Great Lakes Go Off
Justin Cote
- October 08 2009
- 30 comments
We didn’t even know it was coming. Like a train in the night, the swell came charging down from the icy reaches of northern Canada—with what was rumored to be 18-foot faces at it’s apex. Lake Superior was getting hit with gale force winds from the East, and we hoped it would switch direction and go offshore in time for our arrival…
TransWorld SURF's Great Lakes correspondent Burton Hathaway sets it up at Stony Point. Lake Superior
Like a train in the night, the swell came charging down from the icy reaches of northern Canada—with what was rumored to be 18-foot faces at it’s apex.
There were three of us packed into a little Toyota Camry for the eight-hour drive from Chicago. South End ripper Artem Abakumov and filmmaker Ben Leitschuh took turns driving while I slept in the back seat. We arrived in Duluth around 4am to meet up with Milwaukee surfers Burton Hathaway and Will Wall. “Just pull up man, don’t wake us up though ‘cuz we’ll be sleeping,” said Burton. We’d been playing phone tag the whole way, trying to catch up to the guys, but they were far ahead. For the night we planned to tough it out in the car just down the road from our destination.
Will Walls leans into a sweet freshwater cutback at Stony Point, Minnesota. Photo: Mike Killion.
I awoke to someone checking the surf in front of the car. It was 7am, freezing cold, overcast, and drizzling. I got out to take a look and watched clean left lines wrap around the point as a bald eagle flew overhead. Unreal. I woke up the boys as quick as I could—after all we came here to surf not sleep. “F—k, where’s the surf?” Artem questioned while staring out at the flat lake. Burton reassured us that if there was any movement out front, Stony Point would be macking. Needless to say, we were outta there.
Minutes later we got to Stony Point and without disappointment clean A-frame peaks reeled off like a machine, the kind you only see in dreams. But this was real. We watched in amazement like a kid in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, savoring every moment. It didn’t take long for the guys to gear up and get out there. Late drops were made, drop in artists went over the falls, and full rail turns were executed perfectly. I sat on the shore with Ben as he filmed for his upcoming film, Suits Of Armor, and did my own documentation of this magical place, the still way.
It couldn’t have been any better—arms were noodles, film was exposed, memory cards were filled, and smiles were glued to our faces.
Twelve hours later we packed up and hit the road. Was it all a dream? It couldn’t have been any better—arms were noodles, film was exposed, memory cards were filled, and smiles were glued to our faces. We totally scored…a one day trip couldn’t get any better than this!
—Mike Killion from www.greatlakessurfer.com
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October 8th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Last second decision and the payoff was huge. Just some unreal waves on one hell of a Great Lake last weekend. Cannot wait until the Sleeping Giant awakes again, see you on the next wave and happy surfin the lakes. Burton http://www.nosaltsurf.com
October 8th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
cheeee Burton where u at? i told you da lake waves was coming like coupo days ago… see em in da tsunami tread….
wow that first shot is best lake wave i've ever seen…
October 8th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Wow, I get it! Unbelievable photos and story!
October 9th, 2009 at 4:11 am
better than Ponto.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:40 am
u midwest kooks couldent get a barrel?
October 9th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Were not all barrel dodgers bra we did get into a few guys that day but of course the cameras were not on the waves at the time. Again had an awsome time surfing the Sleeping Giant this last weekend with some great vibes in an out of the water. Felt great to score some great waves on one of the best Great Lakes, until next time. See ya in the water. Burton http://www.nosaltsurf.com
October 9th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
lol… that first one is perfect backdoor to slot machine..
October 10th, 2009 at 12:33 am
Artem Abakumov, as deep as you can be:
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1355/img4465v.jp...
October 10th, 2009 at 1:09 am
Where's D funk?
October 10th, 2009 at 2:43 am
Artem Abakumov, as deep as you can be:
<img src="http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/1355/img4465v.jpg" width="615">
from Mike Killion's post
October 10th, 2009 at 2:22 pm
I think the water was more like low 50s
October 10th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
An awful lot of ego stroking here and on superiorsurfclub.com. Glad there weren't any shots of the serious stuff. Maybe Mike is holding out for the next issue. As much as I want to see those shots, myself and others wish y'all would stop chasing fame. Be content/quiet with where you're at and stop aspiring to a west coast culture that some of us left for a more peaceful existence. 15 people on one head high peak is getting old. Good thing the other spots fired or it would have been a disappointing couple of days. Thank god the serious cold is coming. See you all next fall.
Good vibes– just think about the long term consequences of your short term and selfish ambition.
October 10th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Nice try guy trying to use me for your own ego trip, see ya in the dead of winter at your break. Burton http://www.nosaltsurf.com
October 11th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Hey , I know who you are / stop hating. There were only three of us out in the water . dont be mad at us. We came up for some fun w/ you guys. respected your break / showed tons of edicate. You know even if you wanted to make a trip to see us we would show the same. How often do we venture up there. not often . dont worry about us chasing fame / just worry about you becoming a better surfer in and out of the water. love your lakes
October 11th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
remain unknown is cheesin hard
October 11th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Uh, oh, the Chicago/Milwaukee surf mafia knows who you are. Look out!
Great pics, they really make it look like a much better wave than it actually is. Keep in mind it breaks like that maybe 3-4 times a year, at best, and usually in the dead of winter.
You guys that came up for that swell can't be blamed for the spot's vibe going downhill, but all the recent media attention doesn't help. If it wasn't for a few "local" (if living 3 hours away is considered local) media whores out there who've been hyping and selling Stoney with fantastic photos and stories for years now there would probably never be more than a few guys out. Next swell, everyone leave your cameras at home!
October 11th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
WAAAAAWAAAWAAAAA
October 12th, 2009 at 2:07 am
Come to look at yourself Arte?
October 12th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
You guys sure know how to wear out a welcome. Good job.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Seriously? There is conflict over a dozen or two dudes out in the line up? What I wouldn't give to only have 10-20 dudes out at my usual breaks.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:47 pm
Way better than SoCal this weekend. Good on you guys for charging that stuff! Stoke is definitely alive in the great lakes!
October 15th, 2009 at 3:50 am
Those who dare to tread, come ride the real North Shore of Canada!
October 15th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Save your glass, and try and ride these waves…gnarly as FUCK! The Great White North… PUNKS!
December 17th, 2009 at 6:19 am
Why so much hate over on the west side of the lake… if it's too crowded over there everyone is more than welcome to head up our way. The Keweenaw Peninsula has more than enough surf to go around. It's not perfect, and we really don't know what we're doing, but we get out and would love to have some of you come show us how it's done…
Here are some examples of what we are working with.
http://www.juskuz.com/?p=414
http://www.juskuz.com/?p=401
http://www.juskuz.com/?p=386
http://www.juskuz.com/?p=226
We're not the best surfers in the world… but we get out there.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
That's rad and you guys do charge good on ya, I will make it up your way one of these days and I know for sure it is not crowded up there with plenty of wide open breaks. Happy Surfing The Great LakesB