Go Kayak Now! » South Haven

Oct 16th Surf Jam Updates Reminder and Call for Photographers/Videographers

kwikle — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:37:10 +0000

Quick Reminder, Surf Jam Oct 16th, 10:00 AM South Haven South Beach.

A few things to keep in mind for Oct 16th.

Here is a map to South Haven South Beach for your directions

Second, water temps are dropping on Lake Michigan slowly, but a 4/3 wetsuit at minimum, or farmer john + drytop, or drysuit is highly recommended, plus a neoprene hood. Gloves and pogies at your discretion. I may have extras I can bring. A warm drink, food, water, should come in handy as well as a helmet if you are daring and surf close to other people, or the pier.

Kelly Blades master provacateur and the Hunter S. Thompson of Kayaking has hinted that a P&H Delphin may be on demo.

Tim Truman has also hinted that some Stand Up Paddle Boards can be had.

I managed to drop my Pentax Optio and snap the hinge that shuts the memory card and battery, so I can take pictures, but not on the water. Shockproof my @$$. So a call for photographers and videographers who may want to take shots from the pier, (best vantage points). Tell them to bring a DSLR and a tripod. We will try to get any and all worthwhile footage posted.

End of Summer Kayak Surfing

kwikle — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:47:25 +0000

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 times in four days.

Day one was big, but very windy and hard to break out. Six to eight foot waves caught just near the outside of the pier in South Haven, cutting towards the pier at breakneck pace, and then cutting away at the last minute. Breaking back out became an exercise in futility with the wind. I became more and more exhausted on each return trip to deep water until I was rolling more than paddling. A friend of the family who is now a South Haven Police officer came out to the pier and told me that he couldn’t stop me from going back out, but that he would feel better if I got away from the pier because of the rip current. I told him I was ready to bag it. Storm surge was flattening out the waves as the wind built to new crescendos in the 40 knot range. For a day with 35 knot wind veering Northwest, I managed four or five really good rides where I caught solid bottom turns, a few cutbacks off of the foam pile.

Day two The wind and waves had died down but there was still a strong swell moving out of the south west. I sea kayaked down to the dunes near Van Buren State Park into the wind for an hour our two, and then rode the swells back to the beach, playing in the small 1-2 foot waves near the beach. I have increasingly been trying to surf my sea kayak backwards ala Scott Fairty when the challenge of the wave itself is not that great. It’s been good fun to try to learn to surf in reverse. Bow ruddering for directional control when headed downwave is whacky stuff.

Day three
The wind was peaking at 40 knots, but had actually veered almost completely NW by the time I made it out to the beach. I paddled out on nearly flat water to catch steep easy to catch waves as the sun set across a stormy sky. Each time I paddled out, I basically sunk the tail, then leaned forward and dropped in on a seven foot wave. I would typically cut right along the wave face until it started to close out, and then I would try a cutback off the foam towards the pier, by then the first wave had typically fizzled out, and then I was climbing over the top of the next set on the inside right towards the pier at high speed, only to cut away at the last second to turn around and paddle back out. I could have kept going all night. The knowledge that the air temps and the water temps will not stay so warm for very long fueled the desire to keep surfing in the dark. I kept catching rides like this right up until the sun was gone.

Many of my posts have waxed prophetic on surfing. Suffice it to say each time I have a day like I did yesterday on Lake Michigan, I feel a lot better about my life. No thoughts about work, home projects, problems exist. Just lean forward and paddle like hell.

Surf Kayak Monkey Face

kwikle — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 16:24:06 +0000

My Surf Kayak Monkey Face from Keith Wikle on Vimeo.

I think surf kayaking is cool. Luckily, I know I am not. Try not to look in the mirror too often, you may laugh at what you see.

This was a great day surf kayaking on Lake Michigan this August. Steep six foot waves and warm water to play in!

Go Kayak Now!
Sea Kayaking and Surf Kayaking for the moving water enthusiast.
http://www.gokayaknow.com

Surf Kayaking Evangelism Received

johnfleming — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:32:07 +0000

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 head pressed into the sandbar and I swam, but it was still fun. Unfortunately, the boat didn’t get back on the water until yesterday.

