Water Sports
ArchiveKelly Slater edged out Jordy Smith in the finals of the Rip Curl Pro Portugal in Peniche. Watch the heat in the video above. The victory pushes Slater closer to a 10th world title. If you didn't get your fix during…
Kite surfer Gavin Broadbent set New Zealand's national speed record at Lüderitz, Namibia on Oct. 8. After three runs, Broadbent's average speed over 500 meters was 44.51 knots, or just over 51 miles per hour. The previous record was 40.68 knots. French kite surfer,…
The king of surfing took it all off for ESPN's 2010 Body Issue, on newsstands now. A number of professional athletes, from basketball star Amare Stoudamire to skier Julia Mancuso, got naked for the magazine. Watch a behind the scenes video of the…
What do the world's most rejuvenating island escapes have in common? Empty sand, lonely surf, and new adventures of the strangest kind.
A new law in Fiji opens the entire country's reefs and surf breaks to anyone—for better or worse.
A wild journey into the world of giant waves—and the crazed surfers who seek them out.
For New York's jet-ski gang, ripping around the city isn't just sport; it's an ecstatic celebration of life. If only I could make it my life.
Courtesy of matthewlrigdon on Flickr. On October 9 Malibu's Surfrider Beach and its vicinity will be officially declared the first World Surfing Reserve, Transworld Surf reports. The area has been plagued by poor water quality over the…
Surfers came from the corners of the globe to meet a monster swell at the Fijian island of Tavarua on Monday. They were not disappointed for their efforts. The waves on hand were huge, the wind was fairly good, and…
A 115-pound Massachusetts woman caught a half-ton, 13-and-a-half-foot alligator in South Carolina last week, the AP reports. She and her husband were out on a permitted hunt, hoping to get at least a 10-footer. Only…
Quadruple amputee, Philippe Croizon, swam across the English Channel on Sept 18, the ϳԹ Blog reports. Only a few days later, the Frenchman has his sights…
What should be in an emergency survival kit you take while hiking or canoeing? -John (Edmonton, Alberta)
Photo courtesy of Flickr In July, eco-adventurer David de Rothschild and his crew ended their 130-day voyage across the Pacific from San Francisco to Sydney in Plastiki, crafted from 12,500 plastic bottles. Their journey…
Dallas Trombley spent about $200,000 on six failed attempts to build and float a raft down the Hudson River. He’s not sure why, but he’s back for more.
Presenting the best of a new generation of action films, from mountain biking and snowboarding to skiing and climbing.
An 84-year old British man is planning to raft across the Atlantic Ocean on a vessel made of plastic gas pipes, the Telegraph reports. Anthony Smith placed an ad in the Telegraph five years ago that…
ext_script = "//player.ooyala.com/player.js?height=272&deepLinkEmbedCode=5pZTRwMTrido0OhyyzULiqXN9ivratyR&width=448&embedCode=5pZTRwMTrido0OhyyzULiqXN9ivratyR" Surfer Andy Irons took the title at the Billabong Pro Tahiti earlier this weekend, winning his first ASP event in more than three years. Irons defeated CJ Hobgood during a set of 3-4 foot waves in the finals to take the crown.
Courtesy of cruadinx on Flickr. The National Hurricane Center put most of coastal North Carolina under a hurricane warning yesterday afternoon, and local surfers immediately headed to the beach,…
On our life list of must-learn talents: pilot a canoe in whitewater.
The latest films and fashions from seven of the brightest stars at this year's Mountainfilm in Telluride festival.
Picture Courtesy of Online Photography School The Billabong Pro Tahiti surf contest finally began today after seven consecutive lay days, Surfersvillage reports. The contest, event number…
Courtesy of thelastminute on Flickr. Today the fifth consecutive lay day was declared at the Billabong Pro at Teahupoo, Tahiti after suitable swells again failed to show at the legendary break, Transworld Surf reports.
