Elite Female Kayaker Circumnavigates Australia
Joe Glickman writes about Freya Hoffmeister, the first woman to circumnavigate the entire continent of Australia in a sea kayak. The feat puts her in a league few other adventurers, male or female, occupy. That alone makes this book worth reading.
Onboard Leadership Training for Military Daughters
Sisters Under Sail has put aboard more than 500 teenage girls and 250 women, and 45% of those teenage girls have shipped aboard via sponsorship dollars. The program’s application deadline this year is April 15, 2013. Only 12 teen girls will be selected from the U.S. military and Canadian forces.
Weighing the Risks and Rewards of Wreck Diving
At what point does something uncomfortable, something that makes you anxious, something that could land you in the morgue turn into something you must do?
A Different Way
As a kid, I would not even take a shower: having water in my eyes was one of the worst things that could happen to me then.
Grand Canyon: A Tale of Transformation and the Untamed Self
This trip brought me face to face with the part of myself that longs for the wilderness and it was a revelation to let her roam the terrain, both physical and spiritual.
That Damn Wave
Woman-to-woman instruction is just what Hannah Nordhaus needed to master surfing. At a women’s camp in el Salvador, she fine-tuned her skills and discovered the details that helped her catch those damn waves.
Screwed: Mother Nature doesn’t play favorites
I am a girl and at times love a good dose of chivalry, but I am not a damsel!
We Tube
Whitewater tubing involves sitting in an inner tube and, quite simply, going with the flow. When the river’s current is weak, it’s quite a restful pursuit.
Face Your Barracuda
I spend a lot of time talking about fear, other people’s fear, mostly. It comes with my occupation and it is often our greatest motivator and our greatest barrier.
The Little Things
The little things are the sweetest. Like the moment when you reach the top of the hill before the guys do, sipping sparkling wine on the porch after a run, like crashing a guys weekend with a girl friend, like the smell of rain after a wildfire scare, like Friday afternoon.
Open and Unencumbered
My hands were cold, my body wet and achy. I knew my mom must be feeling the strain of the elements too, but she said nothing. She pushed through her discomfort, so I pushed through mine.
London to London: Via The World
British explorer Sarah Outen resumes her human-powered circumnavigation of the globe, cycling, rowing, and kayaking alone across the world.
The Crossing
This Winter, alone with only whales, dolphins, seals and great white sharks to join her, Karen Wrenn navigated 150 nautical miles, over 5 days, becoming the first standup paddler to successfully cross all seven channels.
Learning to Love Water
At 20, LauraLynn Jansen faced down a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and beat the odds. Now she faces a watery opponent.
Newbie Rafters
Until I met my husband, Ed in the late 70’s, this Colorado girl had never even been on a boat of any kind.
Fear and Anticipation
Soon, I’ll race 5,800 miles across the deepest, most powerful ocean in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. Today, I’m surrounded by my gear packed in waterproof bags: oilskin trousers, sailing boots, baselayers, and enough granola bars to last five weeks. But those aren’t the only essentials I’ll carry with me.
Family Getaways in Costa Rica, Mexico, and Phoenix
Three fantastic family adventure getaways: The Adventure Moms take us mountain biking and surfing in Costa Rica, climbing in Mexico, and hiking in Phoenix.
I Took the Plunge
In early 2011, rather than have a predicted multi-level spinal fusion, Amy Brown became the swimmer on a haphazard Half Ironman relay team.
Hell Hole
I can’t even tell you what happened while I was under. How I got out of my boat. When I decided to pull my spray skirt or if I did any of the consciously. My eyes were closed, my mind blank.
First Riverboarding Descent of the Sun Kosi River, Nepal
Vera Saulino tells of her intrepid expedition riverboarding down the Sun Kosi River, Nepal.
Row For Freedom
On December 4, six women will depart from the Canary Islands to row 3,00 miles unaided in the fastest trans-Atlantic row ever recorded. The women, all from Britain except their American skipper, will endure the harshest test known to mankind—to row across the Atlantic.
