SecondGlance

Better Late Than Never

2011-11-20T10:20:00.000-08:00

here is a video that has been a while in the making. my computer got a nasty virus and well now I am setup with a new system and will me back on track with posting photos and video. Sorry it took so long Rob.

Surf fall 2011 from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Beauty Day for Surf

2011-10-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Saturday proved to be an awesome day. Sun shining, temps in the 20's and the wind making waves. Stoke all around. We surfed the shit out of terrace bay.

Weekend fun

2011-08-21T19:18:00.001-07:00

So this weekend we had a getaway for work in Sioux Lookout. A little palace on Osprey Island. This luxurious cabin was built by Riss trucking back in the prohibition days. It has a rich history behind it and has had guests stay there to the tune of John F. Kennedy, Marylin Munroe, Frank Sinatra to name a few. The cabin was amazing and an awesome time was had by all.

by the way the cabin was huge and the last photo is only about 1/10 of it!

Surfrider Cleanup

2011-08-04T11:17:00.001-07:00

Over the past few months, we have been working hard (especially our President, Laura Loan), to start a chapter of the Surfrider Foundation in Thunder Bay. Surfrider’s mission is: the protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. We hope to bring together diverse groups of people that enjoy the lake, (especially young people), and be a voice to protect what we love. To everyone who has signed up as member, THANK YOU so much! In order to gain full chapter status, we need to sign up 25 members in the next 3 months. We are still short of our goal, so if you haven’t signed up as a member, please consider supporting us. Usually a 1 year membership is $25, but we are able to sign you up for only $10. Your $10 stays here in Thunder Bay and helps us to put on events. Our first event will be a beach clean up at Mission Island Marsh, Saturday August 6th, 1-3pm. We are going to clean up trash and whatever else doesn’t belong there, followed by a Stand-up paddleboard demo. Stand-up paddleboarding is becoming really popular, it’s a great new way to enjoy being on the water, and catching waves. Come and try it out with us! If it rains, we will do the clean up the next day on Sunday. If you are planning to come, it would be great if you could RSVP. But everyone is welcome to come regardless, the more the merrier. Please pass on this info to anyone you think might be interested.
Hope to see you and your friends at the first Surfrider Thunder Bay beach clean up! Thanks for your support.

Surfrider Thunder Bay Committee

July 20, 2011 Airport Storm

2011-07-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

I like to go out and chase storms in hopes of getting some amazing photos of lightning. Well tonight as I heard and saw the thunder and lightning come barrelling overhead of my house, i checked the weather radar to see what we were in for. A large front was moving in fast, I grabbed my cameras and took off in the car. As i approached the highway it started to rain, which sucks for taking pictures, so i considered turning around and going the opposite direction to get the lightning as it goes by. But i figured i could beat it and zip out to my cottage to watch it cross the bay, well as i approached the airport the rain started coming down in buckets. The wind was howling and i noticed bits of debris blowing across the highway. As i tried to look around to see what had caused the debris i could just make out through the rain the metal on the roof of the airport was bent back like a tin can. As i continued on the debris got thicker and i could now see that a large chunk of the roof covering was removed. So i continued on to try for some lightning shots and on my way passed a handful of police and firetrucks, I guess the damage was greater than i could see through the rain. On my way back I stopped to look closely and take some photos. Well it turns out the about a quarter of the roof had been peeled back by gust front blowing through and was thrown about the parking lot like litter. These pieces of litter are very large.

the right side of the roof, covering is gone.

Pieces of roof covering scattered about the parking lot.

a different angle of view of the missing roof.

the buckled piece where it stopped peeling back.

debris scattered about, middle of pic is a some of the roof

oh yeah here is some lightning...

Ahhh Summer...

2011-06-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I have posted anything....been busy with work and life last couple months. Summer arrived at last and to our surprise a special treat... Surf. Winston scored three days of surf, whereas I only had the one session Wed night. It was awsome, totally feeling the stoke. Definately needed it to feel alive again, can't wait until the next sesh.

Winston sporting his new custom 5'10". Wicked!

Random wave from Wed night.

Hit up the Wake the Giant wakeboarding competition today. Was pretty rockin good times, Tons of people and a helicopter that was zipping around with a film crew.

new foal

2011-05-13T19:46:00.000-07:00

Our friends horse had her baby after long waiting. Here she is her first time out in the sun. Believe it or not she is only 5 and a half days old in this video. She is going to be a big girl.

