Lakes
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C J Gagner
- Ripper (more than 100 posts)
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- Location: Oceanside
Lakes
Out of curiosity any kneelos in the great lakes area, and if so how are the waves there?
Member "cs" surfs the Great Lakes and posted a link to these photos a while ago.
http://superiorsurfclub.com/05_winter_c ... ter_c.html
http://superiorsurfclub.com/05_winter_c ... ter_c.html
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C J Gagner
- Ripper (more than 100 posts)
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:44 pm
- Location: Oceanside
Yeah, I'm up here. How are the waves? Cold, inconsistent, short duration. Every now and then it gets good. I was up weekend before last. It was pushing head high. Water temp, I dunno, maybe 36F or so. The air was about 13F. I knocked a ding in my KB and hadn't fixed it yet, so all I had to take was my log. Kind of a bummer. Stoney Point looked like it does in those pictures.
cs
cs
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C J Gagner
- Ripper (more than 100 posts)
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:44 pm
- Location: Oceanside
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C J Gagner
- Ripper (more than 100 posts)
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Sun Nov 30, 2003 9:44 pm
- Location: Oceanside
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PaulN
- Ripper (more than 100 posts)
- Posts: 173
- Joined: Wed Aug 30, 2006 10:52 am
- Location: SLC - soon to be Florida.
In the winter the visibility was generally a little bit better as there was a little less silt movement. 10 years or so ago (it may still be happening) there was a zebra mussel infestation in the great lakes, which cleared up the water tremndously. It was not uncommon to have 30 ft of visibility if conditions were right. It was cold though. We used to do dives that with decompression lasted over an hour. It was dry suits and full face masks only.C J Gagner wrote:That is COLDLY unerving. Could you see i thought it was murky water?!?
Sometimes
I was inMuskegon MI. for a job and saw that end of the lake no surf like that. It reminded me if FL. or TX.,lots of littel peaks really close together and cross swells every where.
I went to a surf, skate, and snow shop just becuase I couldn't believe I saw one. Spoke at lenght with the owner about the area (6 surf shops within an hours drive) and San Diego breaks. He said it was the best it had been in months due to the wind those few days.
They had some boards that looked to be made just to plane so you catch the short , sloped sections as he apparently correctly described the majority of the surf. The had an old small faces fish they had bought on ebay and a couple of really wide tailed (much wider than a kneeboard fish) fish, a few thick longboards and some thick fun boards. He has a friend who makes the boards locally.
It was fun talking story with the guy and hearing how badly he misses good Mexican food. I said I hear that from everyone whose left CA.
Happy Holy Days to ALL.
M2
I went to a surf, skate, and snow shop just becuase I couldn't believe I saw one. Spoke at lenght with the owner about the area (6 surf shops within an hours drive) and San Diego breaks. He said it was the best it had been in months due to the wind those few days.
They had some boards that looked to be made just to plane so you catch the short , sloped sections as he apparently correctly described the majority of the surf. The had an old small faces fish they had bought on ebay and a couple of really wide tailed (much wider than a kneeboard fish) fish, a few thick longboards and some thick fun boards. He has a friend who makes the boards locally.
It was fun talking story with the guy and hearing how badly he misses good Mexican food. I said I hear that from everyone whose left CA.
Happy Holy Days to ALL.
M2
How often do we get surf like that? Take a look at a map of Superior, and find Duluth MN. There's a good bit of fetch, about 400 miles or so I reckon. However, being at the skinny end of the lake, and on the wrong side for the prevailing West winds, we have to wait for a NE, E, or believe it or not, something from due North.
A strong sustained wind (above 30kts or so) will whip up some waves. The majority of our coast will be wind blasted, unsurfable slop. The trick is in finding spots that are relatively sheltered, that let the swell wrap in and clean up. There are a few. If a guy was able to surf every time there is something rideable, I'd say he could get out about 30 - 40 times a year. These episodes are often short lived. Frequently, the onshore winds required to generate any energy make most every spot blown out. Yeah, there's the freak day when it's howling at 40kts from just the right direction to make some sheltered points peel endless lines. These days are few and far between.
