Surfing the Great Lakes
photos &article by John Newgard
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Surfing "the lakes" is quite different from ocean surfing, beyond the
obvious difference in buoyancy. The real difference stems from the wave
generation process. On the ocean, storms far offshore can blow over
hundreds of kilometers of open water to generate long-period (13+ seconds)
swells that travel faster than the storms themselves, arriving at the beach
hours - even days - before the system arrives. The local weather at the
beach is often independent of the storm that generated the waves, making for
pleasant, often offshore conditions before the storm arrives and the waves
degenerate. By virtue of the fact that the lakes are so small (fetch
lengths generally 100-400 km), wave periods rarely reach 9 seconds. Waves
break under the same windy conditions that generate them, making for messy,
onshore conditions. It is these strong winds and rare offshore conditions
that lead the devoted lake surfer to look for spots where the waves can
refract (wrap) into areas sheltered from the wind.
Having the drive to find sheltered spots in uncharted territory opens the
doors to over 17 000 km of shoreline. This pioneering aspect of Great Lakes
surfing is its most unique quality, since, in this day and age, most of the
world's ocean coastlines have already been explored for their surfing
potential.
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On November 10th/98, I made a trip to Michigan's Upper Peninsula
(UP) to surf the biggest storm to hit the lakes in a long time. The UP is
by far the most surf-rich area of the Great Lakes region. Most low pressure
systems pass right over the UP, bringing strong winds, quick windshifts, and
offshore conditions. Because the peninsula is only 100km across, it is
possible to surf three different lakes during a single storm. After a
double shift at work and 3 hours of sleep, I drove 10 hours to northwestern
Lake Huron. The following day I surfed Lake Michigan, and Lake Superior the
next, following the winds around as they went from southeast through south
to northwest. Although I didn't witness the 28-foot waves on Lake Superior,
I did witness - and surf - some very nice 11 second period waves under
offshore conditions.
The pictures on this page are from that trip, demonstrating the full
potential of the Great Lakes. Notice that I included the names of the
breaks, even a nautical chart to help locate these spots.  There is no risk
of overcrowding or localism on the lakes, for the most part. The good waves
rarely occur when the water temperature is over 10°C, and it takes a keen
sense of weather and wave knowledge to find the best waves in a very short
"swell" window. So enjoy the photos and I hope you get the opportunity to
experience Great Lakes surfing.
John
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Pleasant Point
chest high, 8-9 second period
offshore!
:-))) And gee, we're the only ones out! :-)autumn 99 |
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Overhead Seul Choix Pt., north shore Lake Michigan
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Stormy Lake Huron |
Lud's Left, Beavertail Pt., Lake Huron
Manistique light
north shore Lake Michigan |
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Pathways, Beavertail Pt., Lake Huron
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Au Sable Pt.
south shore Lake Superior |
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Southtown Creek, north shore Lake Michigan |
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Seul Choix Point |
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overhead and hollow at Winch's, Stony Pt., north shore Lake Michigan
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Barbeque Shapes
Stony Pt - Lake Ontario.
Left photo is the inside section where it is about to get sucky and you have to race across a VERY shallow limestone shelf.
Right is the outside section, just starting to reform into the inside bit.
photos by Don Wallace |
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John Newgard is a coastal engineer, oceanographer, surfer, and Great Lakes surf pioneer. After four years as a coastal engineer with the Canadian Hydraulics Centre at the National Research Council of Canada in Ottawa, he studied artificial surfing reefs in New Zealand, then pursued his masters degree in oceanography at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He then left Canada for 2 years, exploring the entire south coast of Australia for surf, working as an oceanographer at the University of Western Australia, and surfing in eastern Indonesia for several months. He is now back in Halifax, working as an oceanographer at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography. He is hoping to shift gears and move into the field of surf forecasting.
all John Newgard photos are Copyright © 1998-99
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