Untitled from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Midnight run

2011-05-03T11:20:00.001-07:00

Went out to do a mindnight run for smelts Friday night. Brought Aidan with us, he was pretty excited. When we arrived at the river it was like a circus. I don't think I have ever seen that many people out for smelts at one time. It was a finely synchronized motion with both side lined with people. Dip, sweep, lift...Dip, sweep, lift. We caught around 60 or so, which was not bad considering the gauntlet they had to run just to get to where we were. Arrived home at 1:30am with two soakers, a tired boy and smiles on our faces.

Surf last week

2011-05-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

Here is the video from last week, busy with work and family to be able to post. It was a good time totally stoked after.

Untitled from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Horsing around

2011-04-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

Our friends horse is expecting to have a foal anytime now. We went out to set up a video camera. The camera will allow them to watch live on the computer in her bedroom to check in at night without disturbing the horse. So while I was there I took this shot of a beautiful welsh pony that we were going to buy for my daughter. (she ended up chosing a different horse)

his name is Coal.

Coffee with cream

2011-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

After working 12 to 16 hours a day for the last 5 weeks and out of town, there has'nt been much time for, well, much of anything. As the forecast changed daily, upgraded and down graded, surf was enevitable. A message to Eric and we were off. Surf in the time between the end of work today and the begining of sundown. The conditions were well, not exactly epic. When we first arrived there were some sets coming in that were heavy and thick like a can of spam, and brown and frothy like the color of coffee mixed with cream. The wind was strong and undecided in which way it wanted to blow. But it did blow. The waves were heavy and everywhere, not very organized and unpredictable. Waves were had, however nothing to write home about.

Eric dropping in on one that almost got away.

surf compilation

2011-03-05T06:38:00.000-08:00

Winston's Surf Compilation

Untitled from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Start saving

2011-02-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

After a difficult surf session yesterday, I found this on this on the world wide web. They call it The Wavegarden. So, who wants to pool their money with me and get one of these things? They are estimating between 2 and 4 million to get it setup.

Pretty cool.

Wavegarden (Short) from wavegarden on Vimeo.

Superior Ice Caves

2011-02-16T09:22:00.001-08:00

Checked out the shoreline the other day and went exploring into some of the ice shelf caves.

Deep inside a cave.

Outside some ice piles.

Untitled from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Surf

2011-01-30T17:34:00.000-08:00

Surf in the forecast for Saturday, so we blasted off to get some surf. As we crossed the border the guard asked where we were surfing cause the were no waves when he came to work. As we drove up mt joshephine the bay was frozen and we started to question if there were any waves. well it turns out that there were. Some large sets coming head high most of the day. Stayed in the water surfing for about 4.5 hours left tired and stoked.

Horsing around.

2011-01-24T11:58:00.000-08:00

A little action video of our horse. After a long ride nothing feels better than a good scratch. Here is how our horse does it.

Untitled from John Marchant on Vimeo.

Ice Racing

2011-01-23T04:31:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again, cold weather, frozen lakes, the ice racers come out to play. I took my son to see the races yesterday for the first time, I was impressed. We have our own little race way set up, good vantage point and cool sounds. Since my boss has been racing for years, I took my son into the pit area and checked out the car. Went up to the 'beachers' when the racing was started and took some video of the races for a couple hours. Good times.

Clear Skies

2011-01-12T19:40:00.001-08:00

Clear skies tonight, the moon shining bright.

Photo taken through my telescope. 1600mm

Stoney Jan 8, 2011

2011-01-09T18:27:00.000-08:00

Well some more swell down in Duluth on Saturday. Winston and I decided to go on an adventure and hit up some waves southern sytle. It was pretty cold, but by the time we got to the point it had warmed up quite a bit. The waves were going off pretty nicley steep and big. Met up with the Duluth crew and had a great time catching some waves. If i get a chance i will add some video that i took during that session, later in the week. In the meantime here are a few shots from that day.

Southwest

2010-12-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-12-17T12:32:00.001-08:00

Something cool I found on You Tube.

Better late than never

2010-12-16T19:11:00.001-08:00

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

2010-12-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

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

Epic

2010-11-15T09:31:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

A little bit of the bubbly.

Nice pic

2010-11-05T11:05:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-31T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

Shoreline Clensing

2010-10-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

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?

2010-10-28T18:43:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-02T20:16:00.000-07:00

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

Video from Friday

2010-09-26T17:03:00.000-07:00

here is a little video clip of Ian from Friday.

clean surf

2010-09-26T16:33:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening proved to be eventful.

Winston on Thursday.

