Riding the waves

John Marchant can often be found surfing Lake’s Superior ice cold waters in the middle of winter, floating around icebergs.

And he is always absolutely loving it.  

“We’re surfing through snowstorms, through squalls, through the big storm that came through that took the Edmund Fitzgerald down,” he said. “We’re surfing in those storms because that’s what brings the big waves and that’s’ what brings the good times.”

Marchant is one of a rapidly growing number of people who ride the waves of Lake Superior. While surfing is often exclusively associated with the ocean waves, like the ones found in either in California or Hawaii, there are a fiercely devoted number of Northwestern Ontario residents that grab their surfboards at a moment’s notice to catch a Great Lakes’ wave.

While California’s plethora of hot, sunny days with constant waves makes the surfing season year-round, in Northwestern Ontario, the season runs from September to May. When most of us are stuck indoors on rainy, thundering days is when Marchant and other area surfers grab their gear and head for the rocky waters.

 “It’s a blast,” he said. “You just have to understand – they think it’s wintertime, you can’t go in the water.  You have to follow safety precautions, wear your wetsuit and know your limits, but for the most part, you can stay out in the middle of winter, January, for five hours straight and be fine.”

Winter surfing requires the proper equipment and that includes a six-millimetre thick wet suit, boots and gloves. Shopping online is always an option, but NatriBros Surf in Thunder Bay has all the equipment you need, said Marchant.

Jaakko Natri started the business with his brother about seven years ago when they noticed there was nowhere in Thunder Bay to buy or rent surf equipment.

Originally from Finland, the Natris arrived in Thunder Bay in 1982 and after finishing college moved to British Columbia where for eight years, they were avid west coast surfers.

Back in Thunder Bay, it was just them and a few friends surfing Lake Superior.

“We slowly got a few boards, took a few people out and it just started growing like crazy,” said Natri. “Now if everyone who has been out surfing with us or has surfboards and surf gear, it would easily be over 50 people.”

It’s not uncommon to find about 20 people surfing the same spot, said Natri, adding last fall, there were more than 40 people out at once.

 After surfing both ocean and fresh water waters, Natri said the difference is the consistency of the waves.

“Some places in California or Hawaii, you can go surfing pretty much any day whereas here you almost have to, especially in the beginning when you’re learning, you really have to dedicate a bunch of time to it. Anytime there’s waves, you’ve got to almost drop everything and go and surf,” he said.

And although the winters can be cold and nasty, Natri said all you need are the right gear and conditions. He can recall a January when Thunder Bay was one of the warmest places in Canada.

“It was plus 10 and sunny and the waves were really good, so four of us were surfing and it was a fantastic day,” he said, noting the water temperature of the lake doesn’t differ by more than a few degrees from summer to winter.

Aside from the weather, the difference in surfing the Great Lakes compared to the Pacific Ocean is the camaraderie on the water.

Lake Superior surfers are one big family.

When Marchant took a trip to California the conditions were amazing but there is a sense of individualism.

“It’s like you’re at my break; you’re at my wave,” he said. “There isn’t a friendly atmosphere at most of the places we’ve been to.”

But on Superior as soon as you say you’re a surfer, you’re automatically one of the gang.

“Everybody is so friendly towards each other, it’s a complete 180 degree reversal of what’s out there on the coasts, on the oceans,’ Marchant said. “We welcome other people in. We welcome just having a good time with each other.”

Anyone can try surfing; it doesn’t matter how old or young. Laura Loan started surfing a year ago and is considered a kook, surfer lingo for beginner.

A friend took her surfing for the first time in Terrace Bay and they arrived just as the sun was going down.

“I ended up surfing in the dark but the moon was pretty light so I could see,” she said. “It was quite amazing. I can’t tell you how big the waves were. I wouldn’t have known, but they were big enough that when I got hit by one, it definitely threw me for a loop.”

“It was just so exhilarating. It was so much fun,” she added.

Loan, Marchant and about 25 other area surfers have come together to form a local chapter of the Surfrider Foundation., an organization dedicated to the cleanup and protection of the world’s shorelines and waterways.

And while they haven’t achieved official chapter status yet, they were out last Saturday cleaning up the shoreline along Mission Marsh Conservation Area.

Although the foundation was started by surfers, it is open to anyone interested in protecting beaches, oceans, lakes and shorelines.

“You don’t have to be a surfer at all,” said Loan. “Everybody is the same where they want to protect, they want to enjoy what we have.”

Lake Superior is one of the greatest lakes in the world and shorelines need to be kept clean, Marchant added.

“Everyone likes to enjoy it, to swim in it and do all the same sports,” he said. “It fits in well here and we like to do our part and feel good about ourselves when we go out to go surfing.”

Anyone interested in joining the local Surfrider Foundation can contact Loan at 629-6335. And for anyone interested in trying surfing for the first time, can contact NatriBros Surf or just find a veteran on any online forum.

“You can’t match the feeling once you catch your very first wave and you just move from the energy of the wave,” said Marchant. “It just moves you along the board. You’re not thinking of anything else. You’re just in the zone. There’s nothing but you and that wave.”

“There isn’t a feeling out there that matches. That’s why they say it’s an addictive sport. You just don’t’ get enough. You have to catch another one and another one.”