A-frame

Aaberg, Denny

Aaberg, Kemp

Abberton, Koby

Abbruzzi, Sid

Abellira, Reno

Abubo, Megan

academia and surfing

Adler, Tom

advertising and surfing

Aeder, Erik

aerial

Aguerre, Fernando

Aichner, Scott

Aikau, Clyde

Aikau, Eddie

Aipa, Ben

air-drop

airbrush

Airshow

Ala Moana

Alabama

alaia board

Alaska

alcohol and surfing

Alexander, Kala

Allen, Chuck

Alms, Paige

aloha shirt

Alter, Hobie

Alvarez, Pepe

Ancell, Kevin

Andaman Islands

Andersen, Lisa

Anderson, Craig

Anderson, Simon

Andino, Kolohe

Angel, Jose

angle

Angola

Angourie

Antarctica

Apocalypse Now

Arabian Sea

Aragon, Janice

Arakawa, Eric

Archbold, Matt

Arena, Eduardo

Ashton, Juan

Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP)

Atlantic Ocean

August, Robert

Aurness, Rolf

Auster, Ken

Australia

Avalon, Frankie

Azores

backdoor

backside

backside attack, Pipeline

backwash

bail out

Bain, Rob

Baja California

Baker, Bernie

Baker, Grant “Twiggy”

Baker, Tim

Bali

Ball, John “Doc”

Ballard, Bill

Ballard, Rochelle

balsa

Baltic Sea

Banks, Jim

Barbados

Barilotti, Steve

Barland, Michel

Barreda, Sergio “Gordo”

Barry, Michael

Bartholomew, Wayne

Baxter, Jackie

Bay of Bengal

Beach Boys, The

Beacham, Debbie

beachboys

beachbreak

Beachcomber Bills Grand Prix

Beachley, Layne

beavertail

Becker, Phil

Bedford-Brown, Stuart

Belgium

Bells Beach

Bendall, Ma and Pa

Bennett, Barry

Benson, Becky

Benson, Blanche

Benson, Linda

Bermuda

Bertlemann, Larry

World's largest group of freshwater lakes, located in North America on the border between the United States and Canada. Each of the Great Lakes—Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario—has distinguishing surf features. 

Michigan, the only Great Lake located entirely in the United States, is the most surfed and the birthplace of fresh-water surfing; Superior has the largest surface area of any lake in the world, and the biggest, roughest, coldest waves in the Great Lakes; Huron, with its numerous inlets and nearly 30,000 islands, has the most coastline, is the least surfed, and has the most secret breaks; Erie is the smallest, shallowest, and warmest of the Great Lakes, with popular surf breaks in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Ontario, and New York. Ontario, though smaller on the surface than Lake Erie, in fact, contains more water and often produces the Great Lakes' largest waves. 

Surfing came to the region in 1945, when an unidentified army serviceman, after being stationed in Hawaii, returned home to Grand Haven, Michigan, with a wooden surfboard and began riding the local wind swells. By 1964, the local surf scene had developed enough for Grand Haven local Rick Sapinski to form the Great Lakes Surfing Association; Ontario's Wyldewood Surf Club was formed the following year; and in 1966 the Dunes Beach Surf Club (Waukegan, Illinois) and the Lake Shore Surf Club (Sheboygan, Wisconsin) were established. Forty-four Great Lakes surfers met in Grand Haven in the fall of 1966 to compete in the first Great Lakes Surfing Championships. 

Great Lakes waves are created by local storms, and generally require a durable (five hours or more) and steady breeze over at least a 50-mile stretch of water. Fall and winter bring the biggest and most consistent surf to the lakes. While temperatures vary from region to region, summer air and water readings generally range from 60 to 70 degrees. Winter air temperatures are often below freezing, with the water usually just above the freezing mark. (Lake Erie often freezes completely.) 

There are hundreds of surf spots along the lakes' 11,000-mile coast, nearly all soft-breaking sandbar breaks formed next to piers, jetties, rock piles, or rivermouths. Occasionally the wind backs off to create smooth and glassy conditions, but Great Lakes surfers for the most part ride small, choppy waves. Longboards are popular. P. L. Strazz, in his 2000 book Surfing the Great Lakes, estimates there are 750 surfers in the Great Lakes region, with Lakes Michigan and Erie being the most popular, followed, in order, by Ontario, Huron, and Superior. 

A Surfer magazine editor visited the lakes in 2001 and found a surf competition taking place without judges. "The swells only last a few hours," a local explained, "and nobody's going to miss them sitting on the beach scoring rides. We just go surfing and agree on a winner later, at the bar." 

A 20-minute video titled Surf Michigan: Vol. 1 was released in 2000. Great Lakes: Out of Place, a film about surfing Lake Erie, was released on DVD in 2009 and premiered at the New York Film Festival, winning Viewer's Choice Award for Best Feature. 

in The Eastern Surfing Association introduced the Great Lakes competition district in 1984; as of 2002, the Great Lakes area was home to an estimated 20 surf/skate/snow shops. 

Great Lakes

Subscribe or Login

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Videos

Encyclopedia of Surfing

Videos