Colin on Friday

Friday was clean

fun with time lapse

2010-09-18T20:04:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-04T13:32:00.001-07:00

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

2010-06-29T11:12:00.000-07:00

A familiar sight this time of year.

A recent fishing trip to Arrow Lake.

Nature

2010-06-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

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

The orb weaver spider.

Jeep For Sale

2010-06-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-08T06:46:00.001-07:00

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

2010-05-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-28T18:36:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-12T13:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-31T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

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.

Go CANADA

2010-02-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Gold! Mens hockey wins gold. It was an amazing 16 days of competition, and I think that Vancover did a fantastic job! It has been a very entertaining couple of weeks and at the end of it all Canada now has the record for most gold of any country in olympic history, 14 gold. Third place overall in the metal standings. Congratulations.

I am proud to be Canadian!

G'Day

2010-02-25T13:35:00.000-08:00

Well I have decided to take off a few days from work that were left over from last year. Today I went out first thing this morning to visit 121 nice and early. A beautiful day, sun shinning and a balmy -18c. The idea was to get some good light and play with my cameras, go for a swim and a paddle and experiment with the GoPro. When I arrived the lake was a nice calm with the occasional swell rolling in nice and clean. Ice was forming in chunks and filling shore. I walked around taking a few shots and decided that it was time to get in the water. So I suited up and set up the GoPro on my camera wand. As I was paddling around experimenting with different perspectives I noticed that the waves were breaking slightly farther out from shore. Now there really was'nt any size to them, the largest was just over knee high, just. Anyway not having surfed in 5 weeks I started to paddle for one and caught it with the camera wand dangling from my wrist. I then decided to go to shore and get the camera stand to attach to my surf board. As I ran up the shore I waved to the dude that is living in the shanty town there and setup my camera mounted directly to my surf board. The video below is from today, the waves were not big but they were clean as clean could be. I could not have asked for a nicer day. Absolute beauty.

The view between the rocks and the air.

A different perspective than what we are used to.

A ride on the knee high sets.

Heading Home.

Done for the day and now its time to go to the barn and ride our horse. All of the above photos and video were taken with the amazingly awsome GoPro HD Hero camera.

Another View

2010-02-18T12:32:00.001-08:00

here is anoth shot from under the ice, kinda like the last thing the fish see's.

Perspective

2010-02-16T13:24:00.001-08:00

Well I have not had any surf for over 4 weeks so living in the great white north there are many different passtimes. I have been keeping busy, ice fishing, snowboarding and sledding. I went out ice fishing on the weekend. I was hoping for sunny conditions nature dished out some snow and overcast skies. I did not think that there would be enough light under the ice but I was quite surprised at how lite up the ice actually is. The video attached is a different perspective to ice fishing. Here is what the fish see when someone is drilling a hole through the 3 foot thick ice.

enjoy, I think its kinda cool. Have I mentioned how much I love the new camera!

Sunday Surf

2010-01-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

A few in water shots from the surf sesh on Sunday. Some sets comin in were head high. All long right handers. The temperature was within limits, a balmy -6c, and the winds were pretty much non existent. All in all it was a good session.

Not Much Goin On

2010-01-07T19:46:00.000-08:00

Not too much going on around here in the way of surf. In the mean time I have been playing around with my new camera. I am rather impressed with the ability, versatility, compact size and quality. Here is a direct screenshot from footage that I collected the other day.

This is me riding one of the better ones that day.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T08:46:00.001-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND ALL THE BEST IN 2010.

First vid with new camera

2009-12-30T22:15:00.000-08:00

So here is a clip from my session today. SW 4 to 7 foot. I don't think that it quite hit the mark, but the set wave came in at least chest high. Stayed in the water for a non stop solid three hours. Constant paddling, the current was not as bad as it usually is, waves were had. Ran into some of the surfers from duluth and minni, they were scoring some waves at 121.

New Toy

2009-12-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Well I have been playing with my new GoPro HD Hero camera, and so far it is pretty awsome. I left it to take a photo every 30 secs and here is a sample of the final time lapse.

video will not load

We had some waves from last Thursday. Christmas eve waves. It was unorganized and crazy when we first entered the water. As the morning progressed it started to organize and the waves were definately building. Galeforce winds straight in the face mixed with ice crystals and snow made for some red eyes, but a few good rides were had.

Winston Rodeo Style.

Chris and Winston Making Predictions

Nice try!

