SurfSkiRacing.com – Page 55 – #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

RePost:Hard Work at the 2010 Blackburn – by Wesley Echols
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RePost:Hard Work at the 2010 Blackburn – by Wesley Echols

Blackburn Challenge, NE US Surfski Race Reports - 2010, Race Reports

RePost:Hard Work at the 2010 Blackburn – by Wesley Echols

The Blackburn is the premier ocean race on the East Coast due to a host of factors. First of all, it has a great history, from its inception back in 1987. It encourages all human-powered vessels, namely rowing craft of all kinds, sea kayaks, paddle boards, and yes, surfskis. Second, it [...]

Blackburn Challenge, Coming Soon to a Paddler Near You!
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Blackburn Challenge, Coming Soon to a Paddler Near You!

Blackburn Challenge, Race Reports

Blackburn Challenge, Coming Soon to a Paddler Near You!

Blackburn Challenge July 14, 2012 We are all looking forward to the Blackburn Challenge. We will have 2 of the top paddlers on the East Coast Reid Hyle and Borys Markin in a Rematch of last years East Coast Surfski Championship where Borys edged out Reid by a mere 5 seconds [...]

My Fourth and Best Molokai! by Richard Germain
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My Fourth and Best Molokai! by Richard Germain

Race Reports

My Fourth and Best Molokai! by Richard Germain

When I received the confirmation for the 2012 Molokai, I wondered if I really wanted to go back and take on the task of training again for that challenge. I knew I would be sick with envy and regret when the day of the race would come if I didn’t [...]

A Blustery Sakonnet River Race by Greg Lesher
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A Blustery Sakonnet River Race by Greg Lesher

NE US Surfski Race Reports - 2012

A Blustery Sakonnet River Race by Greg Lesher

Greg Lesher at Finish As the Sakonnet River Race approached (and surely I'm not the first to wonder how exactly this long ocean bay qualifies as a "river"), I was excited to find that Wesley had decided on an alternate course that would take us from 3rd Beach [...]

6:15pm, June 1st, Update Sakonnet River Race, Plan B, 11am Skipper Meeting, McCorrie Point Beach
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6:15pm, June 1st, Update Sakonnet River Race, Plan B, 11am Skipper Meeting, McCorrie Point Beach

Race Reports

6:15pm, June 1st, Update Sakonnet River Race, Plan B, 11am Skipper Meeting, McCorrie Point Beach

6:15 pm, Friday, June 1st update. Due to small craft advisory for tomorrow, we will do the same course we did 2 years ago in similar conditions. We will Start at McCorrie Beach, head South 2.8 miles to 1st blue/white mooring buoy off large dock, turn counterclockwise and head North [...]

Richard Germain Completes His 4th Molokai!!
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Richard Germain Completes His 4th Molokai!!

Race Reports

Richard Germain Completes His 4th Molokai!!

Richard contacted me several months ago when he was having problems trying to secure a ski for this 4th Molokai. I knew at that time Stellar was supplying skis to a number of other paddlers doing the race including Tim Altman(10th) and Matt O'garey(16th), so I put Dave Thomas of Stellar [...]