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Midwest USA - East North Central Surfski
Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Illinois
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Lake Michigan - December
Nick Murray from TCSurfski podcast talking about Surfski on the Great Lakes
Indiana
Resources
- Map of Surfing Spots (you need some experience to judge whether surfski surfing is safe and manageable in any spot with waves)
- River Bear Racing - Stellar dealer +12604526447 riverbearracing.com Huntertown, IN 46748 Email: Riverbear.racing@yahoo.com
- …
Illinois
Downwind
Surf
Races
- River Races
- Rock River Paddle Battle check Quad Cities Kayak River Adventures Facebook Events
- also check Illinois Paddling Council Events
Flatwater
- Illinois segment of Lake Michigan Water Trail (it should be obvious that depending on conditions these waters are not flatwater or safe paddling)
- Mostly Benign Paddle Trips (but do your due diligence to be aware of any potential risks)
Resources
- Chicago Area Kayakers Resource Page (the interests of sea kayakers and surfskiers are not mutually exclusive)
- ChicagoLand SUP & Sea Kayaks - source of info?
- Kayak Chicago Another information source?
- Map of Surfing Spots (you need some experience to judge whether surfski surfing is safe and manageable in any spot with waves)
- North Shore Yacht Club Highland Park, Sea Kayak contingent should be good source of information about paddling locales
- Outrigger Chicago (facebook)
- …
Michigan
Locales
- Lake Huron
- Downwind
- Lakeport State Park - Krafft Road 7 miles
- Lexington - Port Huron 18-19 miles foil video1, foil video2 (getting better at foil downwinding)
- Port Sanilac - Port Huron 30 miles foil video
- Surf
- Tawas Point State Park
- Lake Leelenau video
- Lake Michigan
- Downwind
- TCSurfski Downwind "Jam Session" Discussion of Lake Michigan/Minnesota/Florida Downwinding
- Grand Traverse Bay
- Lee Point (West Arm of Bay) video
- Lee Point - Greilickville 10 miles Garmin data
- Holland Michigan - reportedly has some downwind routes, locals report that rebound off of seawalls can be significant, rip currents also apparently merit attention.
- Holland State Park surfing video (laps just of north of the Channel) , storm waves
- Holland Channel (connects Lake Michigan with Lake Macatawa)
- Downwinder headed north from channel (not sure where the takeout was)
- Pt Sheldon to Tunnel Park 9.7 miles (about 7 miles of downwind, added mileage is for lining up with waves) Garmin data, video
- Pt Sheldon to Holland 8-9 miles video
- Leland (Fishtown) - out and back downwind lap video, out and back big winter day video
- Van's Beach Shore Break Video
- Pyramid Point video
- Muskegon
- Pere Marquette to North Beach
- Point Betsie video
- Pyramid Point video passing by the point
- Surf
- Empire Beach - video surf practice in small beach break
- Silver Beach board surfing video
- South Haven - surf kayaking video
- Lake St. Clair/Detroit check with Great Lakes Surfski
- Downwind
- Seaway Island - Mitchell's Bay 13 miles (Canadian side of lake)
- St. Clair River
- River flows from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair, border between Michigan, USA & Ontario, CA. With a south wind building waves against the current it can work a bit like the Gorge or a tide race. You can also do laps surfing with the south wind waves going upriver then using the current to go back to lap starting point. Sarnia, CA foil laps
- Port Huron (or Sarnia, CA) downwind, downriver 12 km sup foil video
- Boat Wakes
- Freighters going in/out of St. Clair River into Lake Huron
- If there are shallower parts of the river the wake waves could increase there
- Lake Superior (Michigan Upper Peninsula)
- Downwind
- Surfing
- …
Conditions
- Lake Erie, Lake Michigan See Great Lakes Conditions
- …
Coaches
- TCSurfski.com Lessons, Sales, Rentals, Local knowledge. Traverse City surfski is not just a local outfit, they keep up with surfskiing and downwinding on a comprehensive basis. Very knowledgeable. Surfski on the Great Lakes Podcast
Dealers/Rental
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- sells Epic surfskis
- rents Epic V5's & V7's (including necessary accessories - paddle, leash…)
- …
Races
- …
Resources
- Downwind Sports upper peninsula stores with paddling gear (no surfskis yet?)
- Map of Surfing Spots (you need some experience to judge whether surfski surfing is safe and manageable in any spot with waves)
- Third Coast Surf Shop St. Joseph, Michigan wetsuits, wave beta
- …
Ohio
Locales
- Mosquito resevoir: good downwind action with deep enough water for decent downwinders
- Pymatuning Lake: very deep water, well situated for downwinders
- Alum Creek Lake (Columbus): deep water for speed, but short for an out and back
- Lake Erie from DougMar on surfski.info “…an incredible lake, DEEP near Cleveland, kinda shallow on the West end of the great lake, but Cleveland areas have tons of miles of nice Westerly fetch, and good sized rollers (12-14' in many 20 knot westerly blows). Best thing though, is hooking on to a roller in Cleveland, and ending up in Painsville 30 miles away!…”
Conditions
- Lake Erie See Great Lakes Conditons
Races
- …
Resources
- Map of Surfing Spots (you need some experience to judge whether surfski surfing is safe and manageable in any spot with waves)
Wisconsin
Downwind/Paddles
- Lake Superior (see South Shore/Wisconsin section)
- Lake Winnebago large shallow lake that freezes in winter
Flatwater
- Wisconsin Segment of Lake Michigan Water Trail (it should go without saying that depending on conditions these are often not “flatwaters” at all)
Surf
- Superior Entry Channel (Wisconsin/Minnesota Border) video
- Map of Surfing Spots (you need some experience to judge whether surfski surfing is safe and manageable in any spot with waves)
Conditions
- Lake Superior See Lake Superior Conditions
Resources/Equipment
- Paddle Dynamics/Ozone Midwest
- Paddle Dynamics Kai Wa'a, Nordic Kayaks, Epic, Stellar, and all the Ozone OC brands
- Irma, WI +17155749538 Paddledynamics@gmail.com
Conditions
- Great Lakes
Resources
- Map of Surfing Spots (you need some experience to judge whether surfski surfing is safe and manageable in any spot with waves)
- …
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