Surfer Lit

by Erik Olsen on


Unless you hang ten as a hobby, you probably didn’t know there was such a thing as the surf
writing genre. I confess, neither did I, athough I am an occasional reader of Surfer Mag and others, if just for the
photos. But compilations are all the rage today (Google the “Best American” series, you’ll see what I mean) and so
perhaps it’s time surfer lit gets its due.

Out from is Matt Warshaw, the man behind the Encyclopedia of
Surfing, is

Zero Break: An Illustrated Collection of Surf Writing, 1777-2004. I’m tempted to get my hands on it just so I can
read the article from 1777. One pictures a very excited Paul Revere on horseback, “The red coats are coming…and sweet
breakers on the Cape!”


 

Ten Great Travel Adventues

by Erik Olsen on

The inimitable Richard Bangs, whose recent series of dispatches for MSNBC
I blogged about here, (and who more or less has the best
job in travel journalism), has committed to bits (as opposed to paper) the
ten greatest travel adventures you can take today. You should read
the article for a more detailed breakdown, but here are the ten:

 

— Llama Trekking the Hoover Wilderness Area

— Adventure Sailing Florida’s Gulf Coast

— Kayaking the San Juan Islands

— Canoeing the Boundary Waters

— Mountain Biking the Grand Staircase

— Climbing Denali

— Riding the Tetons

— Hiking Hidden Hawaii

— Dogsledding the Gates of the Arctic

— Rafting the Grand Canyon

How many have YOU done?

Surf’s Up on the River, Dude

by Nino Marchetti on

Bored with ocean surfing? Thought about taking a wave down ye olde river? That’s right – I’m talking about
tidal bore and the
sport of bore surfing. This
National Geographic article
talks about this interesting recreational activity and how these inland waves form. In summary, a tidal bore occurs
when a wave forms from tides as they head into certain rivers and only under certain environmental conditions. Some
bores can travel up to 20 miles an hour and get stronger as they go up the river, creating a unique surf condition
which has sometimes been sighted many miles inland.

Gorgeous Gorge

by Erik Olsen on

It is pretty much the Nirvana of all wind surfing aficionados.
Columbia Gorge is located in a special place where the winds are constant
and strong. They can whip wind surfers across the surface of the river at interstate speeds. If you’ve never been there
and you are an avid wind surfer, chances are you’ve dreamt of going.

 

So now’s your chance. Here’s a reason to go. This May are the annual Gorge
Cup races, the perfect excuse to book your ticket now for a couple of days of ripping it up at the Gorge.  And
even if you aren’t a big windsurfing fan, this is still a wonderful part of the country with great mountain biking,
hiking and more, so as the wind wail, you’ll still find enough to do.

Wind Speed

by Erik Olsen on

Björn Dunkerbeck is seeking to capture one record he doesn’t have: the World Sailing Speed Record. But he’s close. Dunkerbeck recently hit 44.35 knots at the Walvis Bay Speed week in Namibia, a millenium best. He remains confident that he can break the 12-year World Sailing Speed Record of 46.52 knots (86.16 km/h).

That record was established in Australian in 1993 by a catamaran called Yellow Pages Endeavour. No one has touched it since. Now Dunkerbeck is determined to hand it back to windsurfers, who held the previous records. Eager to see how he does.