Adventurers of the Year 2012: Surfer Carissa Moore

Over the next two weeks we will introduce each of the new Adventurers of the Year here on our blog. Be sure to cast your vote every day for the People's Choice Award.

See photos of all the Adventurers of the Year!

Surfing likes its legends. When the surf media started comparing a teenage girl from Hawaii with the sport’s reigning superstar and 11-time world champion, Kelly Slater, some of the passionate fans of the sport labeled it as hype. Carissa Moore made the first step toward proving the doubters wrong this year when she became the youngest person ever to win the world title. Her aggressive but fluid riding turned heads. Later his month Moore will be the first woman in the modern era to compete in the men’s Triple Crown of Surfing. Not bad for a 19-year-old.

In 2010, the then 18-year-old Hawaiian began making her case for greatness when she was accepted onto the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Women’s World Tour. Moore won two events, earned a nod as Rookie of the Year, and graduated from high school. She was just getting her bearings on surfing’s center stage. By 2011, Moore crushed the female competition in surfing’s main events. During the ASP World Tour, she placed first in three events and never placed lower than third to win the overall title. In her two years on the tour, she’s already raked in $225,000 in purse money and attracted top-notch sponsors such as Red Bull, Roxy, and Nike.

Even though the women’s ASP World Tour ended early due to lack of sponsorship dollars, Moore’s season continued when she got wild card slots to surf alongside the world's best male surfers on the male tour at the Reef Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa and the Van’s World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach, both on her home turf of Hawaii. The events are in November.

“I’m kind of nervous, but I’m also really excited,” says Moore. “I’m being realistic about what is going to happen. The guys I’m surfing against have a few more years and more experience on me, so I probably won’t make a heat, but if I do, great. That would be awesome.”

—Fitz Cahall

Now read the interview with Carissa Moore and be sure to vote everyday for your favorite adventurer

Kiteboarding Hawaii: How to Deal With Shark (and Grizzly) Encounters

By Mark Cosslett; photograph courtesy Nate Volk

I’ve spent a fair bit of time exploring the great outdoors within close proximity of wildlife, and probably far more time in the proximity of sharks then I realize or care to consider. If you will “bear with me” here, I’d like to talk about the precautions I’ve taken in the Canadian Rockies against grizzly bears before I get into what I think can be done about sharks in the Hawaiian ocean channels.

When in Canada, I carry my “bear kit” on longer back country hikes and mountain bike rides, just as much to save a bear as my own ass. While nothing I carry is capable of killing a grizzly bear, it might just save ones life one day (they “destroy” bears that have dangerous encounters with humans). It contains, in order of use:

Bear Bangers - These can be used at a nice, safe distance and when fired off sound like a kick-ass gun shot, which should send just about anything running for the hills.

Bear Spray - Once close enough to use, the bear is already checking you out and your chances aren't as good. It also, doesn't work so well if the bear is upwind of you.

Last Resort - A USMC KA-BAR combat knife. I've had to play dead before, face down and curled up with this unsheathed and clutched in my hands while a grizzly still approached and “investigated” and it's amazing just how small it looks under those circumstances. While I have no illusions of fighting off a grizzly with any kind of knife, a good jab in a sensitive area might just send one running, hopefully allowing us both to survive.

So what does all this have to do about sharks? Let me explain. I've been in the water self-rescuing on Maui for an hour or two many times, but there are far more sharks and far fewer things that might interest them in the open sea.  The open ocean channels are the territory of the notorious oceanic, white-tip shark, an opportunistic predator that has killed more humans than all other species of shark combined.

While there is no equivalent to “Bear Bangers” or “Bear Spray” for sharks, I will carry my “Last Resort” deterrent in the form of an ice pick. Sharks, and oceanic white tips in particular, usually do investigative nudges before attacking and a well aimed jab to a shark’s nose or eye might buy me an hour or two until more come, attracted by the blood in the water. If I injure the first shark sufficiently it will not only leave me alone but the other sharks will likely attack it rather than me since their opportunistic nature attracts them to the weakest and therefore easiest target. Sharks aren’t much fun to contemplate but its nearly impossible not to when you’re stranded and exposed in the middle of an open ocean channel... part of the deal.  If my kite is still intact, I would crawl into it (it also provides flotation) and hope for the best - 10 to 14 square meters of colorful fabric is a very large and unusual object for a shark to think it will make a meal of an probably the safest place to await rescue.

