If you’ve ever been in the water with a professional surfer, the first thing you’ll notice about what separates them from the rest of the lineup is the speed they surf. From take-off to kick out, professional surfers carry exponentially more velocity into and through the wave than their civilian counterparts. Learning to generate speed...

Even in Hawaii, we have small and flat days when paddling out is more of a chore than it should be. On the North Shore, the swell drops significantly during the summer, and many surfers (even the pros) who are used to the pumping winter waves choose to pursue other vocations. For those long stretches...