2009-12-10T12:24:00.001-08:00

Yesterday's forcast called for some epic surf. Unfortunately I was unable to make it there, so I figured that I would check it out this morning. Well I made my way down first thing this morining hoping that I could catch some clean up swell, but it was not there. Too much northwest too soon pushed it all out. Nice car ride down and telltale signs of epic waves everywhere. Check out the awsomeness over at The Fresh Aspect http://thefreshaspect.blogspot.com/. There are some sweet shots of lake perfection.

The Northshore

2009-11-04T08:11:00.001-08:00

My trip up the northshore on Monday showed some promise with heavy winds and the lake frothy from white caps.

The sun was shining and the water was blue, beautiful.

Tuesday morning after all was done, I ventured down to the beach to find clean lines. It did not look too big to me so I went down to the waters edge. Well it looks quite deceiving from atop the cliff because the clean lines that were coming in were waist to chest high. So I suited up and paddled out. The waves were near perfect for a lake, peeling lefts and rights I could choose any line I wanted. I caught a few astonishing rides.

Nothing like dark blue courduroy to make a fashion statement.

I even tried to tuck into the odd barrel.

The Right Stuff

2009-10-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

With the winds coming out of the north these last couple of days, it sure makes for some good surf. Wednesday was a fantastic day, clean lines coming in, peeling left and right, made for some really good rides. I continued to surf beyond the point of exhaustion left the break stoked and noodle armed. Went back out again Friday afternoon to much of the same conditions, clean peeling and the odd head high set that came through. Had some fantastic rides, left the break stoked more than Wednesday. Snow or not, ya gotta love a good northeast wind.

A Step Back in Time

2009-10-07T12:51:00.001-07:00

A little piece of history as I travelled toward Hayward this week. The old steam engine travels between Two Harbours and Duluth for an old look into history. The sight and sound of an old coal fired steam engine is amazing. The toot of the whistle and feel of the power is something rarely seen nowadays. I love the smell of a coal fired steam engine.

Large!

2009-10-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

What a crazy good day! Super stoked from the rides today. The waves were reading 12' on the bouy. People just kept showing up all day long. Some the bomb sets comin in were extreme. Later on in the day when winds changed NE things cleaned up with some peeling lefts and rights. The waves stayed large.

Classic!

Jer!

Jer the sequel!

Alaia 2

2009-09-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

It has been a major dry spell in what are usually the best days for surf. Lots of daylight, warm sun and fresh cool water. But in the waning hours of daylight it has been three weeks and no surf. Soooooo, when the wind won't make waves, we make boards. This is Alaia number 2. Liam liked what he saw and we glued up some planks. Last night the glue was dry and about two and a half hours later... voila.
Note the foam board in the background bottom left, just waitin for some glassin. It's been a busy season for the ole surfshack, I still have another 6'5" to shape for myself and I am newly inspired to make another Alaia. This next one will take some time, but when its done... ouuwiee... it will be more of a work of art that you can surf on. hopefully.

Shapin the Alaia, Liam style.

Alaia

2009-09-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

In the long dry windless weeks gone by I decided to make my first Alaia board. After about two and a half hours in the garage it was done. I glued up four boards in about 8 minutes using pipe clamps and polyurthane waterproof glue. Traced out the pattern the next day and cut it out using a simple scroll saw. I then planed the shape into the board with a power planer. After planing the board I then sanded with 80 grit, 150, and then 220 grit. After the sanding was done I put a coat of water based UV indoor/outdoor diamond coat varathane. After all was said and done it took about two and a half hours.

The board itself is 6'8" long 7/8" thick and 17" wide. It is made out of western red cedar. It is heavier than I thought it would end up, but it is manageable. Now all we need are some waves to try this little baby out.

Highs and Lows

2009-08-30T18:17:00.001-07:00

Well Saturday turned out to be a pretty good day of surf. Caught up to Winston, Liam and Mark and rode some nice waves. The sets were coming in unpredictalby at times but there were enough to fill the stoke all around. I coasted on the stoke all day today feelin real good about myself until I decided to bounce on the trampoline with my snowboard. It was going well until I tried a 360 grab and when I landed I felt something pop in my repaired knee. Now I am lying in bed with Ice on it and hoping that I did nothing major to upset this years surf season. In the words of napolean dynamite "...Idiot!"

Season Opener

2009-08-21T08:09:00.001-07:00

The surf season is upon us. End of August winds have allowed me to surf at the cottage 4 times this week. Last night, however, was the season opener because I travelled to 121 and rode waves until dark. That makes 5 surf sessions in the last week.
I arrived at 121 to current free, windless clean sets rolling in. I ended up surfing solo for 2 1/2 hours in a peaceful rainy adventure. The waves were waist high with the odd, near chest high sets. I rode my 8'4" all night until the end. When I switched to my 10'0" I had one ride that was about 100 yards long. All in all it was a fantastic evening.

