Surf: 0.3 ft at 14.8 s from the NNE. Windy.
While I’m still not surfing because of my hurt shoulder, I did get a little body boarding time in on my trip home. There were small waves and it was shallow enough that I didn’t have to wear the fins or get jostled around too much.
Wes and I didn’t stay out long, but had plenty of fun.
Surf: Ankle to knee high. Glassy.
The roaring north winds finally backed off and the remains of the storm swell were actually looking a little bit fun. Without a surfboard I boogied boarded around for a while before a neighbor offered up his board.
I was pretty excited, it looked like one of the sandbars might still be working, but things quickly fizzled. I spent the next hour horribly kooking up in the small shallow shorebreak. Man, it was embarrassing. Sigh.
What a rough summer. I feel like I can barely surf at all anymore. I really hope to get back into a groove before fall.
Surf: Waist – Chest high. Disorganized. Warm!
A storm swept through during my first few days back home on the lake. I watched the mid-lake buoy jump from around a foot or two to finally max out at 13ft at 9s. Naturally, I didn’t want anything to do with that kind of ridiculousness.
Wes got a photo of some of those waves hitting the breakwall in the city:
Cool to look at, but after last years pummeling I was happy on land.
When things calmed down a little, Wes and I picked up some boogie boards and goofed off in the shorebreak. Yes, we have life vests on. The rip currents on the lake are fierce and with mom worrying on shore, I was happy to wear one. Plus it’s an extra layer of padding when you slam into the very shallow sandbar. I got a mouth full of sand after skidding along the bottom. Plech.
Water’s warm. About 80°F 😀
Surf: Ankle high, crumbly.
The wind has come down a bit and the waves with it. It was much easier to catch waves, but there were shorter and not terribly exciting. Still, lovely day and always nice to be out in board shorts. 🙂
Surf: Waist high and choppy. Some larger waves, strong currents.
I’ve made it no secret that I’m from the midwest. I grew up in cornfield in Michigan. A few years ago folks moved to a stretch of the coast of Lake Michigan known as the Indiana Riviera.
In 2009 I was fortunate enough to be home during a good windy stretch and was able to surf. It was little and sloppy, but the wobbly tiny rides were fun and I’ll surf knee high waves any day.
Today the winds were forecasted from the North at 15-25 knots which was expected to kick up some serious waves. It’s a lake. There’s no groundswell, just wind. Winds from the north mean the wind has more water to push before it gets to us here on the south end. Wave forecasts were as high as 5-8 feet in some places. I figured it would probably be about knee high, waist high with a little luck, and picked up a board from Third Coast.
What was coming in was a solid waist high with a few larger waves and a rather un-fun 3-4 second interval. The water was in the 70’s and air temps in the 80’s so I gave it a go.
The second wave was pretty solidly above waist high, nearly chest. Snagged a few fun seconds before BOOM closed out. I came up to find my soft top skipping away having better things to do than surf with me, dragging what was left of my leash behind it. Crap.
My mom hates the water. For her, watching me surf is uncomfortable. Watching me swim in after my board while briefly disappearing to dive under waves, was pure agony.
So now I’ve got rough waves, a broken leash, and a pretty unhappy mom.
I didn’t want to paddle back out without a leash and a jury-rigged one didn’t inspire confidence in either my mom or myself so I agreed rather sheepishly to wear a life vest. >_< I got a few more short warbly waves. Nothing epic, but still fun for a lake surfing sessioon. Plus surfing with a life vest is mildly hilarious for a wave or two. It'll be interesting to see what it's like tomorrow as the winds calm down.
Conditions: 1.5-2.5ft. Peaky beach breaks with occasional hollow and/or peeling waves. Swell period: 4 seconds or less!
20 knot winds blowing all night really got the lake moving. Waves were still under 3ft but had much more energy than yesterday. Faster waves gave me some smoother rides, but wow the short wave interval was exhausting! Lots of paddling and no time to rest.
I wound up taking rides in to shore, resting on the beach, then paddling back out.
Water was still warm, waves had a decent shape of breaking on a shifting sand bar.
Another great day on the lake!
Conditions: 1-2ft waves. Low energy, but with some nice peaks, occasional 2.5ft standouts and some peeling waves.
I’m back in the midwest for my cousin’s wedding, my high school reunion, and my grandmother’s birthday. It’s nice to have some downtime. We’ve been kayaking on the lake, it’s been good to catch up with friends and family, but MAN. Two weeks is a LONG time to be without a surf sesh.
Back in January I read about surfers in Hammond: http://surf.transworld.net/2009/01/28/indiana-iceberg-session/?show=gallery
Hammond is just a few miles from my parent’s house. After a little searching I found the Third Coast Surf Shop in New Buffalo. The rent boards, keep an eye on the forecast, and seem like all around nice folk.
The surf spot in New Buffalo is at the South Jetty. To get to the South Jetty you walk out on the North Jetty, jump off, swim across the channel and hit the surf:
I walked out on the North Jetty to check conditions. Flat. Headed back to the surf shop, grabbed a board, got recommendations of other sports to check, and headed out.
Miller Beach had some small, mellow, waves breaking on the sandbar. I assumed I’d be lucky to even catch a wave, let alone stand up on such little waves. The water was warm and I’d really wanted to get out, so I jumped in and paddled out.
I had way too much fun. The rides were short and a little wobbly, but the waves were really easy to catch. and I got in ride after ride. Nothing fancy for sure, only picked off a few rights, but as the day went on the waves developed a better shape and built up in size. Good shoulders, some peeling waves, all around fun. It’s exhausting chasing peaks around or I would have stayed out even longer to get the bigger ones.
I highly recommend checking out the Lake Michigan surf spots if you’re in the area. The waves are bigger and cleaner in the winter (hope you’ve got a 7mm wetsuit!) but summer can be fun if you like your rides little and sweet.
About 10-15 miles from where my folks live, these guys are out braving some of the coldest looking surf I’ve ever seen.
Check out the full story at:
http://surf.transworld.net/2009/01/28/indiana-iceberg-session/?show=gallery
I love seeing folks out there grabbing waves in my home waters, no matter how cold!
For more great lakes love:
http://greatlakessurfer.com/
For anyone wondering if I plan to surf while I’m home…that’s a big no.
Sure the waves are peeling nicely with some good peaks, but I haven’t learned to turn sharp enough to dodge ice. I don’t think my wetsuit is rated to -3 F with -30 F windchill, either.
The water is 33 F. As the waves hit the shore, the spray turns to an ice fog and the water freezes into a thick shelf. To put things in perspective, here’s the same view back in October: http://flickr.com/photos/tracey_t/2933039910/
Chilly.
While under warm blankets by a fire, I decided to write up a Wetsuit buying guide.
Check it out!
I’m hoping to write up a few more guides when I get a little more experience. I’ll probably write a board buying guide once I’ve finally committed to a board. Maybe a packing guide once I get my surf kit set up. Any requests?
I’m back in the Midwest visiting my folks. They recently moved from the house I grew up in to a new house about a half mile from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. If you’ve ever seen Step Into Liquid there’s a great scene about the die hard midwesterners surfing in Sheboygan. Today’s fairly clean although small waves got me thinking it might be worth a shot next summer.
Waves throughout the day were about 1-3 ft, water temp was 64 and some of the waves breaking out on the sand bar didn’t look half bad. If I can find a real cheap junker longboard to throw in my parents garage I might just be able to try it next season.
