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A Death at Sea on the 'Row of Life'
For Angela Madsen, it was a fortuitous time to row into the isolation of the Pacific Ocean. It was April 23, 2020, a Thursday, and Los Angeles County was gripped by the coronavirus pandemic. Over...
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The Best Cold-Weather Surfing Kit of 2021
Here’s a poorly kept surfing secret: winter is the best time to ride waves. One reason? Large swells consistently pound coastlines in the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern California. But...
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Epic Gifts for Ocean Addicts
Vissla North Seas 4/3 Full Wetsuit ($315) (Photo: Courtesy Vissla) With triple-glued seams, abrasion-resistant knee pads, and premium Japanese limestone neoprene, the North Seas will last many seasons...
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A Requiem for Glen Canyon
Note: 2020 is the tenth year of my blog at Semi-Rad, and since I started it, I’ve been fortunate to get to do some pretty wonderful adventures. Throughout this year, I’ve been writing about favorite...
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How a Surfer Survived Being Stranded in the Open Sea
Serious surfers train themselves to be ready for difficult moments: a brutal wipeout, being held down underwater by waves, losing a board and being forced to swim a mile to shore. Then there are the...
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A Veteran Surfer’s Big-Wave Nightmare
It began as every surfer’s dream: an empty point break, a rising swell, and a good friend to share the rides. But what happens when you’re out there and the waves just keep getting bigger and bigger...
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A Champion Surfer’s Life-Threatening Injury
For one of surfing’s top competitors, it only took a moment to go from performing at the peak of his ability to nearly losing it all. In March 2020, big-wave world champion Billy Kemper was surfing in...
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The Plot to Kill the Olympics
Last fall Caeleb Dressel, the world’s fastest swimmer, sat in a hotel coffee shop on an island in the Danube in Budapest, sipping water from a bottle and trying not to think about a world without the...
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The First Rule of Bite Club? Talk About It.
Alex Wilton lives in San Francisco, surrounded by water. That was once part of its allure; as someone who spent many years sailing, Wilton had come to associate the ocean with freedom—the freedom to...
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The Best Stand-Up Paddleboards of 2021
Badfish 10'6" Flyweight ($1,199) (Photo: Inga Hendrickson) Inflatable SUPs have become increasingly popular over the past few years because they’re good for so many different kinds of paddling—lake,...
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The Best Boats of 2021
Sales of relatively cheap, easy-to-store inflatable boats have blown up (pun intended) in recent years. At long last, that demand has begun to fuel innovations that significantly improve both...
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The Best Water Shoes of 2021
Astral TR1 Loop ($125) (Photo: Courtesy Astral) For hikes with lots of stream crossings, protect your feet with this full-coverage shoe. The recycled-polyester mesh upper cradles the foot and dries...
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The Best Surfboard of 2021
Channel Islands FishBeard ($720) (Photo: Courtesy Fishbeard) For a few years prior to 1980, twin fins were the gold standard for performance surfing. But they were left behind for progressive and...
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The Best Women’s Swimwear of 2021
Roxy Beach Classics Athletic Bikini Top and Full Bikini Bottom ($40 each) (Photo: Courtesy Roxy) With clean lines and bright colors, the Beach Classics lives up to its name. Our testers liked this...
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The Best Boardshorts of 2021
Outerknown Apex Trunks by Kelly Slater ($145) (Photo: Courtesy OuterKnown) With 11 world titles and a lifetime in the sea, Kelly Slater knows what he wants in a pair of shorts. The Apex remains among...
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