Fungi

2009-08-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

A long ride on the ATV today with kids. A long visit in the bush. I love this time of year when the mushrooms are just starting out. The berries are ripe for the pickin and the sun shines lower through the trees. Stopped to take a few pictures on the way. Later in the day ended up out at the cottage on Lakeshore for a paddle. Met up with Winston and Sarah. We all went, and my son was swimmin like a fish. Soon after a few hours in the water, a nice roaring fire was needed to burn off the damp as the sun set upon another beatiful August day.

The King of the under forest

A Little bit of ocean reef around every turn.

Fannin the flames to burn off the damp.

Perseus

2009-08-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Went out exploring to get a good view of the Perseids meteor shower last night. Althought I did not see much action, I photographed even less. I think I counted maybe eight meteors before the moon appeared in the noth eastern sky. I did however get a shot of the rising quarter moon in all its crimson glory.

Remembering Colder Days

2009-08-11T13:16:00.001-07:00

With the hot weather today I feel it is important to look back on some of those colder days. Like the picture below. Dawn patrol Jan 25, 2008, air temp -22c water temp 2c. The mist off the lake giving the illusion of warmth. Heres to those cold wavy days ahead.

Grom

2009-08-03T12:14:00.000-07:00

I brought my son out to go surfing for the first time on his new board. The winds were in the 30 knot range and the waves were coming from the southwest. A quick trip to the camp and a squeeze into the wetsuits had us ready to start a new beginning. To me, the waves were small nearly unridable. But a little change of persepective and I soon realized that they were very intimidating to a person that is just over four feet high. we paddled (I pushed him out while he was lying on his board) out into the larger surf. He caught a few, spilled on a few and it was a good introduction to his new passion (I hope). As I watched him lie on his board and ride the waves I noticed that the waves were chest to head high on him. I do have to give him credit, it was pouring rain, the sky was grey and the lake looked very menacing.

I soon started to think, what is a Grom? A young person starting out in surfing? If we think about this a little further we can agree that we are all groms. As we enter the surfing world we look out at those that are better and faster. Those that ride the larger and faster waves. We think to ourselves that one day that will be me. As we grow and our skills get honed, we look forward to larger faster waves. Always looking up to someone, in a magazine or a friend that rips. As we advance and ride those waves we start looking at surf trips. Try different surf spots different continents. All the while advancing and pushing our skills to the limit. Accepting a challenge no matter what. It shows us that in the bigger picture we are all learning, we are all in our own way groms, regardless of age and regadless of skills.

Watching my son enforced the paralells of surfing and life. When he took a wave over the back of his head, I reminded him to never turn his back on the waves. There will always be a bigger wave and when you least expect it the outside set will come crashing through. Always face what is coming at you and maybe one day you will catch that outside set and have the ride of your life. Just remember to keep looking forward and there will always be a new challenge.

Gearing up

2009-07-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

As August approaches, it is time to start preparing for the waves. August is a good month for afternoon waves at the old cottage. It is time to get the boy out and practice paddling so he can get used to the small waves at the cottage before heading out on a surf trip with the old man. He is pumped to catch his first wave and has taken to his surfboard very well.

The maiden voyage

Some mysterious rock formations in Grand Marais.

Weekend Camping

2009-07-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

Spent the rain soaked weedend in Grand Marais. Had a fantastic time exploring the bush, hiking to the lighthouses and teaching the kids how to climb the rocks. We decided to go to Lutsen and try the Alpine slide. We used to do the slide years ago and it was not very controllable then. I was a little reluctant to have the kids go down on their own. The sleds are new now and totally controlable. I took Aidan down with me a Ryley went on her own. It was a fantastic time. Check out the ride below.

Survival

2009-07-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Well with no surf in site, we are enjoying the summer. The kids are on a big survival kick. With so many shows on television right now, Survive This, Survivorman, Man Vs. Wild, the kids have a great interest in some survival techniques. So this summer has been all about exploring the bush and how to survive.

Out at camp we have been exploring islands nearby. On one such island, we started to construct an A Frame shelter. (well in this photo it is half of an A Frame) The kids helped to aquire logs and other material to construct said structure.

Also, on the adgenda is wild edibles and as many ways to start a fire as one can dream up. It is important to be able to start a fire without the usual use of matches or a lighter. We have been experimenting with flint sticks, magnifying glass, steel wool and batteries, fire bow to name a few. Here my daughter is starting a fire using only a spark from a flint stick and some steel wool. The beauty of a flint stick is that is will work when wet. I always keep one in my pocket.

