My first important surfski race of 2021 had me returning to the Rainbow River in Florida, to line up along side some of Florida’s best for a 12 mile up and back down this magnificently beautiful spring fed river. Most surfski races tend to be a battle of attrition. A lead group would establish early […]
Tag Archives: surfski
January
14
Florida Training Camp Geekery
posted by Chris Hipgrave
Let’s face it … 2020 sucked on so many levels. As a result, I was determined to leap into the new year like it’s going to be the best year ever, and that meant a solid training block over the winter. So a warm weather training camp in glorious Florida came together as my spring […]
December
16
Downwind Camp: Fish Hoek, South Africa
posted by Chris Hipgrave
We’d been on the beach for just 2 minutes before the Mocke brothers started dropping nuggets of surfski knowledge on our international group of paddlers, underlining just how little I knew about the finer points of the downwind surfski padding. Over the next 2 weeks we’d be participating in their Downwind Camp at the famous […]
April
27
RACE RECAP: CAROLINA CUP
posted by Chris Hipgrave
The promise of a competitive surfski field drew me to the Carolina Cup for the first time this year. Historically a huge SUP race, the 13 mile Graveyard race is quickly gaining a reputation as a fun ocean race that now had the attention of the surfski community. Surfski participation jumped from just 12 in […]
April
14
2017 Shark Bite Challenge & Paddlefest
posted by Chris Hipgrave
What does it take to run a massively successful paddling event with over 450 participants from all over the World, hundreds of spectators and dozens of vendors / sponsors? What does it take to bounce back to an even stronger event in the shadow of the US Coast Guard shutting down your event the year […]
September
19
The Cough-town Showdown
posted by Chris Hipgrave
Beautiful and historic Charleston again played host to a fantastic paddle sports event this past weekend. The 4th edition of the Chucktown Showdown would take us along the famous Charleston Battery, around Shutes Folly and into the heart of Charleston Harbor before returning to the start/finish line at Brittle Bank Park 9 miles later. Although […]
September
09
REVIEW: PYRANHA OCTANE / THINK NITRO
posted by Chris Hipgrave
With manufacturers turning their attention to introducing polyethylene surfskis and lowering the financial entry barrier for the sport, this is an exciting time for the growth and popularity of surfski. Doing so will open the door to surfski performance for paddlers everywhere, leading to, what I suspect may be a rapid increase in those using […]
July
28
Gorge Downwind Championships
posted by Chris Hipgrave
With incredible scenery, almost guaranteed perfect daily downwind conditions, simple fast shuttles, great organization, abundant support from almost all the industry and a well contested competition … you are probably thinking of somewhere in Hawaii, South Africa or Australia. But no … this is the Gorge Downwind Championships in Hood River, Oregon and it is […]
May
15
Road to recovery – Paddle Battle
posted by Chris Hipgrave
Injuries suck! But bouncing back feels great! I’d mixed my winter plans up this year to include more wildwater racing and add a real focus on general conditioning by adding Crossfit. The winter plan appeared to be working well with a strong set of results in the Winter Wildwater Series and significant strength improvements. But […]
Chris Hipgrave 