SurfSkiRacing.com – Page 41 – #1 in Surfski News, Reviews and Used Surfskis For Sale

On Training: Efficiency and Friction
During any long session or race, most of each stroke converts cleanly into forward motion. A small fraction gets diverted into correction, stabilization, and adjustment. Some of that cost comes from outside: the ocean pushes, [...]
On Racing: Finishing Strong
Finishing well has little to do with who is most tired. Everyone is tired. What separates paddlers at the end of a race is not how much they have left, but how clearly they can [...]
On Racing: Expecting the Unexpected
The forecast you checked the night before is completely different when you wake up. The wind has increased, the swell period has changed, and there's a conversation happening near the water's edge about which direction [...]
On Downwinding: Reading Lines
The line appears before the decision to take it is fully formed. A shift in the water texture, maybe forty meters ahead, something about the way a long roller is organizing at an angle to [...]
On Training: Chain of Fools
The stroke catches and the boat runs. There is a feeling to it, a brief firmness in the water that holds long enough for the body to push through, and the boat moves with more [...]
Nationals: Meet the (Blackburn) Challenge
Every local racing community has a structure. You know who the fast paddlers are, roughly how you stack up against them, and what a good day on the water looks like for you. That knowledge [...]
18th Sakonnet River Race 2026
The 18th Sakonnet River Race went off without a hitch with a small group of New England surfski paddlers. Conditions were ideal for the 9.4 mile course. It was not the total grind up to [...]
On Racing: Current, Tide, and Timing
Current is the quiet architect of many races. Unlike wind, it rarely announces itself. There is no sound, no visible force—just the subtle difference between working hard and going nowhere, or moving efficiently with effort [...]
On Downwinding: Decision Scope
Around the ninety-minute mark, a bump builds ahead and gets left alone. Not because of anything physical. The opportunity was real. But a sprint that reads as obvious on a twenty-minute run reads differently when [...]
On Training: Recovery and Adaptation
The main concept behind "training" of any sort is that damage accumulates when work occurs, and adaptation happens during recovery. There's a well-established process at this point for optimizing our adaptation mechanism to quickly achieve [...]

Latest News

Double Beaver, Bring Your “A” Game!
Gallery
Double Beaver, Bring Your “A” Game!

NE US Surfski Race Reports - 2014

Double Beaver, Bring Your “A” Game!

Normally I save the "thank you's" for the last paragraph but with so much support for yesterday's race I thought the recognition should be stated first. So thanks to the Dwyer Family; Alyce,Tim,Finn, and Gaelyn for hosting the race. They provided the post race gathering in their home, the chase boat [...]

Blackburn Challenge 2014 – by Mark Ceconi
Gallery
Blackburn Challenge 2014 – by Mark Ceconi

NE US Surfski Race Reports - 2014, Race Reports

Blackburn Challenge 2014 – by Mark Ceconi

Blackburn Challenge 2014: Racing, Records, and Reflections July 19, 2014, Gloucester, MA It escapes me how many Blackburn notches I’ve accrued in my belt to date…eight? Nine? This strikes me as somewhat ironic, given the fact that as the years progress, I’m rapidly running out of notches in my actual belt. [...]

Blackburn Challenge: Reporting from the Sidelines
Gallery
Blackburn Challenge: Reporting from the Sidelines

Blackburn Challenge, Race Reports

Blackburn Challenge: Reporting from the Sidelines

I wasn't sure about the protocol for writing a race summary when you technically didn't paddle in the race. So I consulted the handbook. And as stated clearly in the Surfski Blogger Union (Local 214) Bylaws, Section 5, Subsection B, Paragraph 6: "Members may only write about races in which they [...]

Personal Records at 2014 Blackburn Challenge
Gallery
Personal Records at 2014 Blackburn Challenge

Blackburn Challenge, Race Reports

Personal Records at 2014 Blackburn Challenge

Almost 300 paddlers (298) in various water craft made the trek around Cape Ann for the 2014 Blackburn Challenge. The combined surfski classes were the biggest overall class with 60 that included the singles, doubles, and the plus 20 class. No complaining this year about the temperature. It was a super [...]

Casco Bay Challenge: This Time with Color and Depth
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Casco Bay Challenge: This Time with Color and Depth

Race Reports

Casco Bay Challenge: This Time with Color and Depth

As you may recall, last year's inaugural Casco Bay Challenge was more like a chapter from the Odyssey than a ski race. We wandered aimlessly through a boundless oblivion, arriving an eternity later on the other side of the bay, astounded to find that only a few hours had passed in [...]

Ride the Bull: Exciting and New by Greg Lesher
Gallery
Ride the Bull: Exciting and New by Greg Lesher

NE US Surfski Race Reports - 2014

Ride the Bull: Exciting and New by Greg Lesher

Last year's inaugural Ride the Bull race was a great success, combining challenging conditions with just the right level of tom foolery (Jan's playful attempts at drowning, Borys' random wanderings, Tim H's exuberant/deranged appearances on every outcropping along the course, etc.). Leading up to this year's race, it looked like we [...]

Latest Videos

Tuesday Night Racing is back again with another great week! - Week 17 in the books.

To join or get more race info, head to:
https://www.deepcovekayak.com/tnr/

To shop paddle gear, head to:
https://www.coastoutdoors.ca

Title Sponsor:
@coastoutdoors

Gold Sponsor:
@mustangsurvival
@bakertillycanada
@blackfish_paddles

Silver Sponsor:
@vaikobi
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@kintecfootwear

Bronze Sponsor:
@deepcovecollective
@jerichobeachkayak
@catesparkpc
@seymourbean
@Honeydoughnuts
@waboba

Commentary:
Mike Darbyshire
Bob Putnam

Videography:
Jack Morros - Boat
Liam Pickrell - Drone

Editing:
Jack Morros