Comments on: ... but then I was like, 'there's no sharks here'

... but then I was like, 'there's no sharks here'

The Power Nap — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:55:01 -0800

When most people think of the Great Lakes, surfing is the last thing that comes to mind. Unsalted seeks to expose the unique world of Great Lake surfers.

Storm chasing plays a large role in these surfers lives, as good waves generated by the winds only last a few hours. They brave blizzard conditions to launch off of an ice floatilla onto a cresting wave.

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:08:33 -0800

No sharks!

By: Craig

Craig — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:15:58 -0800

If you're interested in great lakes surfers you might be interested in Step Into Liquid (2003). It's a general surfing documentary that includes footage and interviews with several great lakes surfers. Its a little new agey, but really positive and I highly recommend it.

By: horsemuth

horsemuth — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:17:08 -0800

oh yeah, now I see the title...and the tag...

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:21:51 -0800

No sharks! Well, not enough to worry about, anyway.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:24:46 -0800

If you don't move fast enough though, the Zebra Mussels will get you.

By: doctor_negative

doctor_negative — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:28:25 -0800

That looks really cold. Seconding Step Into Liquid, some really amazing footage in that movie.

By: washburn

washburn — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:30:22 -0800

If you don't move fast enough though, the Zebra Mussels will get you. Or the Witch of November, maybe.

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:35:40 -0800

That looks really cold. Without a wetsuit, the waters of Lake Superior will kill you.

By: Lemurrhea

Lemurrhea — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:36:24 -0800

I used to live in Kingston Ont., apparently it's a great place for kiteboarding. So in a way this doesn't surprise me, but is still totally awesome.

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:36:45 -0800

Well, I borked that link. Here's the right one.

By: Chrischris

Chrischris — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:42:17 -0800

My dad knew guys back in the '60s and early '70s who used to surf the rock pile at Grand Haven. You had to jump off the end of the pier and paddle like hell to get clear before the surf smacked you and your board back into the pilings or the breakwater. Great fun, especially if you were doing it in October-November.

By: Navelgazer

Navelgazer — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:50:05 -0800

When I think of the great lakes, nachos is the last thing that comes to mind, preceded in my thoughts only slightly by Ray Harryhausen.

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:51:48 -0800

If you don't move fast enough though, the Zebra Mussels will get you. Zebra Mussels, hell - I'd be more worried about the Lampreys (((shudder)))).

By: bluesky43

bluesky43 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 10:59:38 -0800

Kite surfing on Lte Erie! This is amazing to watch -- and apparently, this part of Lake Erie (see link) has some of the best kite surfing in the world.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:24:25 -0800

Without a wetsuit, the waters of Lake Superior will kill you. Especially if you name is Edmund Fitzgerald.

By: misanthropicsarah

misanthropicsarah — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:45:13 -0800

i'm so glad other people know what the witch of november and edmund fitzgerald are. (that's what i get for leaving michigan).

By: Surfurrus

Surfurrus — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:35:25 -0800

Whoa ... okay ... all you (USENET) alt.surfing folks, come on out now (there are over 2000 Great Lake surfing posts over the years). And then there is the infamous Gleshna of that group.

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:46:25 -0800

People are always windsurfing in my hometown under The Blue Water Bridge, which is where Lake Huron funnels into The St. Clair River. The narrowness of the river, coupled with the oft-extremely windy conditions and strong current, make for some pretty huge waves at times (this is also why a lot of ships sank in this area, making it great for scuba diving, too).

By: waxboy

waxboy — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:49:06 -0800

Growing up in Cleveland I've heard way too many stories of people getting caught in undertow and drowning. Since the conditions that create big waves, mainly a strong wind blowing directly toward the shore, also create undertow, I'd say surfing out there is a pretty bad idea.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:19:20 -0800

The Card Cheat! Sarnia hometown shoutout! Go blob - everyone should get their riverbed drycleaned once every few years! Sarnia is very good for windsurfing indeed. There's a lot of wind off Huron and the beaches are pleasant. The think the St Clair is only for the more hard-core windsurfers as you have speed boaters and oil tankers to deal with and not a lot of river to move around in.

By: misanthropicsarah

misanthropicsarah — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:42:58 -0800

when i was a kid, i wind-surfed on huron and superior. go me.

