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 [...]

Nationals: Shifting Context
The first thing you notice at an unfamiliar venue is the water: how it flows, how the wind sets up, how the waves stack, whether there's chop on top of swell or just one or [...]
On Racing: Wind Direction and Strength
Wind strength gets the headlines. Wind direction decides the race. Many paddlers fixate on how hard the wind is blowing, yet struggle to explain from where it is actually affecting them once they are on [...]

NK Rapido Surf Ski Review at 40 miles
Review by Wesley Echols Intro I got my NK Rapido, Carbon Lite layup(Green Tip) at the Run of the Charles Race in Boston, Massachusetts on April 27th, 2026. I had previously paddled the Storm for [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Latest News
Jamestown Double Beaver Race 2022
Reposted with Permission from New England Surfski Area paddlers met in Rhode Island for the 14th Jamestown Double Beaver on a stunning day. With competition from the Toms River Race in New Jersey the day after, participation was lower than usual. The field consisted of 7 surfskis and 3 SUPs. As [...]
Sakonnet River Race 2022
We had another good turnout for the 13th Sakonnet River Race including three doubles made up of two mixed teams(Robin, Igor), (Chris, Patty), and one all-male team(Bill and Kirk). Dave Thomas of Stellar also made the trip down from Northfield. Conditions were very flat with cooler temps making the flat [...]
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 [...]
Essex River Replacement Race Registration
See Paddleguru for information on this Oct 2, 2021 Race. https://paddleguru.com/races/EssexRiverReplacementRace
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Surfski Reviews
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Epic V10L Performance Review – by Wesley Echols
For several months I paddled a fiberglass ‘performance’ layup V10L. What immediately struck me back when I owned that boat was how comfortable the cockpit is. The bucket is very shallow compared to the other High Performance Skis (HPS), however, your feet are below your seat. Because of this, leg [...]
Stellar SEI 2G (Excel) Surfski Review
Stellar Kayaks and Surfskis Stellar Kayaks and Surfskis was established in 2009 and launched its first surfski models in 2010 of which I was a part of. The USA distribution is located in Northfield, Massachusetts, has grown dramatically since then, becoming one of the premier brands of kayaks and surfskis in [...]
Nelo Vintage Review by Wesley Echols
Nelo 2011/2012 Vintage Review Introduction For a few years I have been intrigued with the Nelo surf skis, the Vintage and the Ocean Ski models, because of their brilliant colors, sleek profile and known quality of their world famous K1’s. Chris Chappell, web master, was also very curious about the [...]
Epic V10 Ultra Review by Wesley Echols, SurfskiRacing.com, “The Wow Moment”
In marketing terms, I would be referred to as an "early adopter". This is someone who looks forward to trying the newest products as they become available to the market. However, in regards to the newest V10, I was late to the game. Like most surf skiers trying to find [...]
Nelo 540L Surf Ski Review
Introduction My history with surf skis dates backs to 2003 and my kayak experience predates that. Over these years I launched this site, sold out my Surfski Basics DVD, started reviewing skis, raced extensively, started a race series, gave many lessons, responded to many paddlers regarding boat choices, was instrumental [...]



















