifteen. The hull is above the water, catching air, rolling with the waves. You are floating in the water, catching nothing. The distance continues to increase. You can't reach it. Even without your PFD and [...]
On Training: Endurance as Structural Tolerance
Something went in a shoulder during what should have been a recovery paddle. Not a hard session, not a race, just an hour on flat water at a pace that required nothing in particular. The work earlier in the week had been heavier, and none of it had produced a warning. [...]
Nationals: Shared Uncertainty
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 a [...]
On Racing: Crosswind Legs
The boat wants to go somewhere else. Not dramatically, not in a way that threatens to capsize, but persistently, with a kind of patient insistence. The wind is coming from the left at maybe thirty degrees off the beam. The mark is ahead and to the right. Every few strokes the [...]
On Downwinding: Cold Water Changes Everything
Cold water does not simply raise the stakes. It changes how decisions are made. The physics of the run may look familiar, but perception, timing, and tolerance for error shift in ways that are easy to underestimate if you focus only on conditions above the surface. In warmer months, small mistakes [...]
Surfski Reviews
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Nelo 550 Surfski Review
My Search of the "Perfect" Surfski My search since 2003 for the "Perfect" surfski has gotten easier with so many surfskis brought to the market since then, most notably in the last two years. Before 2003, I paddled and raced sea kayaks since 1993. My surfski experience started off with [...]
Epic V10L Ultra First Paddle by Wesley Echols
I took today off from work in anticipation of my Epic New V10L Ultra being delivered which it was at 2:30 pm. I quickly unwrapped it, surveyed it for any shipping damage which there was none and signed for it. Then I proceeded to outfit it. I have outfitted so [...]
New Stellar SR by Tim H
My thoughts on the New Stellar SR 2015 2015 has been a good year for me to build strength and continue improving my stroke technique on flat water. As I bumped up the speed work in April I started to see the fruits in May at the Essex River race. [...]
2020 Surfski Reviews: Part One-Stellar Skis
Introduction On February 2, I kicked off my "on season" training plan for the upcoming year that I look forward to every year. That was delayed three weeks later due to the flu, not the coronavirus. I did get my flu shot but with only 45% efficacy due to a [...]
2015 Surfski Comparison Report
Over the next several months, I will be adding the Think Ion, Think Evo 2 Ultimate, Fenn Elite, Fenn Spark, Stellar SR (2nd Generation), Stellar SES(2nd Generation) (Review Pending) to my Surf Ski Comparison chart and my Surf ski Reviews. I have reviewed all but the new SES so I [...]