Yesterday, everything started to come together. The wind and waves had shifted NW, the water was still in the 60’s, the waves were bigger, and the boat almost fit (aaargh, my feet still hurt). Going in, I thought that the biggest challenge was going to be mental. I had a plan to start small and gradually work my way out to the bigger stuff where Keith and the board surfers were hanging out. This quickly changed after the steep little four footers near shore kept working me over, again. Every time I’d get on the step part of the wave, the bow would bury and WHAM. I suppose one of the nice things about pitch poling is that you roll up facing away from the beach, ready to paddle back out for more. After being a pummeled a few times, I figured I would try something different, and headed all the way out towards the outside of the break.

Ironically, the waves which I initially thought I would be very scared of were actually the easiest to catch. The biggest challenge for me was still accelerating at the right moment to catch them, but the big waves made it much easier. If I timed it just right as the biggest waves surged underneath me, a precise lean forward and a couple of strokes would get me surfing down the face. As soon as I got out to the boardies I did just that, and picked up a perfect eight footer that allowed me to link carved turns all the way back to the beach. I felt like hot sh*t, and quickly associated “big” with “fun”. I spent the next two hours vainly trying to replicate what turned out to be the best and longest ride of the day. Fortunately, almost catching huge waves can be really cool. There is a brief “top of the world” experience as you perch on the crest, riding the wave but unable to drop in, before gently dropping off the backside.

I also eventually found my limit. Just like countless other times, I spotted a nicely building wave, spun 180 degrees and paddled like hell while looking back over my shoulder. Time slowed down, and this wave just kept growing, filling my peripheral vision. I leaned forward and felt the massive wave heave up. An instant later I was rocketing down the face of a 12’ wave. My five seconds of carving glory ended in a white blur as the wave broke over me. Rather than tumble me, it drove me under the water, blasting my eyelids full of water, and I surfaced still facing the beach. As the water drained from my eyes, I noticed all the surfers were staring at me. I’m going to pretend it was with admiration.

Keith digging in

So far, my surfing experience seems to be 90% paddling back out and waiting, 9% frantically trying to catch a wave, and 1% actually surfing. But, that 1% is pretty scary sweet! I can see why Keith gets all geeked out about getting proper waves. I imagine that I will be out there waiting, too. FYI, it was a bit challenging taking any photos from the surf boat. I still feel like I am bobbing around on a cork, but hopefully that will improve. After I was too trashed to go on, I took a couple of short videos of Keith out next to the pier. The waves right up against the pier crumbled really fast (they reform nicely later), but I think the videos are cool.

The link to the flickr set is here. (I’d like to think Keith had a brief “oh sh*t” moment during the last clip)

The day before our surf session, I went out to the lake with my three year old son to witness the peak of the storm. I didn’t know if he would like it, but he had a blast.

The wind was blowing something like 45 knots straight out of the west. The westerly was not a good day to be in the lake itself, and I watched the board surfers give up within an hour. The waves rolling down the channel however were beautiful, but it was complete mayhem towards the end of the piers. I will definitely be taking the sea kayak down the channel (but not into the lake) during the next big westerly.

posted by John Fleming

Monday. Big, clean 8' - 12' waves rolling straight down the channel.

Bow of the P&H Sirius coming over the wave

kwikle — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:35:52 +0000

Bow of the P&H Sirius coming over the wave, originally uploaded by Go Kayak Now.

I love downwind days on Lake Michigan 25 knots over 25 miles. That’s the sort of free ride everybody loves.

Perched on the crest of a wave

kwikle — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:34:12 +0000

Perched on the crest of a wave, originally uploaded by Go Kayak Now.

On our day downwind from South Haven to Saugatuck we used a lot of edging while on the critical point of the wave. The idea is you wait for your bow to release from the wave, and when you start to feel the beginning of wave power from behind, you edge in the desired direction. In the case of our trip we really had quartering seas from the south west all day so we would edge right to swing the bow out to sea to stay away from land, thus going north rather than north east where the wind was trying to push us. Here john is applying good low brace technique while he begins his edge.

Paddling in Following seas can be challenging

kwikle — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:30:21 +0000

Paddling in Following seas can be challenging, originally uploaded by Go Kayak Now.

This is one of the best shots of the day with John Fleming in the trough, paddle vertical for positioning.

While under way and in moving water, the best way to ensure you are not wasting energy and stable is to blend strokes. This is what John Fleming is doing by blending his forward stroke into a stern draw to pull his stern around.

Full Moon Sea Kayaking South Haven

kwikle — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:28:50 +0000

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 meet your maker. It won’t be how much money you had in your wallet, or how many times you mowed your fucking lawn, I can tell you that.

