Doing battle with the gales of November
Today was National Cape Day, according to our son. Or perhaps it was. Regardless, Alec took the morning off to paddle with Scott in what promised to be conditions demanding near super powers, if not capes.…
read moreNeither cold nor waves nor gloom of fall….
Wave height matters. Paddler height, not so much. (Alec and Aaron, dressed for the weather.) Yesterday, Geneva Kayak Center held an end-of-season staff meeting. Part one was held on Lake Michigan in the company of three- to five-foot waves, 20-knot winds and plenty of geese.… read moreBack to the great indoors
The start of the Chicago Whitewater Association pool sessions is bittersweet. It’s great to see our river-running friends again, but it’s a sure sign that winter is coming.
John Karsh offers some bank-based coaching.… read moreThe great sailboat migration
After yet another unseasonably cold and rainy weekend, many boaters called it quits. Yesterday, sailboats and tour boats streamed into the Calumet River en route to their dry docks.We figured we’d follow them.If you ever want to feel really small, try paddling in the Calumet River.…
read moreCalibrating our inner anemometers
When we were newer paddlers, our estimates of wave height and wind speed were quite unreliable. We simply didn’t have enough experience to provide a frame of reference.These days, we get a kick out of seeing how our estimates compare with hard data.…
read moreAdjusting to colder water and weather
Lake Michigan’s surface water near Chicago dropped about 10 degrees over the past week. This morning’s 19-knot winds beckoned, but the water temperatures whispered, “Bring your neoprene caps and poagies.”We suppose some people don’t hear things like that.After weeks of warm water, we were somewhat sad to find the lake back in the mid-50s.…
read moreShort video: Launching into surf and wind
Here’s a short video of Alec launching into the surf against a 28-knot headwind.…
read moreA wind that commands respect
“Let’s paddle!” Alec is ready to go.Yesterday, we planned to paddle the Calumet channel with legendary local paddler Erik Sprenne. The “legendary” part of his name comes from his 25-plus years as a whitewater instructor and river access advocate for the Chicago Whitewater Association.…
read moreCatching the surf after the storm
The two days after the storm passed offered nice waves. The winds veered north and blew pretty steadily overnight, creating nice 4- to 6-foot waves. We enjoyed some good surfing at the beach and rough water paddling where the waves reflected off the end of the pier.Our friend Keith Wikle has an excellent explanation of when to catch post-storm waves on the Michigan side of the Lake Michigan and why.…
read moreNo such thing as TMI when it comes to buoy data
It’s hard to get a sense of the real wave conditions from webcams and buoys, but this data from the NOAA buoy near Grand Haven, Michigan reports a maximum wave height of 13.4 feet and period of 8.5 seconds, and maximum wind speed of 32 knots at 2 p.m.…
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