Conditions: 1.5-2.5ft. Peaky beach breaks with occasional hollow and/or peeling waves. Swell period: 4 seconds or less!

20 knot winds blowing all night really got the lake moving. Waves were still under 3ft but had much more energy than yesterday. Faster waves gave me some smoother rides, but wow the short wave interval was exhausting! Lots of paddling and no time to rest.

I wound up taking rides in to shore, resting on the beach, then paddling back out.

Water was still warm, waves had a decent shape of breaking on a shifting sand bar.
Another great day on the lake!

Conditions: 1-2ft waves. Low energy, but with some nice peaks, occasional 2.5ft standouts and some peeling waves.

I’m back in the midwest for my cousin’s wedding, my high school reunion, and my grandmother’s birthday. It’s nice to have some downtime. We’ve been kayaking on the lake, it’s been good to catch up with friends and family, but MAN. Two weeks is a LONG time to be without a surf sesh.

Back in January I read about surfers in Hammond: http://surf.transworld.net/2009/01/28/indiana-iceberg-session/?show=gallery

Hammond is just a few miles from my parent’s house. After a little searching I found the Third Coast Surf Shop in New Buffalo. The rent boards, keep an eye on the forecast, and seem like all around nice folk.

The surf spot in New Buffalo is at the South Jetty. To get to the South Jetty you walk out on the North Jetty, jump off, swim across the channel and hit the surf:

I walked out on the North Jetty to check conditions. Flat. Headed back to the surf shop, grabbed a board, got recommendations of other sports to check, and headed out.

Miller Beach had some small, mellow, waves breaking on the sandbar. I assumed I’d be lucky to even catch a wave, let alone stand up on such little waves. The water was warm and I’d really wanted to get out, so I jumped in and paddled out.

I had way too much fun. The rides were short and a little wobbly, but the waves were really easy to catch. and I got in ride after ride. Nothing fancy for sure, only picked off a few rights, but as the day went on the waves developed a better shape and built up in size. Good shoulders, some peeling waves, all around fun. It’s exhausting chasing peaks around or I would have stayed out even longer to get the bigger ones.

I highly recommend checking out the Lake Michigan surf spots if you’re in the area. The waves are bigger and cleaner in the winter (hope you’ve got a 7mm wetsuit!) but summer can be fun if you like your rides little and sweet.

About 10-15 miles from where my folks live, these guys are out braving some of the coldest looking surf I’ve ever seen.

Check out the full story at:
http://surf.transworld.net/2009/01/28/indiana-iceberg-session/?show=gallery

I love seeing folks out there grabbing waves in my home waters, no matter how cold!

For more great lakes love:
http://greatlakessurfer.com/

For anyone wondering if I plan to surf while I’m home…that’s a big no.

Sure the waves are peeling nicely with some good peaks, but I haven’t learned to turn sharp enough to dodge ice. I don’t think my wetsuit is rated to -3 F with -30 F windchill, either.

The water is 33 F. As the waves hit the shore, the spray turns to an ice fog and the water freezes into a thick shelf. To put things in perspective, here’s the same view back in October: http://flickr.com/photos/tracey_t/2933039910/

Chilly.

While under warm blankets by a fire, I decided to write up a Wetsuit buying guide.
Check it out!

I’m hoping to write up a few more guides when I get a little more experience. I’ll probably write a board buying guide once I’ve finally committed to a board. Maybe a packing guide once I get my surf kit set up. Any requests?

I’m back in the Midwest visiting my folks. They recently moved from the house I grew up in to a new house about a half mile from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. If you’ve ever seen Step Into Liquid there’s a great scene about the die hard midwesterners surfing in Sheboygan. Today’s fairly clean although small waves got me thinking it might be worth a shot next summer.

Waves throughout the day were about 1-3 ft, water temp was 64 and some of the waves breaking out on the sand bar didn’t look half bad. If I can find a real cheap junker longboard to throw in my parents garage I might just be able to try it next season.