Stellar Ski Performances on East Coast

1st in Snow Row, Wesley Echols, SES Excel

6th in Snow Row, Chris Chappell, SE

4th in Essex, Wesley Echols, SES Ultra

2nd in Sakonnet, Wesley Echols, SES Ultra

5th in Sakonnet, Chris Chappell, SE Ultra

1st inBlackburn, Mike Tracy/Tim Dwyer, SE2 Course Record, 2:38:00

3rd in Blackburn,Barend Spies, SES Excel, 2:43:03

7th in Blackburn, Wesley Echols, SES Ultra, 2:49:55

8th in Blackburn, Francisco Urena, SE Excel

10th in Blackburn, Chris Chappell, SE Ultra

2nd in Double Beaver,Wesley Echols, SES Excel

11th in Double Beaver, Chris Chappell, SR Excel

3rd in Nahant, Francisco Urena, SE Excel

5th in Nahant, Wesley Echols, SES Ultra

10th in Nahant, Chris Chappell, SE Ultra

2nd in East Coast Surfski Champs, Reid Hyle, SES Ultra

7th in East Coast Surfski champs, Francisco Urena, SE Excel

8th in East Coast Surski Champs, Rob Mirlenbrink, SES excel

11th in East Coast Surfski champs, Wesley Echols, SES ultra

5th in LightHouse to lighthouse, Wesley Echols, SEL Excel

1st in Marblehead Rotary Race, Francisco Urena, SE Excel

This is a tabulation of most of the performances in the North East. As you can see both the SES, SE2, and SE are as competitive as any other ski as far as speed but what sets them apart is they are the most stable. The ability to have great speed with amazing stability is what Stellar skis are all about. They also have some of the best built quality in the world. The Ultra Carbon is the best construction of a ski in the world using a high grade pre preg unidirectional carbon that Wintech Rowing Shells has been using since 2000. Both Stellar and Wintech are built at the Flying Eagle Factory.

Stellar's Excellent Showing at Blackburn 2011

Tim Dwyer and Mike Tracy shattered the doubles record in an SE2 excel in a time of 2hours and 38 minutes on a day that was tailored made for records: flat, overcast, favorable tides. The previous record was 2:46. These guys I know well and are excellent paddlers and made sure they got the boat set up properly and trained in it. To be successful in a double you have to be in synch with each other in balance,stroke, and mentality. Both are incredible rough water padders and are in the top 7 of almost every race they do here in the Northeast. The SE2 is a wonderful double with the combination of speed, lightness, low gunwales, and stability that almost any paddler can benefit from, certainly two skilled paddlers like Mike and Tim.

Of the top 10 finishers, 4 boats were Stellars including the SES and SE. Not bad for Stellar only being out for 18 months. Also if you look further down in the standings 2 SR's were finishers also. Because I know all these paddlers well, I know what they have in common and why the Stellar boats worked for them. Francisco and Chris both big guys who have only been paddling a few short years so the combination of fit and stability of the SE allowed them to make transition to surfskis more easily than some other brands. Chris Sherwood was able to transition from a sea kayak to the ultra stable SR in just a 2 months because of the same reason, stability. The stability runs throughout the line of the Stellar Brand. Barend Spies a top paddler in any boat confirmed what we have known for a year now, that the SES has great speed with stability for the shorter, lighter paddler. So within the Stellar brand there is a ski for all sizes and skill level. The only model not represented was the SEL(low volume SE).

Tim/Mike SE2 Remounts for Blackburn

Mike Tracy and Tim Dwyer who will paddle the SE2 in 3 three weeks at the Blackburn practice there remounts after a Blackburn training paddle. The conditions were very confused coming out of Gloucester Harbor and 2 miles beyond that. It was the biggest conditions for all of us this year. They handled the SE2 with only one or two braces. While the ride is wet, it drained fine if you keep it moving and will drain even better once I put the larger bullets on it. Mike and Tim are looking forward to an excellent race for the Blackburn.

Stellar Wing Paddles

I have been using one of the first Stellar Wing paddles that I received about a month ago. Construction is superb. The shaft is carbon with an oval shape. The blades have almost no twist therefore making it an extremely forgiving paddle in the ocean. The ferrule is unique to Stellar. The design team came up with a cam locking system that is super secure with NO twisting and can be adjusted in seconds on the fly. The size of the blades is similar to the Onno small mid, Epic Mid, or Jantex Gamma mid.