Each Summer there are weeks and weeks of flat water on the Great Lakes, to the point where the kayak surfing junkies are ready to start sacrificing puppies to the weather god for a 3 foot wave. September has given up her jewels like an oyster with a hiccup. I managed to get out three …
Tag Archive: great lakes surf kayaking
Aug
11
Sea Kayaking South Manitou in a day
It’s 8am on Cannery Beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. It’s me, a chain smoking heavy equipment operator, and nobody else. He says that no overweight tourists will be at the beach until about 11, and he wants to lift the cannery up off the ground before they get there. By the end of the day, my body and physics degree will both agree that the crane and I have each expended about the same amount of total energy. To which my liberal arts education replies, “but I have been across the sea.”
Feb
09
The types of surf breaks
This image of different types of breaks does a fairly good job of explaining how different breaks are formed. The type we see the most often on the Great Lakes is the beach break. Though on the east coast of Lake Michigan we often get sandbars that form in deeper water simulating a bit of …
Sep
30
Surf Kayaking Evangelism Received
My first day in the surf boat was early last April, on a much ‘smaller’ day. Everything was in the 30’s: air temp, water temp, wind speed. It was gnarly and the boat didn’t fit at all. But even with cramped feet, it was fun. And then some silly little four footers trashed me until my …
Sep
28
How to predict good surfing weather on the Great Lakes
The fall storm season is on with a vengeance. When the wind starts to howl we get waves on both sides of the lake. Today the wind is at gale force with 50 knot winds out of the west. The result of the storm weather is this picture: This fall storm on Lake Michigan is …
Aug
28
How to describe surf kayaking to your friends
Are you troubled with the need to talk about your surf Kayaking experiences? Don’t bother! As humans, we have the need to contextualize our experiences. To explain them. Often when it comes to our physical endeavors, words fail us. Hemingway was a master at taking a niche sport and converting it into simple symbols and …
Aug
03
World Surf Kayak Championships 2009 Portugal Results
Results are in for the World Surf Kayak Championship in Santa Cruz Portugal. Surf Kayak Championship 2009 Results available via SurfKayak.net. The boys from Jersey took it home the men’s HP division. David Speller from Jersey Channel Islands placed first. Though Chris Harvey did not have the showing amongst his team, he was consistent in …
Jan
16
New York Times Article on Winter Lake Superior Surfing
The New York Times wrote an excellent travel piece about winter surfing on Lake Superior. The waves in the pictures are stellar, clean spillers, not the norm on the north shore by any stretch of the imagination, don’t be fooled. They also mentioned the venerable Superior Surf Club. Great article about the fresh water surfing …
Oct
28
Evil Forces at Work-Surf Kayaking Lake Michigan
Evil Forces at Work You know those days when you wake up to an overflowing coffee maker, broken glass on the floor, or a flat tire on your car? And you know the rest of your day is not going to go well. I had that feeling all day yesterday about surfing. I somehow knew …
Oct
24
Surf Kayaker wonders-where the f#*k are the Fall Storms?
Worst Fall Storm Surf Kayaking Season Ever Ok for the record, this has been the worst fall storm Surf Kayaking season on record. I’ve been out once. Last year was undoubtedly better. More days with wind. I was actually picking my days based on which way the wind was blowing. The wind has been out …
