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Hello NSPN members! Is winter done? The calendar says so, but the weather forecast says "not so fast" Either way, I'm pretty excited about the idea of thawing-out my surfski and getting back on the water soon. I'm happy to continue with our now multi-year tradition of putting on a free Intro to Surfski workshop at some point this summer. Late July or early August seems to work best for this. It would be great if I could work with someone to organize the session, which typically goes 9am-12pm on a Saturday morning. Let me know if you'd like to help make it go! In addition, I am continuing this year with my free 1:1 coaching sessions for any NSPN members interested in learning more about surfskis. I have an extra Epic V8 and a wing paddle, and I also have this sweet Epic V10 Double Let's have some fun this summer! Matt

The New England Surfski "Salem League" Series completed its final race of its 15th season last night with an out-and back course from Lynch Park to Bowditch Ledge (Course #2). With the late-afternoon storm front tracking just far enough north to enable us to race, Greg Lesher once again asserted his dominance over our local crew, finishing the 5.6-mile course in 47:35 -- two minutes ahead of the next competitor and placing a cherry on top of his 7th overall series win in the past 10 years. The 2020 series saw a range of paddlers competing each week, from grizzled veterans to shiny rookies. The introduction of two new courses to provide additional options for downwind legs, as well as a COVID-conscious offset starting procedure were both found to be popular developments that will carry forward to the 2021 season. With racing wrapping up, the focus for the remainder of the year as usual shifts to pursuit of the ultimate downwind run. A community Google Group exists for people located on the North Shore interested in coordinating downwind surfski adventures. For more information about the Google Group, please feel free to PM me. Matt

Here's a fun highlight reel from a recent downwind session in Nahant Bay -- if we're linked up on Facebook you may have already seen it but thought I'd share here as well: Cheers, Matt