One more in the lineup

2009-07-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

Well after long last the board is done. Just finished the graphics today and picked up a new fin and leash. Scored the wetsuit and some booties. The boy is pumped and ready to catch some waves. The board is a scaled down version of one of my boards. Just doesnt seem right being only 15 inches wide. total length is 6' 4". Should do him him well. Now all we need is to get some waves.

Canada Day

2009-07-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

We decided at the last minute to go out to the lakeshore camp and fire off some fireworks. Well when we arrived at the road, there were cars everywhere. In all my years down at the cottage, I have never seen that many people at one time. Looking up and down the beach showed crowds of people and spots of campfires as far as the beach is long. One camp had a live band playing on the deck. People were walking up and down the beach, I would have sworn it was Daytona. Every other camp had mounds of fireworks. We could see the fireworks from town, but it definately was not needed. With the arsenol of fire displays all night long it was absoulutely amazing. I think we will be doing the same thing next year.

Down the beach.
Up the beach.

Nature

2009-06-17T06:12:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to get a closeup of a raven for a while now. This guy decided it was long enough and stood his ground to pose.

Stoked

2009-06-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

Lets face it, its been a cold dreary spring. Amogst all of the complaints that I am hearing about the weather from everybody, it is a welcomed day in June by the local surfers. June surf around the lakes is usually unheard of. The water is still cold and the air is supposed to be warm. That combination does not put much energy in the water no matter how hard the wind blows, but yesterday was not the case. Near gale force winds over the lake and coming out of the north east was a gift to those that could make the hour trip to one of my favorite spots on the lake. Upon arrival the anticipation was high and the odd set was coming in near head high. Surfed for 4 hours straight until my body rejected any more output from my muscles. As time rolled on, the waves got smaller and smaller. But in the end it was THE best surf session in quite some time!

Surfy

2009-05-15T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well it just so happened that I was requested to stay in Terrace Bay for an extra night. Well I ended up surfing. Hooked up with Winston and headed off to the spot. The waves were not quite 14feet that was predicted, but they were head high at least. Had some good rides in the extreme fog and headed home tired and satisfied.

Ghost Town

2009-05-11T18:24:00.000-07:00

In my travels to Terrace Bay it looks like I will have missed the surf by one day. Maybe I can catch build up tommorrow on the way home. A beautiful day no surf time to explore. Here are some pics from the ghost town that I have been meaning to visit for a while now.

History

2009-04-26T16:54:00.000-07:00

When our house burned down five years ago, we lost everything. I had a collection of numerous surf magazine and such from back in the eighties. A subscription to Surfer and an east coast surfing magazine (i cannot remember the name of) that taught me to pee on a jelly fish or man-o-war sting. These are magazines that I will never get back, a part of my growing up and love of surfing and the ocean.

Well I was recently in the attic of my parents house looking for my old lego for my kids, when I stumbled across numerous boxes of my things. It turns out that I did not loose all of my historic books. I found in one of my boxes my premiere issue of snow boarder magazine. The first one ever printed, I thought that I lost it. There was a Surfer magazine issue from October 1987. Some interesting articles within, one specifically interested me. A spread on California surfing. Since my recent trip to California I could now put a memory to some of the spots in the article and definately an image of that beautiful coastline.

All was, at one point, lost. But it is the little moments, the small tokens that we can hold on to that remind us of memories that otherwise slip away. A token that says 'yes' I did do that, I remember that time, it was not just a dream.

As a side note, I guess I had dropped in an old Canadian Tire flyer by accident. Check out the sleds and snow gear from back in 1989. Interesting stuff.

Good times

2009-04-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Upon arrival at the spot on what was a dreary Sunday morning, we awoke the sleeping campers. The lake was not exactly producing any swell from a forecast that was calling for 3 to 5. We started the campfire and convinced ourselves that the waves were building. After waiting and watching for about an hour and a half, we decided that it was large enough to surf. Once in the water things picked up rather quickly. The waves were not exactly large but first day back in the season for me and all was good. Jan 2 was the last day of surf for me, and out of town work for the last three months really payed a toll on my performance. (it could have been one two many fast food meals) Good times, good friends the stoke was abundant. All in all, it was a fantastic way to welcome the spring.

Don

Liam

Eric

Colin

Open season...maybe?

2009-04-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

Forecast.

Anticipation.

Journey.

Paddle.

Ride.

Stoke.

A new stick!