UCSD graduate student Benjamin Thompson wants the process of selecting a surfboard to be a little bit more scientific. The Ph.D. candidate is researching how composite fibers in surfboards react to different users, according to wired.com. Thompson is bulding a system for measuring the flex…
Photo Courtesy of Flickr Scottish adventurer Jock Wishart will attempt to row to the magnetic pole next summer with a small, specially selected team, the ϳԹ Blog reports. The expedition will set out through Resolute Bay, Canada, and attempt…
ext_script = "//player.ooyala.com/player.js?height=272&width=448&deepLinkEmbedCode=M5OGpuMTrDBdDwfWWDDc50HYN7XMf0a_&embedCode=M5OGpuMTrDBdDwfWWDDc50HYN7XMf0a_" Waves six feet tall and as thick as doublewides piled up at Teahupoo this week at the Air Tahiti Nui Vonzipper Trials, the leadup to The Billabong Pro Tahiti. Local surfer Taumata Puhetini guaranteed himself a spot in the ASP event…
ext_script = "//player.ooyala.com/player.js?deepLinkEmbedCode=hiZWluMTr4czGRGXjw-ciWlQYFsQpvTT&width=480&embedCode=hiZWluMTr4czGRGXjw-ciWlQYFsQpvTT&height=360" Why does Laird Hamilton love stand-up paddleboarding? Veteran Gerry Lopez asks him in this video from SUP magazine. For diehards, the interview's worth a watch. For the rest of you, yes there's a magazine just for SUP. Thanks to…
Malibu, California's playground for celebrities and surfers, will become the first World Surfing Reserve this October. The Save the Waves Coalition launched the World Surfing Reserve initiative in 2008 as an effort to “designate and preserve outstanding waves, surf zones and…
"And the winner is... Sebastian? The fucking German guy who can't paddle?!" That's how surf icon Christian Fletcher announced the winner of the Billabong XXL Biggest Wave prize, Sebastian Steudtner, at this year's awards ceremony. The 25-year-old from Nuremberg won with a successful ride of a 66-foot wave on December 7, 2009, at Maui
There's a war going on in coastal Maine, where renegade crustacean gangs are forcing people to grope for their guns. ERIC HANSEN heads for the boiling waters of Matinicus Island—the site of a dockside shootout between feuding lobstermen last summer—to find out why the locals are going after each other tong and claw.
A new fly-fishing movie proves all angling films need not suck.
Chris Christenson has been shaping surfboards for over a decade. He’s never been a pro surfer, so imagine his surprise when the 37-year old got a call inviting him to star in a surfing film. ϳԹ called up the Cardiff by the Sea,…
What are the best stretches for surfers? The Editors Santa Fe, NM
Courtesy of Kivanc Nis on Flickr. Laura Dekker, a 14-year-old Dutch girl, set sail from Den Osse in the Netherlands on the first leg of a global circumnavigation, the Associated Press reports. Dekker plans to sail…
Kayaker Thatcher Bean will race in the Class V Gore Canyon Whitewater Race on August 28 and the Wapiyapi Classic Bike Ride in Aspen on September 26 to raise funds…
Photo by George Boe Two years ago, I joined a group of Los Angeles activists in paddling the Los Angeles River, what, in the July issue, I called “the ugliest river in America.” In early July, the river…
https://player.vimeo.com/video/9522336 The Demshitz crew, a group of stellar whitewater kayakers that includes Evan and Ian Garcia, Jared and Graham Seiler, and LJ Groth, just released their newest film, Dashboard Empanada. The title’s a throwback to the whitewater classic Dashboard Burrito, and like Burrito, Empanada's allure…
On Saturday, Iowa’s Maquoketa River washed away Lake Delhi dam, flooding some 50 homes and 20 businesses. It’s not surprising that an 83-year-old dam broke in a flood, but it's a symptom of a bigger problem: America's aging infrastructure. The average age…
A 14-year-old Dutch girl won a court's permission to attempt to sail around the world solo, the BBC reports. Last August, the Dutch court placed Laura Dekker under state care to stall her plans of becoming the youngest person…
BIRTHRIGHT from Sean Mullens on Vimeo. Check out this inspiring paddling film from Sean Mullens. Birthright is black and white, mostly lacking in narration, and filmed with a digital SLR, like Canon’s 5D. It gives the film…
Because the heat of summer is upon us, we scoured the globe for the greatest sailing, fishing, paddling, diving, floating, surfing—you get the idea—trips out there. And since you can't always pop over to Indonesia, we picked a few close-to-home adventures, too.
