I headed out to the lake last night for a surf session with onshore winds 20-30 knots. Waves were about 5-7 feet, but very confused. I tried using the surf kayak for most of the evening to catch rides, but there were heavy closeouts everywhere. It was kind of a mess. My early lessons in …
Tag Archive: Great Lakes
Oct
18
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 …
Oct
20
Lighthouse for Sale
At the end of August I wrote my first post, about paddling to Ile Aux Galet (Skillagalee) island, which started out intimidating but turned into a ton of fun, surfing back to the mainland. Besides about 10,000 birds, the only thing on the island is a beautiful 1888 lighthouse, which is still active. http://www.michiganlights.com/skillagaleelh.htm So I …
Aug
31
Sea Kayak Trip Report from Ile Aux Galet
<object width=”400″ height=”300″> <param name=”flashvars” value=”offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fkeithwikle%2Fsets%2F72157622199160082%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fkeithwikle%2Fsets%2F72157622199160082%2F&set_id=72157622199160082&jump_to=”></param> <param name=”movie” value=”http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649″></param> <param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649″ allowFullScreen=”true” flashvars=”offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=%2Fphotos%2Fkeithwikle%2Fsets%2F72157622199160082%2Fshow%2F&page_show_back_url=%2Fphotos%2Fkeithwikle%2Fsets%2F72157622199160082%2F&set_id=72157622199160082&jump_to=” width=”400″ height=”300″></embed></object> Ile Aux Galets (Island of Pebbles), aka Skillagalee, is a very small island about 7 miles offshore from Cross Village, near the NW tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula. The island sits atop a large shoal. On the …
Jul
30
Full Moon Paddle Lake Michigan August 5th
Where: Dog Beach 13 Ave Put in South Haven. View Larger Map When: August 5th 2009 8:00 PM. Distance: Up to you. What to bring: Some form of Coast Guard Approved lighting to ensure safety on the water. Usual safety gear. (Lifejacket). Libations for afterward on the beach. Please watch the weather, August can be …
Jul
09
Full Moon Sea Kayaking South Haven
How many times have you kayaked under the full moon? How many times have you paddled a sea kayak under the stars on the Great Lakes? How many times have you chased a wave in the dark on Lake Michigan? In the end these will be the questions you ask yourself as you go to …
May
28
20th Annual WMCKA Symposium Guest Speaker Jeff Allen
Jeff Allen co-owner of Sea Kayaking Cornwall visited this year to instruct and speak. Jeff came a day early to give an instructor update for the WMCKA instructional staff. The topic this year was incident management. Jeff has written a series of articles for Ocean Paddler magazine. Jeff is also writing a book on the …
May
15
Looking west across the South Haven Pier
Looking west across the South Haven Pier, originally uploaded by Go Kayak Now. Another great view of the South Haven pier. This is my local break for surf kayaking. I typically surf about 100 yards off this pier. Sand builds up on the bottom from the storms forming a nice sand bar to form. If …
May
15
South Haven Pier in Storm May 9th 2009
South Haven Pier in Storm May 9th 2009, originally uploaded by Go Kayak Now. Great shot of Lake Michigan in the storm. The sky had been overcast for most of the morning while I was surfing, and then suddenly the whole sky cleared and went blue. The water is churning up the channel of the …
