TRENDS • STORY7 uRbaNplaiNS2012

Submerging in Lake

Michigan in the dead

of winter doesn’t

sound enjoyable, but

to catch the best waves

these Midwest surfers

make it a habit.Surf the Third Coast

As he pAddles AwAy from the shore, the surf embrAces him. beneAth him is his board—his companion. In front of him: rolling sets—and beyond, open blue. A wave starts to crest. He ducks underneath, patiently waiting for bigger, better swells. And when the right wave comes along, he doesn’t hesitate. He pops up, plants his feet and rides it all the way in. And it’s perfect: a lazy ride that feels like a stroll in the park. The only way it could be better? If there wasn’t any snow.

Snow is a common occurrence when you surf the Midwest. To the surprise of many, there’s a tight-knit and active surf culture here. Centered around the Great Lakes, especially Lake Michigan, these Midwestern surfers ride the waves even when the wind chill dips below freezing and snow flutters around them. In fact, that’s when the prime swells hit the shores. Since wind is the key to creating waves, the best time to surf the Midwest is during its windiest and most frigid seasons: fall and winter.

when the temperature drops, grab your board, and head for the lakes, not the mountains.

written by: andi summers

photography courtesty of: mike killion

The surf community

between the coasts is

small but tight-knit.

For more information on surfing the third coast, clicK here to visit The Third Coast Surf Shop’s website.

“A good day to surf is not a great day to go to the lake,” Jim Hoop says. “It is a great day to stay inside and watch a movie.”

And he should know. Jim is not only a longtime Great Lakes surfer, but he’s also the president of the South End Surf Club and director of the Eastern Surfing Association, Great Lakes District. He’s also been hanging ten in the type of weather that would make the average person want to hibernate under layers of blankets.

“I have been out there when it is 8 below zero with ice around my face,” Jim says. “I do it because it’s about the feeling of catching a wave. You’re right there. It’s nature and you, and you are the only one in the world who has this wave.”

“Even if it’s cold you keep going,” says Ryan Gerard, a 15-year surfing vet and the proprietor of the Third Coast Surf Shop, the largest surf shop located between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. “If you don’t, you don’t surf for six months, and that is

not an option for me—it’s too important.” Ryan, like Jim, wouldn’t have his

lifestyle any other way—“you want to surf, it’s what makes

you happy.” Surfing in these not-so favorable conditions is made possible by wet suits designed to handle hypothermia-inducing waters. From hoodies to mittens, when the cold weather hits and you’re off to the harbor beach, you’ll want a suit that covers as much of your body as possible.

When Jim first started surfing, heat-saving wetsuits barely existed. But that didn’t stop him. “I started surfing in 1985,” Jim says. “When I was lifeguarding in Chicago, I saw the waves, and I thought, ‘Hey, I bet you could surf on those.’ I started body surfing and then got a board. I thought I was the only one.”

Jim soon found out he wasn’t. “I have friends all over the Midwest and Canada who know each other from surfing,” Ryan says.

With the smaller community comes the

advantage of more productive time spent on the water. An abundance of surfers on the coasts causes competition for wave time. On the Great Lakes, where the surf community is small and the lakes are large, there’s more than enough space for everyone to share the swells.

“When you are surfing here you are only surfing with a handful of people,” Ryan says. “In California, that’s impossible to do. There are a lot more surfers out and it’s more crowded, and for a surfer that’s not a good thing.”

It might be hard for us landlubbers to understand why Midwestern surfers routinely subject themselves to Polar Plunge conditions, but for them, it’s simple. “The other day I was shooting down the line when a bud put his hand out to slap me a high five,” Jim says. “It is all about having fun with your buds.”

TRENDS • STORY7 uRbaNplaiNS2012

SpRiNG2012|25uRbaNplaiNS|24