#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

Downwind Delight — Jamestown Double Beaver 2011 – By Tim Dwyer

In complete contrast to the silky smooth, records to be broken conditions of this year's Blackburn, the 2011 Double Beaver offered unruly, chaotic waves and the season’s best downwind runs. This was surfski heaven and the course did not disappoint. My weather predictions made a liar out of me. The night [...]

Narrow River Race 2022

The post-Covid 2022 New England race season got off to a blazing start with 24 entries, 16 eager surfski paddlers, and two K1 starters. We had paddlers from NJ, MA, CT, NY, and of course Rhode Island.  Rhode Island native Mike Florio put the hammer down from the start and [...]

Essex River (Replacement) Race: Meandering

The Essex River Race was an early casualty of pandemic restrictions in 2020, and was originally rescheduled this year from its traditional spring date to early October.  When the Cape Ann Rowing Club subsequently decided to cancel the race, I had no choice but to step up and volunteer Bill Kuklinski [...]

Great Stone Dam Classic: Startled by a Turkey

When they named the Great Stone Dam Classic 10+ years ago, co-chairs Francisco Urena and Shawn Burke were taking a risk on the initial and final words.  Great and Classic.  OK, it's named after the Great Stone Dam on the Merrimack River.  And, yeah, "classic" is sometimes used as a synonym for "race".  [...]

2021 Blackburn Challenge Goes On.

Despite Covid 19 restrictions, a scaled-down version of one of the most popular races on the East Coast went off albeit at your leisure. With advertised no timing, just a safety check, the time you got on the water at the dock, and the time you got off the water, many [...]

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Stellar Introduces New 18S Surfski, 18R Performance Sea Kayak

Review Update of 18R by Joe Zellner, Winner of the Dakota 72 Mile Race.  June 1, 2012 Here are my thoughts on the S18R in Excel  layup.  When I first saw the boat all I could think was “Wow, what a fast, pretty boat. I always liked the color orange. [...]

Epic V14 Ultra, My First Impressions by Wesley Echols, SurfskiRacing.com

I spent many years running road races and I rarely talked to my training partners about anything other than "training". The topic of conversations were how many miles did you do this week? Did you do interval training? How is your recovery? Are you at optimal weight? How many long [...]

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