#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

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 at first, but it starts to fall apart as conditions get more complex.  Many of us [...]

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 of the most common ways capable paddlers stall or break down. Stress is simply load applied [...]

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 it or not.  The start line is not a pause before the race.  It is the [...]

Giant Fish Closing, Offering 75% Archive Sale

A letter from Scott Darling, founder of our community's much-loved brand, Giant Fish, states: A CLOSING NOTE As we begin 2026, I’ve found myself slowing down and thinking about what really mattered along the way. Not the plans or the outcomes, but the people—the conversations, the notes that landed at the [...]

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 the center of next year’s ocean racing calendar. Long known as the “Boston Marathon” of open-water [...]

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 and (for us) Pan American Continental Championships.  The venues for these international competitions are fantastic -- [...]

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Mako 6 Carbon Review – by Wesley Echols

If you keep up with the national and international surfski race scene you’ll note most of the field astride Fenn Mako 6’s, Mako Elites or some version of the Epic V10. Why, you might ask? Well, two immediate answers are these boats are fast and they are readily available in [...]

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 [...]

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