Microsoft’s Best of the Web, 4 out of 4 Stars
Internet Start Pages, August 1, 1998

Wild Wild Web

What is an "extreme" sport? Having looked at so many sports sites over the year, I like to define it as an athletic endeavor that involves more imagination and more risk than you'll find in a "standard," rules-defined sport like football or tennis. The "extreme" athlete, as the name implies, should always go beyond what's anticipated, continually raising the bar for anyone who would follow.

With that in mind, let's applaud Bill Van Wyck, Alex Ercklentz, and Jeff Johnson, the crew of the Out of Bounds, our Extreme Sports Site of the Year. Featured as a Going to Extremes site back in the spring, Out of Bounds is also the name of a sailboat in the last legs of a three-year journey around the world. In 1996, corporate sales guy Bill took some hefty profits from the stock market, grabbed his buddies Alex and Jeff, and began their global journey from Newport, Rhode Island.

Jeff eventually left the Out of Bounds, but he designed the Web site upon his return to New York, and the result is amazing. Superbly designed, the site describes and updates the ongoing trip in glorious (and envy-inciting) detail, thanks to the cameras, laptops, and modems onboard the ship. By reading their journals, watching the movie files, and browsing the photo galleries, you can vicariously experience all the places they've visited and the underwater ocean life they've seen. Yes, these people are touring the seven seas, while we get to sit in front of our computers and watch. Hmmm, I really need to get away from my desk more often....

 Ken Hart, Wild Wild Web, July 17, 1998

This is a red letter site if ever there was one. Absolutely terrific! Jeff Johnson is our contact with four men traveling around the world on a 46 foot sailboat. WOW! This was also chosen as the Cool Site of the Day on May 1st. It got 3500 hits that day.

Dan Phillips, June 1, 1998

Not only have they designed a clean, easy-to-navigate site, but the stories are personable and the photos are mind-blowing. They'll even send you regular e-mails with updates. Send 'em a note. Hell, I'm invited to Happy Hour onboard if they ever make it back! Join the crew from your desk now. You can click on the map of their voyage to see what you've missed. It's not the ocean conditions that will make you green. It's envy.                Bethany Ericson,Wild Wild Web, The Sports Edge, June 11, 1998

Around the World in a Thousand Days
Sailors who circumnavigate the globe and tell about it usually do so after the fact. Today, you can get a multimedia account of such a voyage in progress - Sailing Around the World: Out of Bounds, the Web story of a small crew and a dog who left Newport, R.I. in the fall of 1996 on a three-year voyage. Outfitted with laptops, a scanner, and a modem, the crew has amassed a collection of digital memorabilia with design help from a teammate in New York: journal entries, photo galleries, a QTVR video gallery, maps, weekly reports, links to local sites. Some of the photos are so gorgeous we're mightily tempted to use them as desktop wallpaper. Individual narratives and the entire share-our-journey-as-we-go format make us wonder whether Hollywood will take part soon in the adventure. Apparently, with all the good times enjoyed along the way, the crew is in no rush to end a good thing.  NetSurfer Digest, June 29, 1998

Laptops, PCs, and scanners allow its voyage to be tracked on this well designed website. At present, the yacht is docked at Darwin, and the crew will soon be able to receive e-mail while at sea. You can drop them a note, complimenting them on the site's stunning photos.   New Zealand Online News, July 14,1998

Some weeks ago, this column mentioned a website about a group of mountaineers scaling Everest who were posting their daily adventures on the net. In the same vein, Out of Bounds (www.outofbounds.com) is the ongoing story of a sailboat called Out of Bounds and its crew which is on a three-year circumnavigation around the world. The journey started early this year, on the eastern coast of the US from Newport, Rhode Island and by mid-July, the crew had touched Darwin in Australia before heading to the Indian Ocean. The site is noted for its excellent collection of photographs and of course, daily anecdotes. Equally engaging is a virtual reality tour of the Out of Bounds sailboat, links to other sites and the requisite guestbook for visitors to cheer on the crew as they head into the next installment of their adventures. 
Hindustan Times Online Net Files, July 21,1998, New Delhi, India

Le Monde, September 21,1998, Paris, France

Did we miss something? If you know of a site or a publication that mentioned the Out of Bounds web site, please let us know!