What we wait for is the short period after a low pressure system rolls through, when the winds sometimes quickly turn from onshore to offshore. The waves take hours to get from one end of the lake to another. So, every now and then, we get some excellent offshore perfection. I've only been surfing up here two years, after about 10 years of no surfing at all. I finally put 2 and 2 together, and started heading North from the Minneapolis area. The closest spots for me are around Duluth, about a 2.5 hour drive. There are many other spots around the lake that break during different wind directions. Every one of them has much the same situation. It'll be big, burly, windy, cold, and out of control. Then the cleanup comes. (Or if you know where to go, you find the sheltered spots even when it's cranking, but I'm not telling.
) The regular spots along the North Shore of Lake Superior are pretty easy to find, and the are also some of the best. Just drive up the "Scenic Highway" and drive down every dirt road that leads to the lake. Eventually, you'll find one.
In general, the waves up here aren't what a guy would define as kneeboard waves. 90% of the time it's pretty small, and best on a longboard. The pictures you see on that website are not very representative of most days. They are the 1%. But, for a surfer living up here, it's better than nothing. The largest wave I've seen a photo of with a guy riding was about DOH(edit: I just looked at the picture again, it's well overhead, but I don't know if I should call it DOH). It's commonly regarded as the largest documented wave ridden on the Great Lakes, and a freak rarity of a day.
One last note: Guys have been surfing these parts since the 60's, only recently has it started to catch on. I'm one of the guys who figured it out with the Internet, just like 90% of the other new faces. It's still rare to get any vibe wherever you surf. But, just a couple of years ago, the old guard used to look for people to surf with. Now, it's not uncommon to see 10-15 guys out at the regular spots. I've been vibed once while surfing a spot over 9 hours drive from Minneapolis. Obviously, I wasn't local, and they can get pretty protective of a good thing, just like anywhere I guess. Things are still mellow though, and a fit surfer who's got some skills can get as many waves as he wants. Most of us don't surf much, and you know what that can do. There are a few really talented surfers up here though. These guys, most of whom have surfed here for years, can still smile and welcome a new face.
OK one more note: Tom Blake retired to Lake Superior, he's was originally from WI, if my memory serves me right. There's even a Tom Blake display at a maritime museum in WI.
Finally, here's a link to a video you might find interesting. It was taken last Winter by some friends of mine on a nasty day at Stoney Point. It's a good example of how "Not to surf Stoney Point". These guys obviously didn't know what they were doing, and ignored the advice of the regulars that were sitting around waiting for the cleanup. They picked the absolute worst place at the spot to paddle out, and payed the price.
edit: I guess I should note that the guys in the care were pretty much unable to do a thing for the guy. The water was cold, Lake Superior in Winter cold, and the air was pretty nippy too. They were'nt suited up. If they went down to help, they could have been swept of the shelf and become victims themselves.
http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/k ... k_0001.flv
cs
PS. You can't surf on a lake. Everything on that website is photoshop. Now, back to my regularly scheduled lurking.
A strong sustained wind (above 30kts or so) will whip up some waves. The majority of our coast will be wind blasted, unsurfable slop. The trick is in finding spots that are relatively sheltered, that let the swell wrap in and clean up. There are a few. If a guy was able to surf every time there is something rideable, I'd say he could get out about 30 - 40 times a year. These episodes are often short lived. Frequently, the onshore winds required to generate any energy make most every spot blown out. Yeah, there's the freak day when it's howling at 40kts from just the right direction to make some sheltered points peel endless lines. These days are few and far between.
What we wait for is the short period after a low pressure system rolls through, when the winds sometimes quickly turn from onshore to offshore. The waves take hours to get from one end of the lake to another. So, every now and then, we get some excellent offshore perfection. I've only been surfing up here two years, after about 10 years of no surfing at all. I finally put 2 and 2 together, and started heading North from the Minneapolis area. The closest spots for me are around Duluth, about a 2.5 hour drive. There are many other spots around the lake that break during different wind directions. Every one of them has much the same situation. It'll be big, burly, windy, cold, and out of control. Then the cleanup comes. (Or if you know where to go, you find the sheltered spots even when it's cranking, but I'm not telling.