Paul Bowles said:

“Because we don’t know when we will die, we get to think of life as an inexhaustible well. Yet everything happens only a certain number of times, and a very small number really. How many more times will you remember a certain afternoon of your childhood, some afternoon that is so deeply a part of your being that you can’t even conceive of your life without it? Perhaps four or five times more, perhaps not even that. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise? Perhaps 20. And yet it all seems limitless.”

A dear friend reminded me of this quote not too long ago. The words have stood like a lonely luminescent marker on a long highway for me. Jon Turk often mentions this balance between logic and magic, and I have to tell you as I get older, the more sense Jon Turk makes to me. Do we spend too much energy on logic as a society? I say we do. Even from a guy who spends his day looking at web analytics and SEO, I would say that poetry is more important than numbers. Numbers will get you to the moon, but poetry will tell you what it means. To me that is the difference.

So we were talking about a full moon paddle!

Magical is the word. You really haven’t lived until you’ve pushed a sea kayak along wind waves in the dark. The winking light of sunset dwindled across the surface of Lake Michigan and left a slow burn of orange across the sky. We waited anxiously in the brief flat horizon of the dark between sunset and moonrise. About 45 minutes after sunset I pointed shoreward and said, “What the hell is that orange glow, a volcano?”. Oh no it was the moon! As it rose over the water I was treated to the most spectacular moonrise of my life. I’ve seen some harvest moons for sure along the highway. But this was something else. Isolated, like when you see a flower in the middle of a muddy lawn. Sitting in the boat I love, on the lake I love, where I have risked life and limb in the surf countless times I finally got to see the moon rise over the water. The reflection off of the lake was bright like white sand under the sun.

I have two other quotes that I will share, from two songs, one I find surprising to understand due to it’s classic nature and my disposition towards classic rock:

Well, its a marvelous night for a moondance
With the stars up above in your eyes
A fantabulous night to make romance
neath the cover of october skies
And all the leaves on the trees are falling
To the sound of the breezes that blow
And Im trying to please to the calling
Of your heart-strings that play soft and low
And all the nights magic seems to whisper and hush
And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush

And the other from Will Oldham that doesn’t surprise me at all from (my home is the sea) Superwolf

My home is the sea
Disaster flies upon me
And I scream
Now we can see the house lights
Colored from a distance
[For a party as a dream ?]

You have to come out for the next full moon paddle!

Full Moon Paddle July 7th 2009

kwikle — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:07:46 +0000

We have such a limited time frame in Michigan where night paddling is fun, warm and enjoyable, rather than scary, deadly and cold. So I thought I would start an annual July full moon paddle in South Haven. The idea is to show up for sunset and to paddle until moon rise along the Lake Michigan shore. So come out to howl at the moon a bit and meet some other paddlers.

Where: Dog Beach 13 Ave Put in South Haven

View Larger Map

When: July 7th 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, while July is typically the dullest month in terms of wind and waves, freak storms can blow through. Surfing in the dark is harder than it looks on TV.

Email me with any questions!

Lake Michigan Surf Kayaking Video-Sticky Pod Mount

kwikle — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:28:30 +0000

Surf Kayaking Lake Michigan Sticky Pod Mount from Keith Wikle on Vimeo.

This is actually the first try on the sticky pod mount for the surf kayak. The mount even at the bow cuts out my head. I have a new tripod knuckle that should get my head in the shot, for people that care about such things. It seems funny to me to not have my head in there and you get a very interesting perspective on the way the water interacts with the kayak. It is simply a Pentax Optio W60 turned on and then edited in iMovie.

Surf 2-3 foot Lake Michigan 5-10 knot winds. South Haven South Pier.

Surfing my new Valley Rush. It seems the rush carves very quickly ahead of the foam pile. I am digging it. I just need some real surf.

Music is: Sigur Ros-Inní mér syngur vitleysingur from 2008′s Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

This is my first surf kayaking video with the sticky pod mount. Good fun. Edited out all the waiting around for a ride. I can’t wait to catch some real surf. I am getting stoked about the valley rush. I could carve really well ahead of the foam to regain the wave. Much faster than the plastic Mega-Maverick!!

In the future I will probably shoot lots of video and only do a best of compilation of the best rides rather than including a lame surf day five minute video. But because I was excited about the sticky-pod I threw it together anyway.