Afraid No More
As I lay there, face down on the bottom of the passage, I reveled in the quietude of my breath under trillions of gallons of seawater. I was alone and I was content. I knew they would be searching for me and with any luck, they’d find me before my teeth started to chatter.
No Such Thing As Smooth Sailing When Racing ’Round Around the World
The pace of our training is the first challenge. I start slowly and clumsily; putting my thumbs in the wrong places and struggling to manhandle ropes into messy half-remembered knots. When your life depends on that knot, you’ve got to know it instinctively. The ocean doesn’t give you a second chance because you’re a beginner.
Distinguishing the Good Stuff
Why am I so hesitant to weed out my water bottle collection? Because each bottle is connected with a memory or meaningful event. Sure, the memory won’t disappear with the bottle, but the bottle is a concrete reminder of the event. Read on for examples.
Hudson Bay Bound part 2
We’re in Winnipeg, Manitoba, getting ready to paddle Lake Winnipeg and head into the Canadian wilderness. We are almost done with the Red River since we paddled the last 100 miles in a 20-hour stretch—even paddling overnight—to avoid wind and get here quickly. We’ve still been meeting people who live on the river, and, since it’s a record flood year, most can’t believe that we are able to paddle.
The River Runs Through It
“From small beginnings, they grow stronger and deeper as they run their course, and once they have begun they cannot be turned back: thus it is with rivers, years, and friendships.” —Ancient sanskrit verse
Hudson Bay Bound part 1
My friend Ann Raiho and I will be the first two women to paddle a historic 2,250-mile route from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay in a three-month canoeing expedition through the Minnesota and Red Rivers, Lake Winnipeg, and the Hayes River.
Chasing Waves
Wave science leans heavily on quantum mechanics, atomic physics, and complex mathematics. But, in lay terms, climate change affects wave size. “We’re pumping more energy into the system,” Susan Casey says. “More energy makes bigger waves. Steeper waves, and steeper waves are more unstable.”
Lucky or Good?
Since I would be out there, rowing through the Grand Canyon with them, most of them included me as part of the team, just another person who could row a boat – gender neutral. Yet there always seems to be one guy who tries to constantly undermine a woman’s self-confidence and show off his superior physical strength.
Pondering Life and Living
“I do not want to get to the end of my life and find that I just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.” —Diane Ackerman
April Thrills
“Life is a thrill.” So get out there, says Tara Short, founder of Green Edventures, LLC. Maybe you’re one of the folks who’ll fill of one of the a few spots left in her upcoming Baja eco-adventure trip, which runs April 14-20.
It’s like jogging, but not
I’m big on analogies, so if I had to compare stand-up paddleboarding to a non-aquatic sport, it would definitely be jogging.
Doomed dunes?
Since the April 20th explosion of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil well, it’s been pretty much impossible to hear “oil” and “Gulf Coast” in the same sentence without also hearing “total decimation.” Heading to the beach after exposure like that would be sort of like packing up for a forest getaway in the wake of a conflagration.
Reflections on River Rafting
The freedom of having just eight items (a toothbrush, a pair of capri’s, a tank top, one bathing suit, a pair of Keens, a sleeping bag, a sunhat, and sunscreen) was revolutionary. And it was fitting that the only mirror I had to look into was the river water, which served up a more authentic reflection than I’d seen in a long time.
Vail: After the Snow Melts
Just the cool, slick sound of the place—Vail—draws ski bunnies and tourists to the Colorado mountains all winter long, but summer in this valley town is much less crowded (and less expensive).
Paddle Out
Water is moving in more ways than one. Laugh, cry, and rejoice in its power. This collection of essays captures the spirit of the water and will inspire you to find peace in your own little stretch of river.
Wakeboarding: How hard could it be?
After spending the last three years in the concrete jungle of Manhattan, I have now moved back to Central Florida, surrounded by forests, lakes and if I drive far enough, ocean.