Kiteboarding Hawaii: Anatomy of a Hawaiian Kiteboarding Crossing

By Mark Cosslett. Photograph courtesy Mark Cosslett

I’ve had many friends ask what they should do to prepare to join me on a Hawaiian inter-island kiteboarding crossing, all of them expert kiters. Here's what it takes.

Get Fit
My first suggestion is to bike, run, swim, or whatever for fitness training. The kite skills are pretty basic, but without proper endurance even the best kiter will become shark bait in short order.

Learn How to Be Safe
Get all the safety gear and learn how to use it. Would you go out into the backcountry with a ski partner and only one avalanche transceiver between you? No. How about a shovel and probe? They’re not much good unless everyone has them. Well, the same is true with ocean safety gear. They call the satellite emergency response device a PERSONAL Locater Beacon (PLB) for a reason, it means every person should have one. Early on, I joined a group on a failed attempt to kiteboard from Molokai to Oahu where everyone thought a chase boat was the “catch-all” safety plan. We got lucky, all six of us. I’ve never “rolled the dice” that way again.

Use Technology, But Have a Backup Plan
Equip yourself with all that modern technology has to offer: satellite phone, PLB, waterproof cell phone, GPS, marine radio ... even an iPod in a waterproof case, if so inclined. Then, assume ALL those devices will catastrophically and simultaneous fail just when you need them the most. That means you must also follow all the traditional safety protocols: register a “flight plan,” start early and have a cut-off time that allows enough daylight for a rescue, and report your position as frequently as feasible. It also means you must carry all the traditional safety gear: marine flares, a signal mirror, dye markers, a life preserver, and provisions to survive at least 24 hours out at sea by way of food, water, and a wet suit thick enough to stave off hypothermia. And, hope the sharks don’t start to circle....

Become an Great Kiteboarder
Then practice, practice, practice. Just because someone can zig-zag back and forth, boost big air, and do tricks within a quarter mile of the safety of the beach doesn’t mean he or she has what it takes to maintain an awkward point-of-sail in overhead ocean swells to make another island upwards of 40 miles distant. There’s no landfall on other points of sail for the Hawaiian inter-island kite boarder, except perhaps Tahiti, Australia, or Japan.

As for those pesky sharks.... More on that in the next blog.

Surfer Shane Dorioan Fuels No Jet-Ski Trend With Record-Setting 57-Foot Wave

By Tetsuhiko Endo

The Billabong XXL awards took place last weekend and its big winners reflected the surfers who have forsworn jet skis over the last few years to catch waves the old fashioned way—one hefty stroke at a time. The coveted ride of the year award went to Brazilian paddle surfer Danilo Couto, who rode his fateful wave at Jaws off Maui. Perennial Hawaiian standout Shane Dorioan also nabbed two awards and broke the existing record for “largest wave ridden without a jet ski” by paddling into a 57-foot wave at the same spot.

To put this all into perspective, big-wave surfers started using personal water crafts (PWCs) in the late 90s as a way to catch waves that were considered too large and too fast-moving to catch using the power of two arms. The upper limit of what was considered “paddleable” at that time was around 35 feet. When Jaws first came into the media spot light, it was said to be impossible to ride without the aid of jet skis. How far back to the future we have come. Although PWC assisted surfing hasn’t lost favor among the small group of men and women who chase big waves (read: 30-foot plus) around the world, the last four years have seen a resurgence in eager paddlers due to the overcrowding of big-wave spots with watercrafts, and also a simple change in mind set. By paddling into his 57-foot foot wave, Dorian has added considerable fuel to the fire of what can now undoubtedly be called a full-blown surfing movement.