I usually think GoPro footage of kayaking looks like somebody threw the camera in the washing machine and hit rinse. And so does this footage from Oregon paddler Nate Pfeifer getting hammered by the infamous Horseshoe hole on Washington's Little White Salmon. But in this case, that's why it's…
A South African couple got a 40-ton surprise when a southern right whale leapt onto their sail boat last Sunday, MSNBC reports. Paloma Werner and her boyfriend and sailing instructor, Ralph Mothes, were sailing along…
A Michigan-based tech company has developed a system that allows coaches to collect real-time performance data on their swimmers, the New York Times reports. Avidasports LLC's system outfits swimmers with five wireless sensors–worn…
U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps will compete this October in the inaugural Mission Hills Star Trophy Pro-Am golf tournament on China's Hainan Island, according to Reuters. The tournament, scheduled for October 28-31,…
It's not until I wake up in an unfamiliar bed that the reality of being somewhere different really sets in. And nothing says good morning in Haiti like getting out of bed with a thick layer of sweat already coating your body. A far cry away from…
Four years ago, kayakers Seth Warren and Tyler Bradt loaded their gear and some bacon grease into a 1987 Toyota truck (a former Japanese firetruck) that they'd converted to run on biodiesel and started an epic journey from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Cape Horn,…
The fly-fishing season is upon us. If you've been entertaining the notion of getting to a river to partake, we're all for that. And if you're a newbie who has no clue where to begin, we've got you covered. Here are five pieces of essential advice for beginner fly-fishermen…
Sailing post-earthquake aid to Haiti as part of an ad hoc group seemed like an urgent—and adventuresome—opportunity. One out of two ain't bad.
ϳԹ in Aspen: Kayaking With Jesse Coombs and Chris Korbulic from ϳԹ Magazine on Vimeo. At last weekend’s ϳԹ in Aspen weekend, attendees had the chance to go out and kayak, cycle, climb, and hike with some of the…
WHERE TO USE IT: The best surf road trip begins in San Diego and heads north. Start mellow, with the friendly Tourmaline break, in Pacific Beach. Camp on the bluffs at San Onofre overlooking Old Man’s, a longboarder’s heaven (parks.ca.gov), then switch to your shortboard and hit…
GRIZZLY ADAMS FAMILY“There’s a bear!” This simple exclamation triggered the angriest parental outbust of my youth. At least, that’s how I remember it. I was seven years old, sitting in the backseat of our family station wagon, driving through Yellowstone for the first time. We’d set out from Boston…
It’s hard to beat correspondent MARK ANDERS in the Fun Dad department. Living on the coast of North Carolina, he religiously surfs and takes his sonsLuke, 7, and Nicholas, 4on his 16-foot skiff to fish, hunt crabs, and play pirates on nearby islands. Here he attempts, with wife Ilene’s help,…
Abby Sunderland, a California teen seeking to sail around the world alone, activated an emergency beacon overnight Thursday, setting off an international search-and-rescue mission for her in the Indian Ocean. She has not been heard from since. Early Thursday, Sunderland, 16, of Thousand Oaks, California, told her mother Marianne…
WHERE TO USE IT: Cold water and stiff currents make Washington’s San Juan Islands a serious destination for kayakers. But with good forecasts and maps from Anacortes’s Sea Kayak Shop (seakayakshop.com), they can also be the most rewarding, with frequent orca and humpback sightings. Take a lap…
It's finally full-blown summer—and you're amped to make the most of it. We're with you: Here are our picks for this season's best gear—and where to take it.
