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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 [...]
On Training: Physical Integration
The race was two-thirds over and the aerobic system was still running cleanly. Breathing had stayed in control, the stroke hadn't collapsed, and the pace was within the range that should have been sustainable. But something had shifted in the last thirty minutes. A shoulder carrying something separate from the general [...]
On Downwinding: Leveraging Energy
The difference between flatwater paddling and downwinding isn't subtle. Grinding a flat stretch is the opposite: all work and no rest, every foot of distance earned stroke by stroke with nothing free about it. Catching a wave takes a handful of hard strokes, sometimes just one, and then the boat rides [...]
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, the boat responds, and effort goes toward holding a line and keeping the hull settled underneath [...]
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 still act with what remains. The finish is rarely a single effort. It is a sequence [...]
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 [...]
1 mtr high boatwakesurf on the Tyfoon with @nuriroeleveld1640 / Nelo 550 surfski / 09.08.2026
Surfski Reviews
Looking for an ocean ski? Check out the surfski comparison chart!
Long time sea kayak company,Current Designs, develops Recreational Surfski
Check this out. I often wondered how long it would take a sea kayak manufacturer to finally "GET IT". It has taken a very long time. Surf Skis are more FUN, lighter, faster, and enjoyable at any skill level. Interesting to read the verbiage and hear the promo. We can [...]
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 560 Review
FIT The bucket design of the 560M is an ergo design, it's a narrower fit for smaller hips but it's tapered to also accommodate larger hips. HANDLING SPEED Flat water speed was the easiest to compare: The 560M is amazingly faster: I don't feel bored, and it doesn't feel like [...]
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 [...]
Think Six Surfski Review
I first heard about the newest model in the Think line up about a year ago and knew little about it before I talked to Chris Laughlin, US Distributor, in May 2020, who had just come back from his initial paddle in the New SIX. He put it through the [...]