Latest News
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 [...]
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 the gusts are going to come from and when. Of course, nobody really knows, at least [...]
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 the dominant swell, and the bow is already moving in that direction. A few strokes in [...]
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 economy than it did on the stroke before. Paddlers sometimes describe a boat as "running" on [...]
Surfski Reviews
Looking for an ocean ski? Check out the surfski comparison chart!
Custom Kayaks Synergy Lite – by Mark Ceconi
Surfskis tend to fall into two main camps, 19’ x 19” ‘stable’ skis, tailored for those individuals welcomed to the fold, moving up from fast sea kayaks and the like, and the high performance skis (H.P.S.), measuring in at needlelike 21” x 17” dimensions. The transition (a.k.a.. ‘leap’) from one [...]
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. [...]
New and Updated 2016 Surf Ski Comparison Charts.
Click on the link below for all the charts and tables or go to Wesley's Surfski Chart Reviews on the Home page. https://surfskiracing.org/surfski-reviews-updated-march-2012/
Huki S1R Review – by Wesley Echols
Let me begin by saying I have owned three S1R’s over the years in different layups. As the chart indicates it is in the stable class of surfskis. It has excellent initial stability. I have seen experienced sea kayakers demo my S1R’s and feel relative comfortable just sitting in this [...]
2015 Redesigned Stellar SR Review
Since 2003 when I began paddling surfskis, I have reviewed more surfskis than anyone else in the world making those reviews public via this website. Like most things in life, I did not intentionally set out to buy so many surfskis. I simply started out trying to find the perfect [...]