Surfski Racing

A surfski has an open, self-draining cockpit and the paddler sits on top rather than inside a sealed hull. Its long, narrow shape prioritizes speed and catching open-water swells.

A downwind course sends paddlers broadly with the wind and swell so they can link moving ocean waves called runs. Reading and connecting those runs is often more important than maintaining a constant flat-water stroke rate.

The Molokai race crosses Hawaii's Kaiwi Channel and has been a major ocean-paddling event since the 1970s. It helped establish the long-distance, open-ocean identity of modern surfski competition.

The International Canoe Federation formed its Ocean Racing Committee in 2010. The first official ICF Ocean Racing World Championships were held in Portugal in 2013.