Water Sports
Archive
Behind the green door: Waimea Canyon on the island of Kauai Q: My husband and I are going to Hawaii for three weeks in October (mostly for hiking, kayaking, and snorkeling). We were thinking of spending some time on Kauai and the Big Island. How many days…
To be a surfer girl in Maui is to be the luckiest of creatures. It means you’re beautiful and tan and ready to rip. It means you’ve caught the perfect dappled wave and are on a ride that can’t possibly end.
Something happens in the high latitudes around Cape Horn. Eighty-knot williwaws blast down from the surrounding peaks. Thiry-foot waves rear up. Ships are tossed around like ice cubes in a blender. Why embark on a wind-powered expedition in these waters? For one sailor, it's a pilgrimage to the place where his great-grandfather came to grief in 1875—an
A grand day for a paddle: Snake River with the Tetons looming in the background Q: My fiancé and I are going to Grand Teton National Park for our honeymoon. I remembered reading an article in Outside that said the best way to see the park and…
A cragged view of South Korea’s Seoraksan National Park Q: I’m headed over to South Korea for the World Cup and would love to work in some whitewater rafting while I’m there. The rivers should be runnable, as it appears to be the rainy season. Any recommendations?…
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Island R&R: a sandy spit off the coast of Grenada Q: How can I book a windsurfing trip to Grenada? — Marilyn Adam, Redding, California Adventure Advisor: A: No need to book in advance; Grand Anse Beach is littered with…
Have boat, will paddle: coastal cruising off Vancouver Island Q: Four of us are planning to fish, canoe, and camp for two weeks in June. We’re considering Canada but have been warned of the black flies. How can we avoid them? Thank you, — Patti Hansen,…
Diving on lost ships is one thing. Exploring the boat that shadowed your life is a murkier adventure entirely.
Eight daredevil surfers head to the Amazon for a shot at the longest, wildest white-knuckle ride in the world
Clip in and hang on for the 31st America's Cup—a game of skill, guile, wealth, power, pettiness, paranoia, espionage, and egomania. And the sailing's not bad, either.
Be the first to bag the Seven Plummets—the deepest spots in each of the Seven Seas
Illustration by Dan Winters and Gary Tanhauser Illustration by Dan Winters and Gary Tanhauser The thrill of adventure is worth a few calculated risks. But sometimes whitewater rafts flip, bike frames snap, and wilderness guides lose the map. In a society where people are increasingly aggressive about putting…
IT WAS JUST ANOTHER QUIET BRAZILIAN EVENING, IN JUST ANOTHER PORT. THE BOAT WAS JUST ONE MORE SLEEK YACHT, bristling with electronics and expensive gear. The pirates were just another band of small-time water rats. And after the shoot-out, there was just one man dead on board the Seamaster. But…
Murdered by pirates at 53, a champion long-haul sailor leaves behind a legacy of inspiration
A world-class mountain biking, surfing, and boardsailing hideout awaits in Baja. All you have to do is find it.
Feeling blue: a diver descends onto the reef off Belize Q: My two friends and I are trying to find the cheapest way possible to make it down to Belize to do some scuba diving. We will sleep on the beach if necessary. Can you give us…
Past and Future Collide on the Class V Rapids of the Philippines' Chico River
And deliver us pronto to these 44 island Edens—if they were any more perfect we'd be in heaven
Exploring the beaches and islets of the forgotten Jumento Cays, where sharks, drug runners, and fishermen rule the waters—and not even the captain knows where he's going.
The local gang: a tourist-free look under Biscayne National Park Q: We are looking for a four-day winter getaway on a beach in the southeastern United States. We have a limited amount of money. We would like to go sometime in December of this year. Any ideas?…
From the altiplano to the jungle, a soggy saga of Class V rapids, sandal-sucking mud, and a forestful of hoots, groans, and screams
A slice of Himalayan heaven: a temple sits amid the rock and ice of Nepal’s upper elevations Q: I was planning a river-rafting trip to Nepal, but I wonder if it makes sense to go, considering the recent terrorist attacks and likely U.S. retaliation. Would it be…
Dive the undived, paddle the unvisited, and otherwise indulge your Pacific island fantasies
A prime-season meander down South Carolina's Ashepoo Combahee and Edisto Rivers
You could traverse Europe by motorcoach and Eurail, but the sightseeing's better by board, bike, and boots.
Back to school: Pescadero Surf Camp’s Playa Los Cerritos Q: I’m looking for high-quality surf camps in Central America or Mexico for next month and can’t find any. Any suggestions? — Andrew Brenner, New York, New York Adventure Advisor: A:…
Casting for nada y nada in the footsteps of Hemingway, on the rivers of northern Spain.
