Jeff and I both offer coached downwind runs on Oahu and our customers often ask to use a narrow board thinking it will help them go faster and catch more bumps. I like this video because it shows that even for experienced paddlers a wider board can be not just easier to paddle but actually faster than a narrower board.

This Stand Up paddle Downwind video filmed and narrated by Jeff Chang and myself shows how a wider board can be faster in rough conditons. In this video, we are all on 14' Bump Rider models. Jeff Chang is on a 30" wide version, Tyler Jaggers (blue shirt) on a 28" wide one and Robert Stehlik (white shirt) on a 27" wide board. Other than the width, the boards are very similar in terms of rocker line, rails and volume distribution. The footage was shot on a downwind run from Sandy Beach to Waikiki. The final few miles of the Molokai race go through the first part of this run, so it's a great training run for the M2O race. In our experience, a wider board is often faster in windy conditions, even for a good paddler with good balance. Besides being more stable, a wider board also creates more lift which can result in more, longer glides on the bumps. Thoughts?