Surfing the North

Photos from a surf session with familiar faces hours from home.
More photos at... http://www.saltfreesurf.com/Surfing_Great_Lakes/Photos/Pages/Seul_Choix_11_11_12.html

Thanks for sharing Rick!  It was great to see you again, and glad to have some hometown people to run into in the north land  What a great weekend with friends from near and far.  We surfed a beautiful spot on Lake Huron the day before.  This day Shwa turned out to be a lot more fun than we thought it would be.  It must have been the warm air; it wasn't as big and blown out as we expected.  It had some wind on it, but the waves were peeling nicely along that limestone shelf.  Memorable weekend for sure!

Rocktober in the Grand Haven!

This has been one of the most active surf weeks all year.  Solid waves all week, and it looks like the weekend is going to be filled with wind and waves as well!  I love this photo because is shows one our our local breaks from the surfers perspective that is very hard to capture in the lakes.  The gray skies in the background are the October signature of a great day filled with elevator drops and big bottom turns.

10/11/12
Surfer: Matt Smolenski
Photo Credit: Nick Vandersys

SAMA Hits the Shelves at Mackite in Grand Haven

It's official SAMA is now available in stores near you! Pick up your SAMA swag at the two Mackite locations.  The board sports center on the east side of town, and the downtown Grand Haven store.  Join the SAMA nation!

SAMA at Mackite from Ben Braymer on Vimeo.

Summer Solstice Sessions

With the first day of summer upon us, and the wind blowing for days out of the south; the local crew was poised and ready to rally north for a few days of kiting and surfing.  Water temps were in the high 60's and with the air temps in the 80's it made for some amazing mid June Summer Solstice Sessions.  We headed to a buddies place in Onekama for a night, and then up to Frankfort for a long day of kiting, surfing, SUPing, and eventually finished off with a sunset session body surfing.    It's summer time and the livin's so fine!

Superior Spring Time

I often dream of being up north.  I guess the cold weather doesn't bother me that much, especially when I look at pictures like this one.  Snow on the ground in mid April doesn't seem so bad when you look at a line up like this.  Gitchi Gumee once again proving why it's called Superior.

Early March Powder Dump

My last post was titled "End of February Surf", and this one is "Early March Powder Dump" following weekend's massive snow storm up north.  Should be the other way around it seems, but once again life in the Great Lakes Region is, and will continue to be quite difficult to predict.  I am feeling pretty lucky about being in the right place at the right time lately.  I sent a pic to a friend this weekend showing a Jeep buried in snow and the sun shining brightly; his reply was, "It takes a master's degree in timing to be in the right spot around here."  Meteorology has become a second hobby of mine, it's an end to a means to be in the right spot at the right time.  But, I still think it has more to do with luck.  Sure you can give yourself a one up by studying some weather models, but in the end, if you don't go you'll never know.  I have for sure had my share of cruddy sessions, mushy brown waves, bullet proof groomers, and everything in between.  But, like another friend told me once, "every dog has his day."  So, I'll keep searching, and I know with a little homework, and a lot of optimism, we'll score again.  The transition of seasons gives us the opportunity to do all the water and snow sports in the same week.  Just another token of mother natures appreciation for the stoked.

End of February Surf

It's the first year I ever remember scoring waves like this in February!  Normally, there is ice out to the end of the piers.  But this year we are reaping the benefits of a year round surf season in Michigan.  So yesterday after drinking a few cups of coffee and getting highly caffeinated, I loaded the wettie and a couple of my favorite sliding tools; a hand shaped Mini-Simmons, and a factory pumped Firewire Dominator into the Jeep and rolled out to find some icy olas.  The sun was shining, and the wind was southeast telling me this could be an epic late winter score.  I'll let these photos tell the rest of the story, but I had one of the best waves I've ever had on the lakes yesterday.  Thanks to Brian T. for the shots! 

"A wave is where you find it."
                                   -Gerry Lopez

Happy Birthday Michigan! 175 Years Young!

The State of Michigan is officially 175 years old today!  Looking good!  Watch the flash back video created in 1986.  It's pretty retro these days, but if you've lived here long enough you definitely remember the "Say Yes to Michigan" Campaign of the 80's.  It's officially Michigan Statehood Day coined by our new Gov. Rick Snyder.  So, do something today that celebrates our great state.  Take a walk in the freezing cold wind, go for a cross country ski session, take a drive along the lake shore, but make sure you reconnect with your homeland today.  Remind yourself that you live in a beautiful place that has seen 175 years of ups and downs, but one thing remains the same.  The natural beauty that we always have enjoyed has always been here.  So, today get out there and remember why we love this place so much.  Just bundle up and take the adventurous spirit out there with you that brought our ancestors to this great state.