Fishing, biking, horseback riding, and soaking, Montana style
If your idea of good H2O involves head-high surf and barracuda-infested reefs, you'll find no better place to hang your hammock
Pacific Mexico is a thatch roof overhead, fresh snapper daily, and 660 miles of nada between timeshares.
One down, two to go: kayaking the day away off Vancouver Island Q: I’m working on a combination sea kayak, SCUBA diving, and fly-fishing adventure on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. I’ve heard the Port Hardy and north tip waters offer much better diving conditions. Any thoughts…
Beyond ouzo and the Acropolis, five islands for waves and wandering in the playground of Zeus
The Costa Rica of legend still exists. But you have to crash through breakers and fight off pigs to find it.
Summertime adventuring, Canadian style, on the continent's finest spot for cooling your heels
Hours from anywhere but on the edge of nowhere, the rough Down East passages welcome the well heeled and unpedigreed alike
The Maine coast has more landmarks than names. Much to the delight of possessive types.
Slicing through the waters that brought you the beast that inspired Jaws, Montauk’s shark hunters search the Atlantic for their cold-blooded, man-eating prey. It’s the brutal Mako Mania tournament, where old salts and paying customers harry a dying breed of monsters. Where the stakes are huge, the sharks are bigger, and the fishing is absolutely to di
Q: Any idea where I can take a vacation and at the same time do some environmental volunteer work? I remember an article in Outside a couple of years ago about a spot where you can act as a “guard” for sea turtles as they came ashore to lay…
Fifty-odd years ago, a young guy's visit to Vanuatu inspired the legend of Bali Hai. Thankfully, the good life's still here. Why aren't you?
So what if you have to endure endless hours in the air and shake out your piggy bank. Nothing this pure comes easy.
Are you, like the fabled Spicoli, searching for a cool breeze and some tasty waves? Look no further. These six sweet spots will make you wish you were born with fins.
Q: I’m planning a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in late June. All the trips that I have read about discuss canoes; I’ve find nothing about kayak trips. I have two sea kayaks and plan on kayaking the BWCAW for about nine days. Do you…
Get lost in Alaska's Wrangell--St. Elias: It's six Yellowstones' worth of icy lakes,anonymous meadows, and peaks you won't find on any map.
In remote Zapatista country, the good people of Chiapas are engaged in a once-a-year change to upend the world. Men become women. Night becomes day. And a pilgrim in a rental car is barreling toward them.
A compressed air pilgrimage to the Red Sea, where hobbyists become compulsives in the blink of a piscine eye.
Where do you want to go? Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a full-blown vacation, Outside Online's Adventure Advisor is here to show you the way.
Where do you want to go? Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a full-blown vacation, Outside Online's Adventure Advisor is here to show you the way.
Where do you want to go? Whether you're planning a weekend getaway or a full-blown vacation, Outside Online's Adventure Advisor is here to show you the way.
For intrepid sailor Ellen MacArthur, round-the-world records are meant to be shattered
For a bargain price of $1.7 million, Doug Tompkins and his wife Kristine have sewn up a vast Patagonian wonderland. Who says cranky visionaries can't close a deal?
The world's largest scuba-training company plunges into the treacherous depths of technical diving, where fatalities are the accepted price for adrenaline
Some peaceful recreation on a journey from Gallipoli to Troy, where the echoes of war never die
YOU DON’T float the Desolation and Gray Canyons of the Green River for the rapids. You go for a blissfully mellow trip through remote wilderness. During a trip down the Green one recent fall, an old friend and I didn’t wear life jackets or get our feet wet for eight…
Around the world in 65 days? The competitors who plan to make good on Bruno Peyron's dream.
Boat designer Adrian Thompson and skipper Pete Goss set out to revolutionize catamaran design with Team Philips. Will it survive its 25,000-mile shakedown cruise?
Cam Lewis says he knows the risks—and he's ready. Ready to sprint 25,000 miles in one of the fastest wind-driven vessels ever to grace the ocean, and become the first American skipper to set a round-the-world speed sailing record. That is, if he and his boat make it back in one piece.
New catamaran cruisers serve up sailing and diving adventure in Belize's pristine outer atolls
Sometimes you just have to escape into the night, where unpredictable rendezvous and things that bite await you
Where the water is calm, the camping great—and the sea kayaking takes you to a world of beautiful swimmers
The Rise and Fall and Exile and Triumphant Possible Return of Rod of Massachusetts to the Battle-Torn Bedouin Kingdom of Dahab
There's nothing more all-American than a long summer road trip—except maybe a long summer road trip sponsored by a kayak company. Meet the hard-drivin', trick-huckin', heart-throbbin' river punks that may just turn freestyle kayaking into whitewater's answer to snowboarding.
Floating through class V whitewater and grizzly country in the shadow of Mount McKinley
Canoeing pioneers unveil the new 700-plus Northern Forest Canoe Trail
An outsized wilderness lives on in mythic dreams and salvaged hope