Most of the award winners, including the Hawaiian siren Keala Kennely (whose barrel at Mexico’s Puerto Escondido was arguably the biggest ever ridden by a women) pledged to give their money to the widow and children of Sion Milosky, their brother in arms who died surfing California’s infamous Mavericks in March. Check out Surfline.com for the videos of the award winning waves.

The Wild Within TV Host Steven Rinella on Adventuring to Eat (Video)

What if you could use your philosophy toward food to fuel a life of adventure? And we don't mean digging around in your veggie garden. How about hunting octopus off Maui, crabbing in Alaska, or even gathering snails in San Francisco's sprawling Golden Gate Park? For consummate outdoorsman Steven Rinella adventuring to eat is a way of life. The Brooklyn-based writer and his family only eat meat he has hunted himself. It's a noble idea—if you can't kill it, why should you be eating it? Rinella's culinary exploits take center stage in his new show The Wild Within (Travel Channel, Sundays at 9 p.m. EST). Whether you are ready to bowhunt for peacock bass in Guyana or track buffalo in the Badlands, it's pretty amazing just to be along for the ride. Here Rinella tells us about his greatest adventures, the gear he can't live without, and the benefits of truly "eating local." —Mary Anne Potts

Your eating philosophy—to only eat meat that you have hunted yourself—guarantees a lifestyle with adventures in the great outdoors. Is having amazing adventures big part of it for you?

Steven Rinella: Absolutely. I love wild game for the simple fact that I love to eat healthy, high-quality food. But there’s an added element that wild game carries with it: the adventures that went into harvesting and preparing it. I view my freezer as a repository of these memories, almost like a bank. I fill it up with adventures when I’m flush with them and then make small, one-pound withdrawals on a daily basis. It’s a wonderful way to live. And it’s a wonderful way to eat.

How do you pick your locations? By desire to experience a part of the world or by craving for a certain type of meat?

SR: When it comes to locations, there are almost too many considerations to list them all. Novelty is important to me, but then so are routine and tradition. We filmed an episode of The Wild Within in Guyana, a place where I’d never been before. One reason I was drawn to the region is that many of the Amerindians still fish with handmade bows and arrows on a daily basis; they feed their families with these weapons.

Best American Adventures: Kiteboard Maui's North Shore

We've just updated our popular America's Best Adventures feature with 50 new trips, bringing our grand total to 100 iconic escapes (see the map, state-by-state list, and photo gallery, too). So no matter what your pleasure—hiking, heli-skiing, surfing, climbing, biking, or paddling—we've got the perfect adventure for you. Check in each day for a new, out-the-backdoor adventure highlighted here on our blog.  

By Robert Earle Howells; Photograph by Douglas Peebles

Maui’s Hookipa Beach has long been a crucible where wind and wave sports are born, refined, and practiced to their perfection. Think Robby Naish, Laird Hamilton. Think tow-out big waves, the explosion of windsurfing, and now the apotheosis of kiteboarding. The crescent of North Shore sand framed by grandstand bluffs gets blessed by 25-knot trade winds and blasted by a powerful reef break that can surge to mast-high or double that when Alaska storms deliver a big north swell. Kiting that combination means a heart-thumping experience of big aerobatics and incredible speed. Read: Experts only. So much so that kiteheads are reminded to abide by federal aviation regulations. Seriously. Mortals go early or just take a seat in the theater and watch the show.

No one’s born with the ability to kite Hookipa, which is why Kanaha Beach, seven miles (11 kilometers) west, exists. Here an offshore reef slows the waves to a mere chop, allowing 150 to 300 yards (137 to 274 meters) of flat sea and a novice’s ultimate blessing—side-shore breezes that blow you back to land. Maui, that is, not Tahiti. It’s the place to learn the art of kiting, no windsurfing ability required. It’s a place to evolve and transcend and just maybe graduate. Next stop: Hookipa.

Need to Know: Contact Action Sports Maui (www.actionsportsmaui.com) for lessons, rentals, and sobering advice. An intro class is $199.

