Surfski Commute!

So a few months ago I got me a surfski... like this guy's

The one an only: Magnum P.I!... I actually just want to be just like this guy, who cares about paddling.  His boat, "Hammerhead" is the same brand surfski that I got.... now just gotta work on that 'stache.

These things are supposed to glide over the water like a hot knife through butta'... so I was curious and kept one eye open.  And I found one on craigslist sooner than I thought.  My hammerhead is 19 ft long and 19 in wide... a good entry level surfski.  On flatwater folks can get up to 10+ mph (not for long), and the limit is endless when riding big swells.  Think of these as an uber long board that can catch the smallest waves (i.e swells)... for an extreme example check out these maniacs below...



As for my experience.... I've taken the surfski out a few times on Lake Merritt at night after putting the kids down.  I usually put in next to the boat house where young kids like to deal drugs.... so it's pretty fun rolling up carrying a 19 ft boat next to a smoke filled SUV... anyway.  After taking the SUP across and knowing that the weather has been so nice, I decided to try out the surfski across the bay.  After all, I've been itching to catch small swells on this boat and there aren't any on Lake Merritt.  And it was quite the humbling experience... I had visions of me gliding across the water, reaching SF in no time, and coming back even faster... but I ended up going basically the same speed as I do on my kayak or Alexis' SUP.  The surfski takes a lot of skill to master, and I was spending too much of my time bracing and inefficiently paddling.  Also, having an ancient boat probably has something to do with it as well... but as Lance says, "It's not about the bike..." (although we all know he meant... "it's all about doping!!!")

Below are some selected shots from the timelapse... featuring my first 2 capsizes ever on my surfski... which you may not have caught on the youtube vid.  The remount on these boats are very easy.  And if you ever feel really unstable, you can just put your feel over the side, and the boat feels uber solid. 

whoa....

and 2 seconds later...

18 seconds later... back on top...

2nd fall...

this time, I decided to bail rather than take the boat with me...

10 seconds later... the beauty of a surfski is the quick and easy re-mount. 

back at the beach, ready to take her home.  Another good thing about these boats is their weight.... making it relatively easy for one person to carry.