) The regular spots along the North Shore of Lake Superior are pretty easy to find, and the are also some of the best. Just drive up the "Scenic Highway" and drive down every dirt road that leads to the lake. Eventually, you'll find one. In general, the waves up here aren't what a guy would define as kneeboard waves. 90% of the time it's pretty small, and best on a longboard. The pictures you see on that website are not very representative of most days. They are the 1%. But, for a surfer living up here, it's better than nothing. The largest wave I've seen a photo of with a guy riding was about DOH(edit: I just looked at the picture again, it's well overhead, but I don't know if I should call it DOH). It's commonly regarded as the largest documented wave ridden on the Great Lakes, and a freak rarity of a day.
One last note: Guys have been surfing these parts since the 60's, only recently has it started to catch on. I'm one of the guys who figured it out with the Internet, just like 90% of the other new faces. It's still rare to get any vibe wherever you surf. But, just a couple of years ago, the old guard used to look for people to surf with. Now, it's not uncommon to see 10-15 guys out at the regular spots. I've been vibed once while surfing a spot over 9 hours drive from Minneapolis. Obviously, I wasn't local, and they can get pretty protective of a good thing, just like anywhere I guess. Things are still mellow though, and a fit surfer who's got some skills can get as many waves as he wants. Most of us don't surf much, and you know what that can do. There are a few really talented surfers up here though. These guys, most of whom have surfed here for years, can still smile and welcome a new face.
OK one more note: Tom Blake retired to Lake Superior, he's was originally from WI, if my memory serves me right. There's even a Tom Blake display at a maritime museum in WI.
Finally, here's a link to a video you might find interesting. It was taken last Winter by some friends of mine on a nasty day at Stoney Point. It's a good example of how "Not to surf Stoney Point". These guys obviously didn't know what they were doing, and ignored the advice of the regulars that were sitting around waiting for the cleanup. They picked the absolute worst place at the spot to paddle out, and payed the price.
edit: I guess I should note that the guys in the care were pretty much unable to do a thing for the guy. The water was cold, Lake Superior in Winter cold, and the air was pretty nippy too. They were'nt suited up. If they went down to help, they could have been swept of the shelf and become victims themselves.
http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/k ... k_0001.flv
cs
PS. You can't surf on a lake. Everything on that website is photoshop. Now, back to my regularly scheduled lurking.
Last edited by cs on Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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davmo
- Grom (25 or less posts to site)
- Posts: 24
- Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 10:00 pm
- Location: Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
Surfing the Great Lakes
There is a very good full feature movie titled "Unsalted" that is about surfing the Great Lakes. The movie has a little of everything in the movie, history of surfing the Great Lakes with some cool vintage film. Lots of great footage overall throughout the movie.
The guys that surf the Great Lakes are as hard core surfers as you would expect to find anywhere. Maybe even more so. They have to be really on top of their game dealing with the extreme low temperatures during winter sessions. They have to be very aware of weather patterns and have to get on it when a swell develops as the swell duration window is very narrow. They also often have to travel several hundred miles to wherever the swell is breaking best and they do this again often in very bad weather.
My hat is off to any Great Lakes surfer. They are as hard core as they come.
buy the movie "Unsalted". You will be amazed at some of the nice waves that can be found in a lake. (actually those lakes could be called inland seas)
The guys that surf the Great Lakes are as hard core surfers as you would expect to find anywhere. Maybe even more so. They have to be really on top of their game dealing with the extreme low temperatures during winter sessions. They have to be very aware of weather patterns and have to get on it when a swell develops as the swell duration window is very narrow. They also often have to travel several hundred miles to wherever the swell is breaking best and they do this again often in very bad weather.
My hat is off to any Great Lakes surfer. They are as hard core as they come.
buy the movie "Unsalted". You will be amazed at some of the nice waves that can be found in a lake. (actually those lakes could be called inland seas)
If any of you ever visit the Twin Cities, shoot me a PM. If there's a chance for surf and you have some spare time, I'll take you on up and show you around a bit. Who knows, we might get lucky and get a good clean fun day. It's not likely though since everybody knows there's no surf on a lake, ever.
OK, back to lurk mode.
cs
PS. More photoshop. http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/ ... medium.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/ ... ecret3.jpg
OK, back to lurk mode.
cs
PS. More photoshop. http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/ ... medium.jpg
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l194/ ... ecret3.jpg