2009-04-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

It looks like I am back in town for a while, just in time for the spring surfing to kick in. Spring is a welcomed time of year, not only is it time for new surf the ice migrates back to the arctic and birthday season is upon us. I would like to introduce a new addition to the family... an eight four 'watercooled' board. New board, new bag ready for action. Lets do a wind dance and get some nice wave action going.

Imagination.

2009-01-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since I have had a chance to update any my blog. Out of town a lot and really really busy at work. It looks like the lake is starting to freeze over a little early this year. Must have been that arctic snap last week that pushed it over the edge. Was playing around with the kids on the computer today when we came up with this little beaut. I have to give credit to my daughter for the idea.

I hear they are good eating if you can catch the little critters. The Wild Hicken rodeo is a nice compliment to any locat flea circus.

Well maybe with no surf in the near future I can focus on my work without checking the forecast every ten minutes, and cut my time out of town early.

Ahh... Winter surfing.

2009-01-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

Tired from the holiday season and full day of snowmobiling, i was not too interested in a long drive to the Terrace to go surfing. Fighting the snowploughs cars and weather pointed me south of the border. Met up with Dave and Eric to catch some cranky waves. At first it looked pretty pissed off, waves comin from different directions, unpredictable break and an outside set that washed you into the beach every 20 minutes. As time rolled on it started to get a little bit more organized and some peelin action. Headed home tired and satisfied.

Friday Surf

2008-12-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Headed out to 121 on Friday to meet Winston. Got held up at the border for about 20mins. the surf was clean, not as big as predicted but still an awsome time in the water here is a shot of Winston riding his Channel Islands 6'5".

Props to the talent

2008-12-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

Its time to give credit to the talent in California.

The locals.

Closeup Glass.

2008-11-26T05:55:00.000-08:00

For you viewing pleasure here are some closeup shots of some beauts. This is what California is and was.

Lets just surf...

2008-11-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

All right, all right we went to california to surf and surf we did. The trip was more of a surf boot camp, don't get mixed signals here, it was awsome. We awoke every morning about 5 am to hit a dawn partrol at trestles or salt creek. Surfed for about three hours then hit a little breakfast place called the 'Sugar Shack'. Filled the void in our stomaches and cured the cravings for protein. Hit up some of the local surf shops and headed out for surf session number 2 for the day. We surfed for another three hours or so then headed back to the campsite for some refreshment in the form of a Pacifico bottle. Spent some time relaxing only to head out for the third session of the day. We surfed until the sun went down and the sharks came out. Enjoy and repeat, all week long. So here are some pictures from those sessions.

Trunkin

2008-11-21T07:51:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article on the web yesterday that talked of earthquakes in southern California. It stated that for the week we were camping San Clemente there were over 400 earthquakes recorded and several of those over 3.0. Now staying at the San Mateo campground sleeping on the hard sand floor I thought that maybe we would feel something. Upon second thought it was realized that with camp pendelton bombing, shooting, artillery and Liam's snoring it is near impossible to tell the difference from an earthquake.

While in Cali myself and Colin had to at least trunk it once, being lake surfers and all. My day was on Thursday. I paddled out mid afternoon amongst all of the rubber clad surfers in my pale white outfit, Boardshots only. After several confused looks from locals, someone finally said 'your gonna get cold sittin there'. I was actually not that cold, no colder than the lake in the summer. (about 61F) While we were waiting for some waves we noticed that the dolphins from the day before were back. It must be mentioned that the day before a couple of fins arose from the water about 6 to 8 feet from me on an early morning dawn patrol. My brain was telling me that they were dolphins, but my body telling me to get the hell out of there. After I casually turned around and started paddling for shore, Colin was yelling 'they are only dolphins...'. As I calmed myself down searched for any loose terds in my wetsuit, I sat back and enjoyed the sight of them. Anyway back to my original thought, as I was sitting on my board I was thinking that this may only be a once in a lifetime chance so I started repeatedly slapping the water in hopes to call the dolphins over. (like they do in Seaworld) It did not take very long before about 6 dolphins came right over to me. Probably attracted to the bright white object in the water. The dophins swam and fished around me under me and looked me eye to eye. It was amazing to understand first hand the gentle playfull nature and curiosity. I could have at any one time reached out and grabbed one. I thought of jumping in completely and see if they would swim with me. But I did'nt. The dolphins hung out with me for about ten minutes before continuing on with their journey. Before they left completed they caught a few waves with us. Colin actually rode a wave beside one of the dolphins. An amazing experience.