In which the world's favorite sunny-day-at-the-beach singer morphs into a hardened wild man with help from a surprising piece of inspiration. (Don't worry, his new music still goes perfectly with coconuts.)
Norwegians Borge Ousland and Thorleif Thorleifsson (real name) are planning to sail around the North Pole. It will be the first circumnavigation of the pole — a feat that was previously impossible. But thanks to the receding ice caps, the Norsemen will leave from Oslo in June. The trip is…
Apparently the Santa FeRiver, a block from my house, is home to some of the best whitewater in NewMexico. This came as a great surprise to me as it “flows” through downtown at awidth half the length of my paddle. But the…
FIRST SWIM ON MT EVEREST Environmental campaigner and endurance swimmer Lewis Gordon Pugh completes a record 1,000m swim across a glacial lake (at 5,300m in altitude) under the summit of Mt Everest to draw attention to the melting of the Himalayan glaciers. The expedition was sponsored by Pick n…
Retiring Republican State Senator Fred Hemmins' Senate bill 2646, which would have created largely honorary “surf preserves” onO'ahu's North Shore and in Waikīkī, was temporarily wiped out to “recommitment” to a future year in the final hours of the…
Dominion Riverrock, an outdoor sports festival in Richmond, Virginia, was a big hit this weekend, drawing in record crowds. More than 3,000 people took part in the games, with an audience of more than 25,000 on May 14-15. William Mikolajczak and Abby Badura…
A month ago we set out to paddle across all of the channels that connect the Hawaiian Islands. Over the past few weeks we crossed from one island to the next, paddling the channels on our stand-up paddleboards and exploring each island once wearrived. From the beginning,…
I’ve written before about Finisterre and its unique approach to sustainable design and materials–specifically wool. Clearly, these guys spend a lot of time with sheep (not that kind of time) and have shared their love of surfing with their ungulate friends. OK, so clearly this isn’t really…
What pocket digital camera takes the best quality photos both in and out of water?—MichelleMadison, WI
We set off on our journey on April 7, starting with a paddle across the Alenuihaha channel, which separates the Big Island and Maui. Having delayed our departure due to gale force winds earlier in the week, we were not sure what to expect of the notorious…
It's hard to be disappointed about a rookie year in which you defeat the defending ASP world champion at one of surfing's premier events.
Like many inventors, Graham Hawkes rides the line between revolutionary and cash-strapped dreamer. But if his new "flying" submersible works, he may be the first man to go 36,000 feet below the ocean's surface alone. That's deep.
The only paddler to appear on a Wheaties box loves Richmond, Virginia. Jon Lugbill is widely considered the greatest whitewater canoeist ever. He's a five-time world champion in C-1 slalom and has 12…
Colorado's House Bill 1188, which will determine the rights of commercial rafting outfitters to paddle sections of state water where landowners don't want them, has stalled, according to paddlinglife.net. In an issue pitting private landowners againstcommercial rafting companies…
When it comes to training, the key is to find what works best for you. Whetherpreparing for a short-distance race or an endurance paddle, we focus on strengthening our bodies. As important as technique is, we believe physical and mental toughness is even more important. In preparing…
Eighteen-year-old Mike Perham, who at age 14 became the youngest person to sail solo around the world, was forced to drop out of the Talisker Bounty Boat Expedition last…
Eighteen-year-old Mike Perham, who at age 14 became the youngest person to sail solo around the world, was forced to drop out of the Talisker Bounty Boat Expedition last…
A unique adventure has launched this week from the Big Island of Hawaii. The dynamic duo of Morgan Hoesterey and Jenny Kalmbach–that's us in the photo above!–will stand-up paddleboard our way through the…