SurfSkiRacing.com – Page 49 – #1 in Surfski News, Reviews and Used Surfskis For Sale

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

2013 Blackburn Challenge, Who Turned Up the Heat?

The predicted thunder storms did not roll in until late afternoon, nor did the predicted 10-15 mph winds southwest winds. However, the oppressive heat and humidity was with us. Driving to the race on Friday, stuck in the Boston traffic, Betsy, my wife, would call out 109, 115, 122 every ten [...]

The 2009 Blackburn Challenge – by Wesley Echols

Every ocean race is a unique experience. This is the excitement of ocean racing; there are so many unpredictable factors to take into account. The usual weather conditions; wind, current, tide, water/air temperature, fog and surf, if applicable. This day’s race forecast was initially for a small craft warning with thunderstorms [...]

My First Blackburn by Reid Hyle – Repost from 2012

The Blackburn Challenge has been on my “to do” list of races since I began racing in a sea kayak with the Mid Atlantic Paddler’s Association in Virginia back in 2002. But even with all the racing and travelling I’ve done since then I’d not yet made the trip up to [...]

Casco Bay Challenge? Finding the Finish. by Greg Lesher

The Casco Bay Challenge was designed as a rare New England paddling treat - an extended downwind race across the entire bay, amidst dozens of striking Maine islands. While the forecast initially looked good for such a race, a cursèd fog befell us. An elderly salt on the beach warned us [...]

Ride the Bull:The Longest 8 Seconds by Greg Lesher

Nobody finishes the Blackburn Challenge or the Essex River Race and says aloud "Man, was that fun!" That was the universal refrain after the inaugural Ride the Bull race, however. Actually, one of the paddlers did tell me mid-race that he "wanted to go home", but since said home is in New Jersey, [...]