Southwest

So I have been checking the forecast for the last couple of days to see a steady south west blowing. The wind data shows a fairly constant 25 to 30 knot south west for the last 24+ hours. So I was thinking that this would be enough to organize some ridable waves. In venturing out this morning I checked out several spots. The waves were up but just not really making shore, too much west I guess. Gnarly's was breaking fairly heavy, but beleive it or not O road was the second largest. I travelled on down the road hoping to find a more consistent rideable spot. Everything was sub epic to say the least. I travelled back to O road suited up and got wet. The wind was not blowing too much until I paddled out from the point. The current and wind was pretty much as it always is. Enough to catch maybe two rides and then walk the half kilometer back up the beach to paddle out again. Anyway, I did catch a few waves, not the best mind you but bigger than any of the other spots. It was almost tropical out there today. The temps were hovering above 0c and the sun was warm and shining without a cloud in the sky. The ice was melting off of the rocks on the shoreline and the water wasn't really even cold. Almost made me want to get the swim trunks out early, almost. All in all a beautiful day, even if the surf was windy and full of current. check out the pics below from the days adventure.

Score

So I was watching the forcasts today and noticed that there was a considerable East wind blowing. So I did some christmas shopping early and left by the afternoon to tackle the weather and catch some waves. The conditions were not the best, ice pellets beating my in the eyes and the lake was choppy and appeared very unorganized. So I suited up and paddled out. After sitting and watching, a couple of consistent breaks showed up and I started catching waves. the set wave was solid chest high. I was in the water riding for a good two and a half hours. went home satisfied.

Surf Dec 21, 2010 from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Hmmmm interesting...

Something cool I found on You Tube.

Better late than never

Got up early Sunday for the trip down to Stoney. Surf was large and epic. Caught some waves shot some video, went home tired. The video below is not all there, something messed up with my software so I am going to fix and repost later.

Untitled from John Marchant on Vimeo.

not much surf

Not too much surf happenin these days, so here is a shot of Winston from back in August of this year.

Epic

Sunday proved to be an epic day in lake surfing. Clean, glassy overhead swell coming in first thing in the morning. Check out the video attahed. The in water shot turned out nicely.

Epic Surf from John Marchant on Vimeo.

The other day

A little bit of the bubbly.

Nice pic

Took this pic the other morning. The light was perfect. This photo is direct from the camera, no post processing what so ever. Probably one of my favorites so far. This is one of my dogs monitoring the activities of evil squirrels in the front yard.

Power

Just a quick couple of pics demostrating the power of the waves.

Shoreline Clensing

It was definately intense as we inspected the northern coastline. All of the usual spots that typically have hundreds of feet of beaches had none. The storm surge was pushing its way into the tree line at some spots. The shorepound was burly and thumping. The amount of water and the speed at which it was moving makes you realize, one mistake and you are easily sucked into the mouth of an angry sea.

The blurred effect around the edges is not post editing but fortunate placement of water on the lens.

Looks like a free standing waterfall.

Almost looks like smoke on the water.

Where is Laird?

With the second largest storm in recorded history on its way in full force, it was something to see in person. A travel up the coast and multiple stops to witness the 27' waves crashing onto the shore. The photos below are some of the calm spots that were sheltered completely from the full force of the storm. Even though the waves don't look that huge there was still a 15' bomb set that would roll in every now and then.

Winston dropping into one.

One of the larger barrels I have seen on the lake.



The next set of photos to come will show the angry intensity of the storm that we witnessed.
Coming soon...

small

A drive down to grand marais proed to be eventful in the fact that we have not had any waves in quite some time. Check out the photos and video.

Night Photography

A nice dark night in the backyard, a perfect time to be taking photos.

Video from Friday

here is a little video clip of Ian from Friday.

clean surf

Thursday evening proved to be eventful.

Winston on Thursday.

Colin on Friday

Friday was clean

fun with time lapse

I went out to camp today to remove the dock and get everything prepared for the winter. I also love to do time lapse photography. so here is a time lapse of me taking in the dock.

last week Marquette trip

I guess I can say that I screwed up. Last week I had to leave to do some work in Ishpeming near Marquette and firgured I would get some surf on the way down. Well, before I left I checked the forecast. In my eyes there probably would not be anything good, the winds were all over the lake. It was blowing SW and NW and SE all from each corner. So, the decision was not to bring the surfboard so I did not have to drag it around all week while working. WRONG! When I got to 121 it was beautifully clean, some solid waist high sets nothing major but would have been a good fun session. Anyway, as we made our way south I decided to stop at Stoney. Well I have been kicking myself since. When we arrived there were only three guys in the water the whole time and the set wave was head high clean and perfect. Anyway I will let the photos do the talking.

