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Yes, it’s easy if you live east of the Continental Divide, and in the GREAT LAKES region of the US – because our secret spot is none other than “The Elbow,” a favorite break on Lake Michigan, near Sheboygan, Wisconsin – winter, 2005. Here’s another view…

Various visitors throughout the years have nearly convinced us that very fine, if COLD, conditions exist on the Great Lakes, and here is some pretty positive proof. Joe Curren and others know all about this, of course, but we thought it was time CSM gave recognition to the unique conditions and remarkable wave warriors in that neck of the woods.

Here is a description taken from the Spring 2004 issue of “Great Lakes Surfer,” a publication of, yes, the Great Lakes Surfing Association:

“Surfing is so amazing that man has come up with ways to make it possible to surf in the most unlikely places and conditions. Covered from head to toe in neoprene and our faces smothered in Vaseline, the three of us watch in amazement as a wave passes under a huge gathering of ice chunks. The ice chunks, big and small, flow weightlessly up and down the wave like a curtain being blown by a small breeze. All is quiet. The wave makes its way past the icy curtain and becomes the most beautiful wave we have ever seen. ..The three of us turn our boards for shore, scrapping hard to get ourselves to speed. The wave is slow, but as soon as it connects with the inside sand bar, its cold, cooped-up energy unleashes itself from the deep.” Written, and experienced, by Chris Henke.

There is quite a good film about surfing in the Great Lakes, titled “Unsalted,” by Vince Deur, featuring Joe Curren, Bron Huessenstamm, Colin McPhillips and others. You may want to look for it, or contact CSM.

As for describing a surf-session on the lakes… let me give it a try.

I have always said in respect to weather on the Great Lakes… “that for a Great Lakes Surfer, a good day is a good day… and a bad day is still a great day!” Allow me to explain;
The Great Lakes are truly inland seas, with over 11,000 miles of shoreline, up to 500 mile open-water expanses and depths of 1200 feet – so these lakes can truly produce some large waves! However, the difference we experience surfing on the lakes is that our waves are generated by storms within a few hundred miles or less from your surfing beach. While most standout ocean surfing spots receive large waves from storms thousands of miles away while the conditions on the beach can often be sunny with light or moderate winds. So surfing big waves on a lake often means gale force winds, strong currents and plummeting temperatures.

A typical surf day on the lakes:

A typical surfer on the lakes often wakes up a bit tired from a restless night of tossing and turning as the wind whips trees and leaves into a frenzy. This surfer is elated by the fact that soon he will be sliding down the face of a chest high or bigger wave on a warm September day. As October comes and leaves turn brilliant colors and begin to fall, the storms come with more force than they did in September. Driving rain and dropping temps forces the lake surfer to exchange his 3/2 for a 4/3 and to pull his booties out of storage. November arrives bringing with it a cold barren landscape with grey skies and the infamous “November Gales.” For many in this region, this is the beginning of a winter hibernation, where weeks can go by without so much as 10 minutes of sunshine. It is the peak time for “Seasonal-Affective Disorder” or (S.A.D.) as people gather around their televisions pretending to be somewhere else. For a Great Lakes surfer though, these are some of the greatest days of the year. Nearly every week throughout November and the winter months you can surf overhead waves for only the cost of a 6mm wetsuit.

Vince Deur

Filmmaker

www.unsalted.tv