By: sixcolors

sixcolors — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:02:50 -0800

Without a wetsuit, the waters of Lake Superior will kill you ScienceLessonFilter: How come the air at 55 degree is harmless, but deadly in water?

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:13:44 -0800

ScienceLessonFilter: How come the air at 55 degree is harmless, but deadly in water? Actually, the air at 55 degrees isn't harmless. If you are wet and in 55 degree air, you can die of hypothermia. It's all about the rate of heat loss - water will pull heat out of you a lot quicker than air.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:33:54 -0800

ScienceLessonFilter: How come the air at 55 degree is harmless, but deadly in water? Because breathing water is a problem?

By: sararah

sararah — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:41:54 -0800

brrrrr.

By: The Power Nap

The Power Nap — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:12:30 -0800

@Chrischris There's a plenty of footage of people out there at that pier, it was kind of surreal, as in some scenes the pier looked to be covered in an inch or two of ice. @waxboy Oddly enough the filmmakers near death experience with the undertows inspired him to make the film.

By: ROU_Xenophobe

ROU_Xenophobe — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:13:36 -0800

How come the air at 55 degree is harmless, but deadly in water? Water sucks heat out of you faster than air does. Or, if you want it more simply, water and air are different things.

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:41:01 -0800

Note that in the table the ratio of thermal conductivity for water is about 13 times higher than for air. Substance Thermal Conductivity
k [J/(s-m-C)] Substance Thermal Conductivity
k [J/(s-m-C)] Syrofoam 0.010 Glass 0.80 Air 0.026 Concrete 1.1 Wool 0.040 Iron 79 Wood 0.15 Aluminum 240 Body fat 0.20 Silver 420 Water 0.60 Diamond 2450

By: Mental Wimp

Mental Wimp — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:43:40 -0800

My apologies for that really bad choice of formatting a post. The relevant table lines are: Substance: Thermal Conductivity ( k [J/(s-m-C)]) Air: 0.026 Water: 0.600

By: caddis

caddis — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:36:29 -0800

I was always fascinated by the motivation of surfers on the Great Lakes. You wait for the most ungodly weather and then off to the lake for what really are not so great waves. The period is a bit shorter on these waves and a lot of guys seem to love that. Surfing on the Jersey Shore is sort of the same, except, theoretically at least, there are sharks. Munich surfing, now that is kind of cool, surfing in the park downtown.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:20:44 -0800

I stuck my toe into Lake Superior once. Liquid nitrogen might be colder.

By: Surfurrus

Surfurrus — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:26:26 -0800

Munich Surfing ... caddis LOL ... surfing is a disease. We used to have a guy posting pics on alt.surfing of surfing in Norway. (Is that guy dodging chunks of ice in that tube?)

By: The Light Fantastic

The Light Fantastic — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:02:30 -0800

I stuck my toe into Lake Superior once. Liquid nitrogen might be colder. I swam in Lake Huron a few times...basically you jump in until your legs start to go numb and then you run out. It loses it's attraction after the age of 13. I jumped in Lake Superior once....once.

By: craven_morhead

craven_morhead — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:45:16 -0800

I paddle surf Lake Michigan when it gets big. Waves can get big, but the sets are close together and the breaks are often pretty uneven. Makes for an interesting day. Dress warmly.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 09:53:46 -0800

basically you jump in until your legs start to go numb and then you run out babies, the lot of you. I swam in Huron daily for years as a kid & teenager. In July & August the water is fine. May and November, well, that's just silly.

By: djfiander

djfiander — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:51:07 -0800

Swimming in Lake Huron on the Victoria Day weekend (weekend on or before May 24) is perfectly fine. Until you hit puberty. That's when I stopped.

By: RedEmma

RedEmma — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 06:52:53 -0800

Lake Superior is swimmable a few times a year, though kids swim in it all year as a matter of principle. I prefer going on May 15, to welcome the summer back--(Scottish Beltane). it's not <>entirely unusual to see people swimming in the winter (cuz we're crazy like that). but it's kinda funny--those few days in July or August when it's really nice and warm, because the wind's been calm and the sun's been hot...there'll be a whisper about. The Lake is warm. Better get out there. Time to go. the word will spread, and the beaches will have knots of naked people and tiny little fires in the middle of the night. i see the surfers a lot in October and November. we can't help but admire their spunk.

By: RedEmma

RedEmma — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:10:41 -0800

Pesky link of swimming in December.