Summer Surf

Taking full advantage of the SW winds we have been getting, a small group of us headed out to catch some little waves in the setting sun. Aidan was pumped to finally get to go surfing, the waves were the perfect size for him. After paddling around and playing in the water I set him up on my board and he caught many waves during the evening. Had a few tandom rides with me and with Winston. At the end of the evening as the sun was going down we left satisfied and ready for more.

This shot snagged from a video from my onboard surf cam. GoPro HD. (Yes those are goggles he is wearing)

Season opener

Early morning call to surf on Sunday. Lke buoy reads 9.2 feet at 8:00am. Load up the car with boards and suits, pick up Liam and hit the road. Some mechanical troubles with Mark's ride made a short delay. Checked out the usual spots. Sets were coming in overhead and blowing hard. Beautiful day, the lake was warm the sun was out and the waves were plentiful.

A Great Man

Reg Marchant 1940-2010

A sad and a happy day. My father lost his battle with mesothelioma cancer. No longer suffering, he is in a better place. I thank my father for helping me to be the person I am today. He always taught me to do right and to treat people with respect. I have been able to rebuild cars, do woodworking, build anything from cabinets to surfboards. Without the influence and teachings of my father that anything can be accomplished I would not be the same person today. With a little research and independant thinking anyone can accomplish anything. I will miss the fishing trips and boat rides, our games of cribbage and our hunting trips together life will not be the same. Memories and experiences live forever and our adventures will remain with me always.

Ups and Downs

July 1st celebration at lakeshore. Awsome spectacle!

Every July 1st the fireworks extravaganza happens up and down the beach.

July 3rd celebration, Tammy and Ryley are all right! Tammy with a broken toe and Ryley with a bump on the head. We can get another car.

A familiar sight

A familiar sight this time of year.

A recent fishing trip to Arrow Lake.

Nature

Local nature, Canadian Bunch Berry. An interesting little plant with an interesting means of spreading its pollen.

The orb weaver spider.

Jeep For Sale

For sale a 1979 Jeep CJ7. V8 304 engine, three speed manual transmission, centerforce II clutch assembly, Dana 20 transfer case. fiberglass tub with 2.5" leaf and shackle lift. Hard top with hard doors, soft top with soft doors, half doors.

I really do not want to sell it but it just sits in my driveway the odd time that I can use it. It is a great vehicle, top off in the summer, off roading whenever you want. This Jeep has been good to me and I would like to find it a new home.

Enjoy the summer

Well now that our surfing season is over it is time to post other items. This past weekend my daughter took first place in her horse show. A proud moment for all. Here she is showing off her ribbon with her horse 'Gem'.

Ryley and Gem

The theme for this summer is 'Green'. Here is a shot of fern from my backyard. The greens and the leaves have such character.

Backyard Fern

Here is a shot from a trip I took to Grand Marais in the spring looking for surf.

Thursday Evening

Colin

Winston

Surf was up Thursday evening. probably the largest day we have had in months. It started out pretty good. Sets were coming in chest high. As the evening progressed the waves started to set up more consistently. There was the odd set coming in that was head high. The winds started to die off and the waves started to glass over just as night was starting to fall. The last few waves were clean and smooth. Not much left in the arms after the session. Left the break stoked and well satisfied. Above are a few shots from that night.





some video will be posted later.

better late than never

Sunday was promising with a boatload of wind but not too much was happening with the cold water and warm air. Waves were had and so was the battle paddling up wind. anyway waves are good regardless, here is a little clip from that day.

Last week

Here is a sequence of shots looped to animate. Opps, animated .gif's don't work here so here is a sequence shot. Add some age and voila, Ian and his head dip ride. Not much forecasted for the next few days.

Good thing the new SBC Surf is here!

Road Trip

Conditions were right for the road trip first thing Saturday morning. Since I was going to bring Aidan for some surf I waited until early morning. By the time we arrived the waves were still a little large for him so I jumped in a caught a few. After a few waves I came back to shore to help Aidan get ready for his waves. The first time in the waves and current were still a little bit too much. So I headed out and caught a few more waves. We then ventured back to the first stop where things were a little bit more sheltered and the waves not quite as big. We surfed for about an hour and a half and Aidan had a great time.

Heading in after his session.

Aidan Ridin one out.

Photos from the morning sesh.

One more lake surfer

Today had a great forecast for surf in Terrace, unfortunately I am not up to the drive with work. So as I was working at Barepoint the waves were calling to me. When I arrived home Aidan was ready to go. So we drove to the beach and suited up. We headed out and started to make our way out through the waves. The waves were not huge but perfectly sized for Aidan. The video is footage of Aidan's first waves.

Pondering the waves.

The last of the ice.

Small but fun

After a couple of trips being skunked yesterday was a welcomed treat. Not holding up to what was predicted, a couple of hours of waist high waves were fun and needed. A little video of some of the waves that were caught that day.

Here is a shot of Winston riding one of the last waves of the day.