Latest News
National Series Notebook: A Red-Hot October
The USA Surfski leaderboard grew to 203 paddlers this week, with seven new names added in five days. Kieffer now sits just ahead of Wilson Reavley (A26), whose 1,959 points represent a full season of racing in the Pacific Northwest. Leon de la Barra moved up to fourth with 1,611, Errez [...]
On Downwinding: Crosswind and Mixed Days
From the parking lot the water looks like nothing worth the drive. Wind chop runs in from the southwest, a leftover groundswell rolls in from the southeast, and where the two meet the surface has no grain to it at all. Somebody at the ramp says he's going to do intervals [...]
2026 Great Stone Dam Race
By Wesley Echols I really enjoyed myself today at the Great Stone Dam Classic, an 8.14 mile race in Lawrence, MA hosted by Shawn Burke, and Francisco. It was a perfect day New England day with 50 degree temps and virtually no wind, so today was about power, can I draft, [...]
On Training: Decision and Commitment
A runner lifts behind you, and for half a second you know exactly what to do. Then the half second passes, and you're still thinking about it. The gap between the boat and the swell has changed by the time you finally push, and what would have been a clean connection [...]
National Series Notebook: A Loaded July
Patrick Dolan flew 5,000 miles from Hawaii to Massachusetts and won the 2026 USA COR National Championships on a grueling open water course against a stacked field of athletes. Five days later, Austin Kieffer won the showcase race at the Gorge Downwind Championships paddlesports festival in the biggest conditions the event [...]
Stability in the Boat-Do you need more?
By Wesley Echols I have paddled a wide range of skis over the years from advanced to beginner in all types of conditions. Below are some helpful hints on becoming more stable in your ski. Boat Choice: think about the conditions that you will be paddling in the 75% of the [...]
Surfski Reviews
Looking for an ocean ski? Check out the surfski comparison chart!
NEW 2016 Stellar SEL Surfski
Dave Thomas, Co Designer with Ed Hofmeister and owner Stellar Kayaks and Surfskis, is paddling the NEW 2016 SEL Excel in our new color scheme. With the addition of the SEL, SR, SES, all 2nd generation editions, we have launched 3 new models in 2015. Couple this with our NEW [...]
Think Evo 3 Ultimate Surfski Review
Think about it! I did my first review of the original Evo review in 2009, my review of the Think Evo 2 back in June, 2014 which you can see at the end of this review. 2009 Evo Review In 2017 the Think Evo 3, (Length: 20′ 6″ (625 cm), [...]
Mako XT Review – by Wesley Echols
The Mako XT was my 1st surfski I got a number of years ago. It was affordable, had adjustable foot pedals, and most of all, it was stable. Back then there were not too many choices within the stable class of skis. Within a few weeks I was comfortable on [...]
2014 Think Ion Surfski Review
Like many of you I searched the internet for information on the Think Ion when I heard it was coming out. The main points I garnered were that it had plenty of rocker with a bucket like the Evo 2 and is a big water ski. So I asked myself [...]
Surfski Comparison Chart is Now Updated!
Check out the Comparison Chart with the numbers assigned to each ski along with the comparison Grid to get an overall visual on the relative speed vs stability. For example you can see that I rated the SR as the most stable since it at the top of the chart [...]