The day after

2008-11-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

After the big NW windstorm we experienced on Sunday, Monday dawn patrol was looking very promising. We awoke to the pleasant sound of "Colin... Colin... Colin... Colin... Liam... Liam... Liam... Liam...". Packed up the car and our gear cranked the heat and headed out toward Salt Creek. Music playin crusin down the Pacific Coast Highway we hoped that the wetsuits would soak up some degree of heat. Upon arrival at Salt Creek we witnessed head high peeling barrels. Offshore winds waves of glass. Suited up and hit the water. Talent was in water full force. Colin got barreled. Nice! check out the pics below.

Liam riding clean

Winston goin deep right.

Colin gettin some Salt Creek barrel.

Cali day 1

2008-11-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

We awoke bright and early on Sunday to meet the northwest wind howling onshore. The decision was made to hit up Salt Creek. When we arrived it looked much like the lake, windblown unorganized waves pounding the shore. We surfed it anyway even with the ocean sized bombs coming in. We then went to San Mateo campground and set up home base. After a while we changed things up and went to Surfers Beach. The current, waves and white water were almost an inpenetrable force. Liam got closely aquainted with the nuclear power station. Some rides were had and headed back to the campsite tired and ready for the next session.

California Buzz

2008-11-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

We left for our trip to Southern California on Nov 8 and got home early morning Nov 14. The trip was fantastic. There are many stories, waves, experiences and more during the week that we were there. I took in all, about 2900 pictures. Pictures of surf, countryside, birds, campground anything to help remember all that the trip was. There is some fantastic talent in the water on the west coast and in posts yet to come I will give credit to some of these unkown surfers. Come back often for many updates as I cannot add everything now. To start with, here is a picture of what we had to put up with early morning every day.

Cardboard Surfboard?

2008-10-28T09:57:00.000-07:00

One of the guys from work asked me the other day if I had ever seen a cardboard surfboard. I was thinking "yeah right." So he showed me a youtube video of a cardboard surfboard that the guy made. He cutout many pieces of cardboard with a cnc machine to make a cardboard blank. Its pretty cool stuff, I am interested in making one of these unique boards. check it out at http://foundout.blogspot.com/, and the website at http://www.sheldrake.net/cardboards/.

The tempermental Lake.

2008-10-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

Once again the lake has chosen its own path. The wave forecast was a little bit incorrect. It turns out that we ended up surfing Saturday late afternoon at O road. I can briefly describe the conditions, Major current, Captain Mush, and Corporral no face. All members of the inconsistent and unpredictable army of waves that met us face to face. Winston had an idea to go up the shore were he has been before. The surf proved to be consistent, peeling and some size. It was a very good session. We rode into the night until we could not see the waves anymore. Headed home tired and satisfied...for the next 8 hours at least.

Possibly Epic?

2008-10-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

Looking at the forecast for Sunday... well it has potential to be epic as long a the North wind stays out of the picture all day. I think that it needs more south in it for the spot I am watching to go off perfectly. Here's hoping it gonna be sweet... see ya in the lineup.

"...you can't surf the lakes!"

2008-10-20T08:06:00.000-07:00

The forecast was calling for a heavy SW to churn up some nice swell for our surfing pleasure on Sunday. Loaded up the car with gear, gas and the guys to make the 5am dawn patrol session a couple hours up the north shore. We checked several spots, but the forecast looked better than it actually was. The decision was made to hit up old faithful. The sound of waves pounding was resonating through the trees. We suited up and hiked the short trail to the beach and found some overhead sets coming in. We surfed for hours, caught some good rides, met some people, took some photos and headed back home with intense thoughts of the Surf road trip approching quickly.

Spectacular

2008-10-14T18:21:00.000-07:00

Wave buoys showed 10.8 feet on a SW and W wind. An adventure was underway to find some good waves. I went to a new spot and found 10 foot plus shore pound. The force and energy of the waves could be felt 100 feet away. The ground shook from the impact and I could feel pound in my chest. below is a photo of the shore pound.

I surfed for about an hour and a half at the down the beach at the pump house. The waves coming in were chest/shoulder high and jacked up nice and steep. After my session I went to the west end of the beach past the pumphouse and got some photos and video of the waves. I have surfed there before on a large day such as today. the waves wrap around the point and produce some nice and perfectly smooth waves to ride. Though the waves are small, about waist high at the most, the wave breaks with a peel and are glassy clean.

I then ventured to another beach to see what kind of waves were coming in. I found a wave that had extremely long rights and lefts. the wave has to be at least 7 to 8 feet for it to work, but when it does it looks like some nice long rides. below are some more shore pound photos.