Lost in Hawaii: Executive Producer Reveals Secrets, Stunts, Travel Tips

The final episode of Lost has been filmed, and in just a few weeks we’ll know all the secrets of the island (we're joking, of course—this show is bound to leave us guessing). But what we can know, in certain terms, is what it was like to shoot on Oahu and the location of the survivors’ beach camp. We can also discover how the crew created a Tunisian desert and a snowy Buffalo, New York, on a lush tropical island. Or why John Locke is so good at throwing knives and Kate seems so comfortable climbing into the jungle canopy. We caught up with executive producer Jean Higgins to find out some of the secrets of the show. Then check out our Lost travel guide, so you can see the island like an Oceanic Flight 815 castaway (without the smoke monster).—Mary Anne Potts

Were other locations considered before Oahu was selected for filming? What were they? Why Hawaii?
The original location scout for the pilot occurred before I joined the show. The producers had decided that Australia was probably the best place for Lost, based on the research they had done. They were headed for Australia with a stopover in Hawaii, but at the last minute they decided to take a look at Hawaii before continuing on. They spent a couple of days on Oahu and found everything they needed. No one ever went to Australia. When it is right, you select the place and get to work. I joined the show the day they returned because I heard it was going to be in Hawaii, a place I fell in love with when I was 13 and learned to surf there.

Hawaii had the perfect blend of beaches, jungles, and arid areas. And once our writers developed the idea of the flashback story for our characters, Honolulu and the rest of the island was utilized for everything from war-torn Iraq to Korea, Britain, Berlin, and Moscow with snow.

From the Field: Standup Paddleboarders Prepare to Cross Hawaii's Open-Ocean Channels

Next week, Morgan Hoesterey (pictured above) and Jenny Kalmbach, both accomplished standup paddleboarders, will begin a three-week attempt to cross Hawaii's nine legendary open-ocean channels as never before. Their expedition is called Destination 3°, for the three degrees of latitude (19° to 22°) that encompass the entire archipelago. Let us put this feat into perspective: The Alenuihaha Channel, sandwiched between two volcanoes, is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world and can have 20-foot swells. Or 65-mile Ka’ie’iewaho Channel may take 24 hours to cross, so they plan to paddle by a full moon. Also avid freedivers and surfers, these ladies' efforts are in the name of cleaning up plastics and other debris from the ocean with Algalita Marine Research Foundation. We caught up with Hoesterey, a California native who now resides in Honolulu, to clue us in on this quest. We'll hear from Kalmbach mid-expedition.—Mary Anne Potts

Get Lost: Four Must-Do Hawaii Adventures

Photograph by Michael Dyches, My Shot, see more island wallpaper like this.

Last night ABC aired the highly-anticipated two-hour premiere of the final season of Lost. Shot on the island of Oahu, the show stirred a large amount destination envy as the survivors of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 hacked through dense jungle, hiked impossibly steep cliffs and rugged mountains, and waited (sometimes with heavy artillery) at camp on that gorgeous golden-sand beach.

To help you get Lost, we just published a special The Big Trip: Hawaii. Trips include:

- Hiking, paddling, and biking on Kauai
- Cruising from Oahu to Molokai, Lanai, and Maui on a live-aboard yacht
- Surfing and volcano-trekking on Maui
- Road-tripping the Big Island

In her research, writer Katie Arnold discovered that return visits to the archipelago are unusually high—65 percent of visitors go back (something the Lost crew knows all too well). So here's how to plan a Lost Hawaii escape now. Time travel aside, it's sure not to be your last.

Go Green: Eco-Voyagers Take on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

And the award for green cause of the year goes to . . . the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. After decades of anonymity, the floating trash pile located midway between California and Hawaii had a breakout 2009—luring news crews, a trio aboard a raft made of junk, a zero-impact rower, and some hipsters from Vice magazine. Oh, and it was featured on Oprah. But most of the coverage (even you, Oprah) failed to ask one rather important question: Now that we know it’s out there, what do we do about it?