Brad Melekian

In December, the surf world once again descends on Oahu’s North Shore for the sport’s most prestigious event, the Pipe Masters, where competitors battle it out at the planet’s most famous—and deadliest—break. Here’s a look behind surfing’s biggest spectacle.

Behind surfing’s wall of silence, managers, sponsors, and the sport’s governing body knew Andy Irons had a problem. Now some of them are finally ready to talk about it.

Brash phenom Jordy Smith is revolutionizing surfing with a new breed of above-the-wave tricks. He'll be the next great champion—if he can just grow up.

There were always rumors of drug abuse and binge drinking, but until Andy Irons died mysteriously in a Dallas hotel, nobody close to the surfing legend was willing to talk. In an exclusive, friends and sponsors break surfing's code of silence to recount the tragic descent and final days of the sport's most troubled star.

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.

Drop into the coral reef at Pipeline and you'll probably get hurt. Drop in on a member of Hawaii's locals-only Wolf Pack and you're just asking for trouble. Here, Kala Alexander—surfer, actor, businessman, and the North Shore's most notorious enforcer—opens up about localism in the lineup, how to earn his respect, and his hopes for a m

Meet the heir to the throne of big-wave surfing

Keep your mouth shut and the masses won't follow

The revival of a Hawaiian tradition gives us even more reasons to love the ocean